Bonjour de Paris ...
“We were home well before daybreak”
Chers Amis,
We have been very fortunate to end 2021 and begin 2022 with a lot of great music. Leslie and I worked with Bruno Rousselet at Chez Papa Jazz Club for the New Years celebration. It was quiet this year (we were home well before daybreak) but still enjoyable. In fact maybe even more enjoyable. Recently Leslie has been working with Nico Peslier at the beautiful Hotel…
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Bonnes Fêtes
Chers Amis,
As we close in on Christmas later this week Leslie and I are enjoying some free time away from performing. So Leslie is devoting some time searching for new material for her repertoire. Next week we are working four nights in a row so a little down time is a welcome thing. We have managed to make Christmas pretty stress free by eliminating things that don’t really add to our lives. We did get the booster shot a while ago but for the most part, Delta and now…
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“Crazy Huh?”
Chers Amis,
Things have been incredibly busy here. Paris is essentially back, (for now). The streets are busy, as are the stores, restaurants, clubs and theatres. People are traveling again and in general things feel better now. There are some isolated areas in France that are still dealing with higher cases of Covid and the government is urging older people and those with special health conditions to get the booster vaccination. Germany is seeing a…
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“Godspeed my friend”
Chers Amis,
The Jazz world is full of many, many bright lights. Some make the music and some support the artists who make the music. The value of music is the degree in which it communicates in ways that spoken words cannot. That magic is what creates the light, illuminating a pathway or offering…
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Bonjour de Paris ...
“Watching, waiting and hoping!”
Chers Amis,
Watching our little corner of the world, we are waiting to see what’s next and hoping for something that resembles a world that we can truly live in. We all have these same stories, feelings and frustrations. In spite of the pandemic, Leslie and I do our best to make a life here in Paris. Normally that is not too difficult for us. We live in the centre of town surrounded by restaurants, parks, museums, art galleries, stores…
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“The way things are going these days… I got no explanation!”
Chers Amis,
I have started this newsletter several times over the past few weeks. Every time I sat down to write, something came up that was more pressing and caused me to put this on the back burner. Getting everything in place for the release of our new CD and creating the material needed for booking the new “Funky Ella” band has taken many, many hours. For many of us there is no longer any balance between…
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“The more things change…well nothing is going to be the same is it?"
Chers Amis,
Spring rarely “springs” in Paris. Ironically last year, while we were in confinement, Paris enjoyed a beautiful spring. This year, we are still partially confined but able to be outside and enjoy a spring walk. It’s more like the usual chilly, overcast April-May weather that will remain unchanged until one day in June when it feels like summer.
So beyond the weather there are other things to…
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"That's a hip new joint!"
Chers Amis,
I have not written for a while because our current daily routine is not conducive to monthly "news". Like many of you, with the exception of running necessary errands and responsibilities for work, we mostly spend our days at home. However besides wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year there is enough news at this point for another update.
At the end of November Leslie had a hip…
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“Take a test, change your life, or at least where you sleep tonight.”
Chers Amis,
Well that was interesting. We have returned from two weeks playing music while cruising the Mediterranean Sea. Our itinerary took us to Sicily, Italy, Crete, Greece and Sardinia. Circumstances required that previously scheduled stops in Corsica and Istanbul had to be canceled. For me the days at sea were my favorite, as for Leslie, she was all about the jacuzzi and just being at sea. This was…
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“The Art Of Doing Nothing."
Chers Amis,
We’ve been back in Paris since Sept.1st. We worked in Paris on August 1st and left the following day to spend some time with friends in La Baule and Bordeaux. Even though during our time away I worked on my French language skills daily and for the most part I got to the piano regularly, it felt too much of a luxury to take an entire month away from work. After all we had around sixty concerts canceled and the plan for this summer was to do…
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