in walked betty

Played a really nice gig last night at Panache with Steve Degenford on guitar and my staple bass player, Jamie Jenkins. Dave Hoffman also came out and played some trumpet. It was a relatively small crowd, but a few of the regular Jazz Society folks showed up and stayed the whole night, and there were some students that hung around also. The local community college (ICC) offers American Music classes for Humanities credit--these classes focus on jazz history. Students are required to attend two performances and have to write a paper about what they hear. I took this class when I was at ICC, so it's kinda funny now that I'm on the "other" end, I'm the one who ends up being reviewed instead of doing the reviewing. I wonder what they write? Some nights It's probably better that I don't know.

Some students try, but don't dig the jazz thing much (you can tell). Some don't even try to get it. But a few become quite interested in this "new" music (new to them, anyway) and are curious about it. They'll ask questions, try to incorporate terms they've learned in class in converstation, and every now and then you'll see them out again, even after class is done and they don't have to write any more papers. And that's great. We've reached another one! Now go buy some jazz recordings and boost that 2% to 2.5% or something.

I updated the gig schedule the other day, so all public gigs are listed thru June. This summer is just crazy, with lots of outdoor events and a few private things. This weekend is busy...going to a jam session in Springfield tonight, tomorrow I'm in Peoria for a country club thing, and Sunday I've got two gigs. I guess jazz isn't dead, after all. Cheers, everyone.