Brews and Blues...

On Saturday, I went out to a local Restaurant/Bar called Bierodrome. As one might guess from the name, they specialize in beer. In this case, Belgian beer. They did have a very extensive list, but due to the fact that all the beers were quite strong, and the time allowed, I only had a chance to try three of them. I do really like Belgian beer, strong and sweet with all kinds of complicated flavours. If I had to choose my favourite beer country, it would be Germany. German beers just seem to have a certain authority that really leaves you satisfied after a glass (or two).

On Sunday night, we went out to a jazz concert. The band was called Oregon and the show was part of the London Jazz Festival. The most impressive thing about this band is that they have been together since 1970. All of the musicians in the band were world-class, and they had a unique instrumentation that made them stand out from the standard jazz quartet. The guitarist in the band played a classical guitar, and most of his parts seemed more influenced by classical guitar than jazz guitar. He laid a rich and flowing chordal foundation that the rest of the band built upon. Probably my favourite musician in the band was the percussionist. I’m not calling him the drummer because he was doing so much more than just banging on the drums. In addition to the standard jazz drum kit, he had a whole collection of different hand drums from around the world. Often he was playing the hand percussion with one hand and his drum kit with a stick in the other hand. If I could choose the ideal drummer for a band for me, it would be someone like him. The bass guitar played a standard jazz bass, but rather than just laying down the roots of the chords, he was often adventuring up and down the fret-board with intricate melodic lines. The fourth member of the band was a woodwind player. He mostly played soprano sax (one of my least favourite instruments), but he also broke out an oboe, a bassoon, and other flute like instruments. One of the highlights of the concert was when the band “made up a song”. At one point during this, the woodwind player was playing two flutes at one time, one in each hand, playing a harmony with himself. Overall, a very enjoyable concert.

Tonight I am heading off to an open-mic night at a pub in Greenwich. It will be the first time that I have played out in public since moving to London, so I am a little nervous. But it is about time that I started performing again. I have been putting up the acoustic treatment in my studio and work on my album is about to begin. I am hoping that as I start performing, I will meet some other musicians who will be able to help out with the recording.

Also, this afternoon I get my flu shot. I hate needles and I am afraid that the flu shot will give me the flu, but I have been sick more than ever since moving to London, so I am hoping this will help to strengthen my immune system a bit…

JE