We’re arrived in Monterey yesterday, in time for the pre-festival kick-off bbq. The student band performed and they sound great, reaffirming one’s belief in the future of jazz. These kids study hard, display excellent music reading skills, put forth a good ensemble sound, and they can swing too. What I haven’t heard in a while, though, is a really good young soloist, but perhaps that for which I listening requires seasoning, if not actual age.
This morning, over breakfast with Marty Ashby and his wife, we heard about the upcoming season at the Manchester Craftsmens Guild. A lot of great jazz will be heard in Pittsburgh thanks to MCG, and for those of us who live in other places, they have produced a number of stellar CDs.
I just dropped off two boxes of books (“Men, Women, and Girl Singers“) as the Tower Records booth, and John has agreed to do a book signing there on Sunday evening (5:30pm), following Clairdee’s performance and CD signing. The cloud cover is just now burning off and we have time for a drive along the coast before the festival kicks off this evening.