We have made it to London and I’m writing during our 2 1/2 hour layover before getting our flight to Kiev.  Hard to believe we are actually underway after nine months of thinking about it.

We had a delightful stay in Covesville with Malena,  Dan and the boys.  There was lots of activity and I am happy to report that the record is intact.  I helped enlarge the Guinea fowl house.  Fortunately the weather was cool but not cold so we set a new record.  For new readers once we built a chicken house in 13 degree F weather.  As we left, a work crew was waiting for us to get out of the way so they could tear off the back porch of the house in preparation for building a very nice addition.  We stored the coach in Woolen Mills Self Storage and Dan drove us to Bethesda so we could vist with cousin Bob and Jane Levey. 

We visited in their apartment on Wisconsin Ave and then walked across the street to Persimmon for dinner.  As we walked back to our hotel with them we bumped into their daughter Emily on the street.  This called for extending the visit a bit and we settled into the hotel lobby for a chat.  Sweet.

The next morning,  Oct 2 brought home the impact of the idiotic government shutdown, none of the galleries we had planned on seeing were open.  Fortunately we were “forced” to go to the Phillips Collection and what a collection.  We enjoyed 2 hours plus there and then found lunch at Kramers Books! Fun and we didn’t buy any books,  too much weight.

Flying on British Airways in Business Class resulted in a flight I hardly noticed.  Between the seats that let you lay flat and our new noise canceling headphones it was quiet, comfortable and reasonably private.  We are enjoying the lounge amenities too.

Next post will be from Kiev and I hope to include some photos too.

First and foremost; Carol is healing rapidly and appears to be fine.  The good news is that because she could not make the choir rehearsals she couldn’t sing in the High Holiday Choir and sat with me.  I like that even though I know she really likes to sing.  Also people who sit near us like that because being in the congregation does not stop her from singing, it is a joy for me to hear her and others say so too.

I was going to say that we had no commitments today, but that would be wrong.  We met for breakfast with the Chair of the Department of Neurology at URMC (University of Rochester Medical Center) Robert Holloway, MD. He is the new chair and wanted to talk to us about the future of the Nathalie and Emanuel Goldberg Lecture which is going into its 29th year in a couple of weeks. We are very encouraged that this will continue and be expanded to at least three lectures a year going forward.  My parents created this lectureship. . .

Not sure where that sentence was headed, one more distraction in a week of distractions and shopping. Kol Nidre is four hours off.  Food has been prepared for taking to Break Fast at Bulins’ tomorrow when we can resume eating.  Most of the “stuff” we know we need to buy for travel is sitting in the den waiting for transport to the coach.  Dan called to ask about our eta in Charlottesville, thinking he had forgotten or lost the message. I told him we were getting closer to knowing when we are leaving and we will tell them when we arrive when we have figured it out.  We have a firm last hour to arrive which is Sunday at 3 when we are needed to watch the boys while Malena and Dan have a “date.”  We will make it.

I spent over two hours today doing battle with Amazon and NYTimes.com.  At some point in the last 24 hours they changed the method for getting the NYTimes on the Fire.  Problem, they didn’t tell anyone, not even their support people.  I suffered through on hold and transfers to the wrong party followed by an online chat that locked up as we got to the final instructions.  Finally got a L3 tech who actually was able to walk me through the steps to get it done.  It needed four log ons using different User IDs and passwords.  In this day and age that is just insane.  I guess Amazon and NYTimes.com do not have a great relationship. Neither is particularly user friendly in how they connect. End of rant!

I’ll just post this now and start over some time next week.

Carol is recovering nicely. Her bruises are fading and her eye is no longer red and she feels more energetic than she has. We are having friends over for cocktails and then out to dinner Friday and Saturday as well as breakfast out Saturday. We have set Sunday as a”down day” for r & r. Have to fit in everyone we can before we leave.  We are waiting to see if the ophthalmologist can proceed with cataract surgery on her left eye on Tuesday.

We waited eight weeks for an led clearance light for Gee Whiz that our local dealer had ordered. Got tired of waiting and called Tiffin parts department.  The part arrived two days later under warranty even though the coach is 3 months past warranty. Thank you Tiffin Motor Homes.

I would rather not refer to the next couple of weeks as waiting as we get ready for the High Holy Days and our departure for Charlottesville in preparation for our overseas travel. The anticipation level is rising, but we still have so many people we want to see and things we want to do that we don’t want the time to fly by.

This post is also a practice post. Took my laptop into Microworx to have the hard drive replaced,  under warranty.  I am writing this on my tablet as I plan to do all my posts from overseas.  I do not plan to take the laptop. So also waiting for my laptop to be returned repaired.

