Now, gotta get that next record done.

L to R: Tony, Third, Rob, Tim, Matt in Wichita. Not pictured: Shilts, who was at the bar, natch.

…and I can’t believe it’s half over already!  After kicking things off in Windsor, ON, we went on a great little run with Shilts and Matt Marshak in the Mid-West.  Wonderful crowds, and great hangs.  Dodged some tornadoes and made some new friends.  We were treated very well!  Added another fabulous bass player to our roster – Tim George – a very bad man.

Next up, Colton’s Point, MD at the Potomac Jazz and Seafood Festival.  As promised, there was both jazz and seafood, and a beautiful day to enjoy them both.  Discovered some things about Third da drummer that I didn’t know before. Also discovered a very weird rest stop south of Buffalo that has a player grand piano in it.

Then back close to home for the Waterloo Uptown Jazz Festival… what a great crowd!  Our first time at that event, and hopefully the first of many. A chance to get tight with the Canadian band, whom we’ll be taking on the road with us for a bunch of the shows in August.

Hey, who's that? Oh, just STEVIE WONDER, getting ready to sit in with Rick Braun, Gerald Albright and Peter White. That big security dude didn't like me.

Which brings us to the present… flew back this morning from LA, where we played at JazzFest West for the first time yesterday.  Killer band – Marcus Anderson (sax), Darryl Williams (bass), Tony Moore (drums) and Mick Taras (guitar).  Short set, but we packed in as much as we could, and the crowd seemed to dig us.  Got to catch Babyface’s set… man, that guy has a lot of hits under his belt!  I mean for real.  Puts on a slick show, too.  A great afternoon to hang out before heading back to LAX…VIP tent BBQ, Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum, special surprise guests, getting some sunscreen on just a little too late, meeting a bunch of amazing musicians.  Many thanks to April Bennett for taking such good care of us… we’ll definitely call you next time we’re down there!

Now for a couple of weeks at home, then back at it!

I remember years ago when the term “acid-jazz” was still being used, we submitted some music to JazzFM in Toronto; they are pretty much a Traditional Jazz station.  The response we got back from Ted O’Reilly was delightfully succinct: “We don’t play hyphenated Jazz”.  That phrase has really stuck with me.  It’s a sad comment on the narrow-mindedness of some radio programmers, and indeed, on the limitations of radio formatting in general.

Smooth Jazz radio is having a bit of an identity crisis at the moment; actually, it has been for quite some time now.  Some people embrace the term, most people hate it.  When we were down at XM Radio a few years ago for an in-studio performance, we were forbidden to use it.  The problem is, there doesn’t seem to be an alternative that everyone can agree on.  Some want to lose the “smooth”, some the “jazz”.  The Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards is now The Wave Awards.  For a while, radio folks tried “New Adult Contemporary”… that didn’t stick.  It pains me to see so many stations flipping formats;  I know that there are many factors at play here, but I can’t help feeling that as much as programming issues, etc., a big part of the problem is this schism over THE NAME.

So where does that leave us?

Well, as far as I’m concerned, I just want to make music;  I don’t care what it’s called.  I know the same goes for many other artists.  I’m going to let the suits decide how to format radio stations; they’ve been doing it for a long time, for better or worse, and most of us have been along for the ride.  Good music music will find its audience, whether it’s through commercial radio, internet radio, podcasts, social networking, or just friends making copies for friends.  And frankly, there are bigger issues to deal with, like keeping the music business viable as a whole!  It doesn’t matter how much radio play you get if people aren’t actually buying your music.  Formats are only helpful to a point, then they can become divisive.  Me, I’ve never been particularly attached to the “smooth” OR the “jazz”, or any of the other pigeonholes for that matter… I’m going to continue to embrace the hyphen.  That’s where the interesting stuff happens.

A cargo cult is a phenomenon that can occur in the aftermath of an encounter between a primitive society and a technologically advanced one.  The most widely known examples occurred among Pacific Islanders during and immediately following World War II.  Both the Japanese and the Americans used these islands as drop-points for vast quantities of supplies to equip their soldiers.  There was little fraternization with the natives, who naturally assumed that these foreigners had some kind of special relationship with the deities, and so were able to command these great resources.  Once the war was over and all the personnel and equipment evacuated, some locals began to imitate the practices they had observed the soldiers using.  They would stand and signal on abandoned airstrips, build “control towers” and carve headphones out of wood, and construct life-size replicas of airplanes out of straw, all in the hopes that the gods would continue to shower them with goods.  Of course they did not, and these cults eventually died out.

