RoadWords from Karrin - December 2010

I can't believe it's been so long since I've written! Could it really be since June? I guess I was busy!

Our Denver Festival gig was the gig that 'almost wasn't' ... as there was big weather - tornadoes and lots of rain. Our bassist and drummer, Larry Kohut and Eric Montzka had to divert into Colorado Springs and rent a car to get there. Then the gig was at a very cool (OUT DOOR!) venue with rain, rain, rain! But the show went on and many hearty listeners were there. I also had food poisoning (!) but again, the show goes on! Many other fun acts were there including Ray Vega - always love him. And thanks to Susan Gatchet at KUVO.

On to the Southwest, where we enjoyed some outdoors before doing a fundraiser for the Santa Fe Center for the Arts. We stayed with our good friends Karen and Spencer who also helped host the event. Rod and Bill and I put on a 'moonlight' themed show.

Left VERY early next morning for Vermont. Ms. Sheila Jordan actually drove ME from the airport to Interplay Workshop in Woodstock (thank you Sheila). As usual, we had a great visit. The camp went very well and it's always good to see some familiar faces (and voices) as well as the new students. I loved Sheila's and Gene Bertoncini's concert together.

Next, the Northwest to Seattle's Jazz Alley for the weekend with Rod, Jeff Johnson and Mark Ivester. This is always one of our favorite places to play.

The next day we moved on to Portland, OR to play the Cathedral Jazz Festival. What a great setting! I got to play with Nancy King, Steve Christofferson, Dan Balmer, Scott Steed and Todd Strait. Mark Murphy came and sat in. What an absolute treat to sing with two of my all time favorites. Also got to see some of the amazing Oregon coast line - unbelievably beautiful!

At the end of July we went to New Orleans for our “oil spill” fundraiser at One Eyed Jacks. We raised at least $5000.00 and then some for wetlands and fisherman (and families). Cindy Scott did an amazing job at putting it all together-- and Michael Simarjiza helped so much with getting the word out. (And of course, we ate really well while there!)

I visited some family in Omaha before going back to NYC. Next, to Marblehead MA. Gene Arnould does a lovely series there and we're happy to be a part of it.

On to Minneapolis at the Dakota where Rod, Larry Kohut and I had a lovely two nights there. Laura Caviani sat in and we had wonderful crowds.

Back to NYC for a quick rehearsal (in my apartment!) for our next project with Rod, Ed Howard, Matt Wilson and guests Bob Sheppard and Randy Weinstein. We recorded at Sear Sound in NYC, our favorite NYC studio. Two days only - whew! But I'm excited about this project - more on that later.
We played at Jazz at Lincoln Center for fashion week. The line up was Bruce Barth, Lewis Nash, Ed Howard and myself. What a great band!

Then we headed to Kansas City for the Prairie Village Jazz Festival. I sang a few tunes with the KC Jazz Orchestra which was great fun. Eldar was on the bill and he sounds great as usual.

Back home in NYC for a few days, then back to KC area, for Boonville, MO performance in their very cool venue and "Hotel Frederick." Parris Johnson did a great job putting it all together. And the Topeka KS Jazz Workshop was a wonderful afternoon and a huge turn out. Our friend Chuck Berg was there front and center. It was great to see him. Marcy did a great job of organizing this concert too. Dave Overmeyer put on a wonderful after party at his house. A beautiful soul - Dave! Frisbee and fishing down on his pond at sunset with all that wonderful food and freinds - a great way to celebrate Gerald Spait's birthday!

Back to NYC it was Dizzy's at Jazz at Lincoln Center with Sheila Jordan, Bruce Barth, Cameron Brown and Billy Drummond. We had a very special week there together and I got to bring my Mom (Chrystopher) there for all of it. We also saw a great exhibit at the Met.

Scullers in Boston was the next stop. We always love to play there but this time, it was in the dark! There was a black out in that part of the city, so the whole hotel and club were dark. It happened just after soundcheck. Ed got stuck in an elevator for a minute and we all walked up 16 flights to our rooms. Bill held a flash light in the bath room for me to put a little make up on We played by candle light for the first sold out set; then, the lights came back on. It was almost too bad about that. When you find a 'vibe' that works :) it was a shame to change it. Also I was quite sick with the flu, but the show went on! And all seemed happy.