Two weeks ago Carol took a tumble while walking on the sidewalk. There was a lot of blood and some swelling of the cheek . X ray showed broken bone and CT scan showed a lot more damage . Carol spent hours to learn if restorative surgery was necessary and if it would interfere with having her second cataract surgery before we leave on the extravaganza. The surgery was scheduled for Thursday and it wasn’t until midday Wednesday that she had all the information she needed.

I’m writing this in the preop area while we wait for the Anesthesiologist and surgeon to come in for the preoperative talk . l’m writing this using the pen on my tablet for the first time. it reads my handwriting better than most people.  I won’t post this until I have had a chance to write about the outcome.

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several hours later: Surgery took an hour less than projected because it went better than expected.  By 8:45 she was out of recovery and in her room for the night.  I spent some time with her and left her to sleep off the drugs from surgery.

I doubt I’ll post about this again.

Where has July gone? We passed Yechiel’s birthday, the 28th yesterday (for those who just joined that’s our eldest son) as he was flying in to join us with his wife.  His son Tal has been with us since Tuesday.  The schedule is complicated, needless to say we are very busy.  There is a wedding, a Bat Mitzvah and many other plans that will keep us running until time to head out.

I didn’t have enough to occupy myself.  While staying in Virginia our younger son, Dan, showed me some courses he was taking on Coursera.org.  I loaded up the site and went to see what Brown (my alma mater) was offering.  They had just listed three courses as an experiment and one was titled “Archaeology’s Dirty Little Secrets” which in this day of acronyms has become ADLS.  I couldn’t resist.  My mother was an avid reader of Biblical Archaeology and had gone to a dig in Israel.  My sister worked for an archaeologist (anthropologist?) at Boston University after graduation.  I had brought home sherds and pots as an aspiring archaeologist at age 7ish when the local utility was trenching through our neighborhood to replace gas line (this was 1949 or so) and unearthed endless treasures from the former landfill under our street.

I delved into this 8 week course in early June and have been immersed in it ever since.  The faculty, lead by Professor Susan Alcott have been phenomenal.  They have brought presentations from A to Z or from Abydos in Egypt to El Zotz in Guatemala with stops in Montserrat and Petra.  We have been challenged with ethical questions and logistical issues.  I have had to write or create weekly.  For one assignment the option I selected was to create a video of a presentation which you can view at this link the video runs 5 minutes.  For the last class we were asked to be creative.  Since the best thing I do is write, I prepared an essay on the subject “Who Owns the Past” the title of the last session.  I’ll paste in in at the end.

I have not felt so engrossed in study in many years, if ever.  it has been a wonderful experience to stretch the brain in companionship with 35,000 wonderful students.  Yes that’s right 35,000.  I have become friendly with several on the classroom forums and expect we will continue to communicate on Facebook going forward.  I have managed to share email with several.  There is a group of women in their 80’s who are very active and there is a 9 year old girl who has much to say and a wonderful mind.  All in all it is an exciting community and I plan to participate in other classes, although I may be spoiled by the wonderful experience given by my alma mater.

Here is my last essay for the class:

To my classmates, say hi to Paxil!

Yesterday I wrote about the “merely excellent” and the “incredibly superb.”  I need to recalibrate that scale to “merely exceptional” and “outrageously superb.”  We took in two of the latter and three of the former.  I’m glad, sort of, that the Jazz Fest is over because I am running out of superlatives.  We got in line to hear Kurt Elling in Kilbourn Hall at 3:15 – the performance was at 6 and the doors opened at 5:15.  There were already 50 people or so in line when we got there.  We chatted with people who we have stood in line with before, both this year and in years past and even some friends from “the other world” when Jazz Fest is not on.  Eventually we made our way into the hall and got to our favorite seats, back row of the front section on the right center aisle, but you knew that if you have read prior postings.

On time the Eastman student who is responsible for making the preconcert announcement about fire regulations made his way to the microphone and told us that this was the last time he would get to do this after a three year stint.  He got a standing, howling ovation when he was done telling us where the fire doors are and to move calmly and quietly to the nearest exit when so told.  This may be the first time this legal gobbledygook has received such warm response.  It was an indication of the high spirits of the audience.  Elling took the stage and in the first few bars he displayed his four octave range and his ability to sustain notes beyond any expectation from the human voice. His is a voice and a style that harks back to the 50’s or maybe even the 40’s and had me thinking about Frank Sinatra.  His scat was exceptional and at the peak of anything I can remember hearing live or recorded.  His repertoire certainly went back into my youth and that made it even more fun.  Some who did not enjoy the show were younger or said they never cared for the “Chairman of the Board”.