I found Jeff’s story fascinating, but I really wasn’t sure why he was telling it until he came to the point.  He said, “Don’t you feel like that’s what we’re doing?  We keep making records, releasing them, putting on shows, all the while hoping that the money will appear like it used to.”  And then it just clicked.  Wow.  What a great analogy, and what a sad commentary on the state of the business.  Of course, there are a lot of people out there trying to do things differently, and although it’s far from clear what it is we’re supposed to be doing, the important thing is that we do try to break away from the old business models.  They just aren’t working anymore.

At 12,000 feet

Wow.  What a great little run!  We were joined by Matt Marshak and Marcus Anderson for this little tour, and the vibe was really good. First stop, Copper Mountain, CO… elevation 10,000 feet.  You definitely feel the oxygen shortage upon first arriving; good thing we didn’t have to play the first day.  Actually it was a good thing nobody had to play – the entire resort lost power for most of the evening!  We found dinner though, and the power was back on by midnight.  Next morning was beautiful; Tony and I took the chair lift further up the mountain for lunch and a little stroll (emphasis on “little”), then back down the hill to meet up with Matt, Marcus, and the rest of the band for sound check.  I have to say, the on-stage sound for that show was among the best we’ve had!  The gig went great, and we had fun hanging out for Paul Taylor’s set, although they closed the bar at 11:30.  Eleven. Thirty. Huh?  Oh well.

Four80East with Paul Taylor

Next afternoon was the all-star jam, hosted by Matt and Marcus.  We did a couple of tunes, including a slow, stretched out version of Noodle Soup (video here) featuring Paul Taylor, Marcus, Matt, and Tony Exum Jr, as well as Vernon Barbary on bass and Chris Miskel on drums.  That night, Jeff Lorber took us all to school with a smoking set of vintage and new material, and Eric Darius showed that he was apparently completely unaffected by the altitude… man, that kid’s got energy!  I have to give a shout-out to Vernon and Chris… those guys played for every artist, and played each set like they were fresh.

Then it was time to hit the West Coast, and hit it we did.  Sunday night at Anthology was slamming; our first time in San Diego and I think we made a good impression… our  rhythm section of Darryl Williams (bass) and Tony Lee (drums) was rock solid, and Matt and Marcus really layed it down.  And what a gorgeous club!  After the show we moved over to Humphrey’s for a wind-down… Fattburger was playing and the crowd was dressed to the nines.  I’m talking full-on zoot suits!  Nick Colionne would’ve blended right in.  Also, Marcus got to bust out his Michael Jackson moves during the DJ set.

Next morning, off to the North-West.  Some funny weather going on – we left a cool, rainy San Diego and landed in a warm, sunny Seattle! It was like Bizarro West Coast or something.   Two shows at Jazz Alley… what a great night to finish up!  Thanks to Carol at KWJZ for all the support.  Dave Hooper (drums) and Doug Barnett (bass) had our backs, and the crowds really made us feel at home.  Didn’t want the night to end, but they always do… found a little spot around the corner for a drink, then explored a few blocks of downtown Seattle on foot looking for a cab, laden with instruments and boxes of CDs.  Rock stars, baby! Ended up finding perhaps the most disgruntled cab driver EVER… at least he managed to drop us off within walking distance of our destination, the Jazz Alley condos.  Had a nice chill-down with the boys, then it was time to part ways, as we would all be flying out at different times in the morning.  Matt and Marcus – we love you guys!  Let`s do it again.

We also took a day trip along the old gold rush route, visiting the historic town of Coloma, where James W. Marshall first discovered gold in California in 1848.

On Saturday we said farewell, and headed down into Sacramento for our show; a short set with our good friend Shilts, opening for R&R.  Venue was The Grove at the Radisson;  a cool spot… I think this was the first time I’ve played under a bandshell made of shrubs!  Thanks to Tom at Husky Productions for making it happen.  Thanks also to Omari Williams (drums), Aaron Baugh (bass) and Mike Hart (guitar)… it’s always fun playing with new guys, especially unrehearsed!