Back for my little Northampton, MA series, this time featuring Rod Fleeman and Gene Bertoncini, two special guitarists. It’s great fun to hear them together and to sing with them. We had a lovely if small group listening.

Then a break from the live performance scene to mix the next project in LA. We mixed at the famed "Village Recording Studios" - a beautiful, old studio where tons of gold records are hung on the walls. Thank you to Nick and Seth and Bill for your TLC and expertise!

Back to Minneapolis where I was a part of a fundraiser for KBEM with Laura Caviani, Gordy Johnson and Phil Hey. It was a great band and we had a wonderful time playing together. My Mom and sister Elisa attended as well and the food and wine were lovely.

To the Bay Area: Yoshi's in San Francisco - a great crowd and we love the venue. Singer Kenny Washington sat in with us (LOVE him). My sister Tracy met me and we had a lovely couple days there with friends Susan and Nancy in that beautiful city.

Next stop: Tempe, AZ to sing with the Arizona State University Big Band. Woody Wilson does a fantastic job with this series and the hall is state of the Art. The band played with soul and swing. Also enjoyed trumpet player Scott Wilson who shared the bill.

Europe: This was quite a nice trip, starting out in Salzburg - Mozart's home town, for the festival there. What a beautiful place of course - legendary! We played in a very old (1400s) building in their “brewery.” It could scare one initiially, except this was no regular brewery. It was a concert venue (with great beer!).

Then, Minden, Germany in their very cool little club, which is run by a committee - a jazz committee! They do a great job and we enjoyed being there. They were already getting ready for Christmas there.

Next was Hoorn, but first our host, Henk, took us into Amsterdam for a couple hours as that's all the time we had, but fun to see. The venue in Hoorn was completely charming, like playing in your living room with warm, attentive folks there, an upright piano that worked well for us as it was very intimate! Truly a joy being with those lovely people.


In Stockholm next for my first time. Beautiful city - unfortunately very little time there! But I've heard about the Fasching Club for years and I was happy to be there ... even though, un-believably, we experienced another black out! Our hotel went dark, so finding our ways down the dark steps to the lobby was a trick. Our host met us to warn that the show may not 'go on' in this case as there was no electricity there either. So, we went to dinner and waited, and sure enough, they were able to fix it, and we played. (That's the 3rd time in my whole life during a gig.) Once while in San Jose, CA, the whole state of California had a brown out and it happened to be during the festival. I would love to return to Stockholm someday soon.

We ended our little tour in Paris. It had been too long since I'd been there, so it was really great being back. And "Duc des Lombards" is a very cool club - almost like a small but 'tall' (high ceiling) theatre. The crowds were great and gave us many encores which we were happy to do. Rod and Ed played great through out the trip.

Great stuff I saw and heard:
- Bill McGlaughlin's NYC Bryant Park series with wonderful classical players like, Orion String Quartet, Imani Winds, Mark O'Connor (I sang Amazing Grace with them on memorial day in the rain.), Tara Helen O'Connor on flute.
- Renee Rosnes quintet at Dizzy's with Steve Nelson, Peter Washington, Rich Perry & Bill Stewart.
- Phil Woods quintet at Birdland with Bill Mays, Bill Goodwin and Brian Lynch.
- Beach, Blanket Babylon in San Francisco-- what a hoot.
- The Sunshine Boys in Kansas City starring our very talented friend Howard Hessman.
- At Paris' Marmotan Museum - lots of beautiful Monet!!
Also while in Paris, dined at Restaurante da Franco (delicious!) and had amazing pastry at Les Deux Magots. Bill and I simply walked around that beautiful city.

Please check our Facebook for comments and photos along the way - and thank you for checking in. We hope to have dates in your area soon and wish you a very happy, healthy Holiday Season.

With Love, Karrin