We had sort of thought we might leave a bit early to take in the show at the Little, but there was no way I was leaving while he was singing.  Eventually he concluded and we left the  “outrageously superb” and headed to Christ Church for one number of “merely exceptional” piano playing by Gwilym Simcock.  Solo piano does not work well in that venue even though his playing was really wonderful.  We left there and after a brief stop for fuel we continued on to Lutheran Church for Torben Waldorff’s Quartet where we settled in for more exceptionally superb music.  This was turning into an awesome night.  We left after three numbers to catch Blaggards at Abilene.  They are billed as “Stout Irish Rock” and they are from Houston TX. The walls of Harro (the former JYM&WA) across the street were rocking as we approached.  It seemed likely the volume alone would deny us entry, but we forged on and made it into the tent where they were blowing out the tent walls.  While we were there they played “What do you do with the Drunken Sailor?” which is there theme song.  It is hard to limit them to “merely exceptional” but I am working with a scale of 1 to 10 and am already at 12 in terms of my enjoyment.

Once again I had to leave to get in line.  I left Carol rocking and headed to Max expecting to rush into the line for Five Play.  I got waylaid at the Verizon booth, don’t ask, in part because I could see that the line was not as long as expected.  Carol got to the line before me. Five Play is five women from the Diva Jazz Orchestra.  We had heard the Sax player, Janelle Reichman, the night before at the Jam Session and were determined to hear the group.  They were “outrageously superb” and the audience was fixed in the seats for an hour and 15 minutes. The music was standards with a wonderful interpretation and improv.  They closed with Caravan composed by Juan Tizol and first performed by Duke Ellington in 1936 (thank you wiki).  This was just wonderful to hear and we didn’t want it to end, but end it did and so did the 12th Annual Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival.

But the evening was not quite over for us.  We picked up Abbots Custard only chocolate was left by now and walked to State Street Bar and Grill.  We listened to a couple of sets including as always John Nugent and Bob Sneider as 1:20 went by and Bill Dobbins took the piano bench we decided enough was really to much and we declared our own end to the Festival.

For City’s Daily Jazz Blog click here

We can hardly believe it.  Back in February we bought tickets to Peter Frampton Guitar Circus for the 8th day of the Festival and it has come and gone.  But back to the beginning.  Last night (afternoon really) we got in line at Max at 4 under a dripping sky with no shelter to await the 6:15 show of Hilario Duran Trio.  We were joined in line by many friends both from our “other” life and “line friends.” Fortunately the drizzle abated and we were left to stand in the cool damp until the sound check was completed by about 5:30.  Mercifully the volunteers in charge at Max have elected to open the doors as soon as the hall is available, rather than waiting until 30 minutes before which is Jazz Fest Rules.  Of course at venues with food to sell this works to the venue’s advantage as well as those waiting, a true win-win.

Going into the 8th night of music there is a tendency to get a bit jaded.  A group that is “merely” excellent and would be a wonderful show at any other time of year becomes “merely” excellent.  Where is the incredibly superb I was hoping for? This was the case with Duran and his group they really were excellent and a pleasure to listen to, but so were many other shows we’ve heard this festival and we were not totally thrilled as we might have been hearing them in a stand alone show at a club.  Also we were anticipating the Frampton show.  We left about 10 minutes before the show was over to claim our seats in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theater (gad I hate that name, especially now that Kodak is a fading memory – how ironic is that?).  We were on the left center aisle in the 2nd row of the Loge with a great view of the performers and of the phone screens of the people in front of us who did not understand the meaning of “no photography/no video/no recording” like so many others all week long.  I haven’t been tempted since I really don’t need a fuzzy dark picture of a performer on stage when I can get online a sharp well lit picture.  —___ stepping down from my soap box.

Robert Cray Band opened the show with thirty minutes of great playing and singing.  There was then a thirty minute break while they reset the stage, removing all of Robert Cray’s equipment and shuffling Peter Frampton’s Guitar Circus equipment forward and conducting a swift sound check before bringing on Peter Frampton.  Like so many he has grown older and grayer and balder.  He has also become a more mature performer sustaining a 90 minute show with energy and variety that kept me moving in my seat.  He brought on Don Felder, also from a past that I had not followed but now find I enjoy.  I would complain that the bass and drums were louder than necessary and prevented me from hearing many of the nuances that I am sure were there.  However they were not so loud as to drive me to earplugs or an early departure. Frampton and the other guitar players changed off instruments at every song change in a manner that was balletic.  The change of guitar in each case signaled at different kind of music and it was clear that the instruments were carefully matched to the tune and the genre.  We stayed glued to our seats through the long ovation to be rewarded with a great encore.

