preggo jazz pics

I've been trying to spice up this blog by adding pictures in addition to mindless content. Of course, the pictures are mostly of me so they're not all that interesting...unless you note these new ones, which aren't so much interesting as unusual--they feature a pregnant saxophone chick. (It's just not that common, ya know?) So anyway, here's a couple shots from the Illinois Jazz and Wine Festival. The group is Kevin Hart & the Vibe Tribe. I'd credit the photographer, but I don't know who he is. However, you can view pictures from the entire event here: http://www.villageofmanito.com/Winefest_photos/index.html








I'm 26 weeks (roughly 6 months) pregnant in these shots. I just checked some of pics I posted when I was pregnant with my daughter, just two weeks before I was due. I think I'm bigger now than I was at full-term with her...although I've gained much less weight at this point.
http://jazzwriter.blogspot.com/2006_03_01_archive.html

jazz kid

This is too cool not to share! My daughter, at the tender age of 3, is totally on her way to becoming a jazzer. Check this out, from about a year or so ago:



And this recent one:



I also have to mention that the other day a young black man came to our door, selling some cleaning product. When he left, she asked, "Who was that Mama? Kenny Garrett?" LOL!

for real

Wow! Two gigs in one weekend! And I've got pictures to prove it! (I remember the days where I sometimes had two gigs in one night--that's been a while.)

The first is the annual Rootabaga Jazz Festival hosted by my alma mater, Knox College. I was only able to attend one evening of the 3-day event, the Thursday night Faculty & Friends Jam session, but as always, it was a blast. That's DH in the background on vibes...and why is it I often look like a zombie when playing? Photo credit goes to Sue Dickinson.





Here's the next night at the Peoria International Beer Fest with band jazzchocolat. I'm still not sure why these people hire a jazz group to play for this event, as it's got to be the LOUDEST event ever (not the band, but all the people packed in a warehouse yakking at the top of their lungs) but we played it last year, too, and they wanted us back. But hey, there's free food and beer (not that I could partake due to my current state but I did score a free sample glass) so who am I to complain? Photo credit goes to Pam Eaton.

the gigs, they are a-comin'

Slowly but surely, my calendar is starting to look a little less bare for the summer. I just booked a couple of new dates for the awesome CEFCU Jazz Night concert series, which takes place annually on the Peoria Riverfront during the summer. (See my schedule at the left for dates/times.)

I have been hesitant to book too far into summer, though, as I'm expecting Baby#2 in late August. When I was pregnant with our daughter, I played my last gig 2 weeks before my due date. This time I'm declining all gigs in August (except for maybe my steady monthly) primarily because most of the gigs are outside and our summers tend to be hot and sticky. Playing in late July heat when I'm roughly the size of a beached whale doesn't sound all that appealing either, but I gotta earn a living. So, I'll suck it up thru the end of July, then in August I guess I'll be out of the picture for a while.

Hope everyone is doing well musically and otherwise!

lag time

I haven't posted much lately mainly because there hasn't been too much going on. The economy has had a tremendously negative effect on local gigs, so I haven't been playing as often as I used to. Sadly, the weekly stint at Panache has been discontinued, although I am hopeful that once things look up, maybe we'll be asked to return. We had a lot of good years there--would have been 12 years this summer. That's quite a run!

I haven't attended many performances lately. It's difficult when most big gigs are in Chicago (2 hours away). I'd love to visit the new Jazz Showcase but haven't made it up that way yet. Things were easier when we didn't have to arrange for childcare! I wish there was more jazz going on in my hometown, Bloomington-Normal, where I'd feel perfectly safe hiring a sitter and going out for a few hours. But leaving town when someone else is in charge--that I'm just not comfortable with. Guess it's the mom in me, outweighing the musician.

I do have a few gigs on the books, which I'll update here in a moment. In the meantime, please make a little extra effort to seek out gigs near you, where ever you may be, and try to attend them. Musicians (and club owners) need your support now more than ever!

i'm firing myspace

Yeah, that's right. MySpace is no longer My Friend. Now I've had TWO pages deleted. The first was one I created for myself, just to see how the system worked. It lasted about two weeks before I noticed it had disappeared. I figured, okay, well, maybe it was a fluke...so I created another page for jazzchocolat, a group I play with. All was going well until a month or so ago, when that page ceased to exist as well.

WTH? I don't understand how this social media site is so popular if this keeps happening to people. There was no inappropriate/obscene content posted. And both times, I received no warning that the page would be deleted. They simply just vanished.

Apparently others have had this problem as well. One of the more interesting complaints I found was this: http://freemyspace.com/?q=node/89

Thanks, MySpace, but I think I'll stick with Facebook. It's much more fulfilling and entertaining, anyway.

slow times, hard times

Has anyone else been experiencing a downturn in your gigging world? Besides my weekly jam at Panache--which I fear may become a bi-monthly gig after the first of the new year--my calendar has been fairly empty. I don't even have any Christmas parties booked--a first in the 10 years or so I've been working.

Part of this is my fault. I'm not making any effort to book new gigs. In fact, I've actually passed along some work to others because I didn't want to bother with it. I'm at the point where it's more trouble to book the band, plan the set list, find charts, deal with the contract, etc. etc. than I want to deal with. Making arrangements to have someone watch our 2-year-old is not always easy, especially since many gigs are out-of-town and some don't end until late. Yes, I realize this admittance makes me sound lazy, but that's not it, really. I'm just not in the music mindset these days, I guess.

The other part is the economy. I see it at my weekly gig every week...there just aren't as many people going out. You can't blame them. Those couple of bucks are probably better served to keep a mortgage from going under anyway. I mean, which do you need more, a roof over your head or a cup of coffee? (In the morning I would probably answer the coffee, but after I've woken up and begun to think clearly I'd venture the more practical response.)

So how about you, fellow musicians? What's your calendar look like for the holidays and after the new year?