We swept out onto the street, having survived long lines at our respective facilities, and headed for Montage and a planned rendezvous with the Towlers.  It was not to be, we got in sight of the door and saw a waiting line 25 minutes into the set and there were smokers.  We veered off and after a stop at Abbots for Almond Chocolate Custard we worked our way to the Big Tent with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band.  We arrived in the middle of “The Saints’ and the place was rocking.  We found a place to lean and joined in until the Tent was closed at 11.  We headed immediately to State Street Grill Jam Session which was packed. We found places to stand and heard a wide variety of local talent and Festival Performers.  Janelle Reichman, tenor sax with Five Play, was a standout.  We are determined to hear her group at Max at 10 tonight.  While standing and listening when one set ended some idiot loudly whistled his approval in Carol’s ear causing a lot of discomfort for her for the rest of the evening.  If you must whistle, scream, yodel your approval PLEASE be sure no one’s ear is in line, you could cause pain and hearing loss.  If I knew who the culprit was, I would press charges for assault.  –__ second soapbox in one post, remarkable.

Tonight’s plan, if it can be called that, starts at Kilbourn with Kurt Elling, it is almost time to get in line, it is 1:35 as I write.  Then we are thinking about trying to get into the Little for Amy Lynn and The Gun  Show.  Failing that Christ Church, Gwilym Simcock, and/or Lutheran Church, Tobin Waldorff’s Wah-Wah.  As noted we plan to wrap at Max with Five Play, before heading over to State Street until time to collapse.

I’ll post a wrap sometime tomorrow and then go silent for a bit.

Had a great night, we “only” got to four venues and they were all wonderful music experiences.  There was plenty of buzz that Ravi Coltrane was going to be packed and it would be a good idea to be in line early.  We thought we were early arriving at the venue at 3:15 for a 6 PM show.  The line was already down Jazz Street and we were at the turn into the alley.  Plenty of interesting folk to talk with as always so the time went by easily.  We managed to get our favorite seats on the right center aisle at the back of the front section.  Easy access to the exit should that become necessary and great site line unless there is a pianist who sets the piano with the keyboard to the left.  Most of them seem to have set the piano so the keyboard is toward the audience to keep them in closer communication with their group.  This was not even a issue with Coltrane, the sax was front and slightly left of center.  We enjoyed the entire performance – what’s not to enjoy with a great sax player backed by fine sidemen.  We sadly left just before the last number to get in line outside Hatch to hear Harold Levy.

We had heard him the night before with Trio Globo and were intrigued at what he would do in Hatch which is used for solo piano with no enhancement, it is a pure acoustic venue and has limited seating. Levy came out and started playing without any introduction.  Midway through he seemed to remember he had his harmonicas along and got one out for one number.  At the end of the performance a standing extended applause brought him back for an encore.  Before he played he commented as have so many others about the wonderful piano, the wonderful hall and the great audience.  His words, paraphrased, “You listened so intently you almost frightened me.”  Then he played one more piece starting with the harmonica.  

Where to go from there?  We had a plan, but we were hungry.  So we stopped at Bricks & Motor food truck where Carol had the CousCous and I had a lobster roll which we carried over to the Big Tent where we found a table and relaxed for 10 minutes.  Then we headed over to Lutheran Church for Jacob Karlzon 3 (JK3).  This is the group that got delayed in Iceland the day before.  Well, two got delayed and Karlzon got in and performed with Valery Tolstoy on Wednesday instead of Thursday.  In any event Karlzon played piano and some electronics that actually added to the experience and his bassist and drummer were both wonderful and well worth the wait  We stayed through the entire performance and then beat it though the beginning rain to Max for Carmen Souza.  She is one hot number!  We only heard the last third of her performance and would gladly hear her again tonight in Xerox if we didn’t have main stage tickets for Peter Frampton Guitar Circus.  

No way to do both and that is the blessing and curse of XRIJF.  We are going to try to get into Hilario Duran  Trio at Max at 6:15.  Find some food there and get over to Kodak Hall in time to find our seats by 7:30.  If that gets out by 9:30, who knows where the buzz will take us, maybe to Lutheran or if later to the Big Tent for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band (if we can’t hear them from a block away).

After tonight there is only one more night of Jazz Fest.  I am ready to resume life in the real world, but I really am going to have withdrawal from planning, running and writing about it.  Also Carol is going to have to relearn how to cook.  We haven’t had a dinner home since June 20!

Got our runnin’ shoes on.  We got in line early at Montage to hear Golding, Stewart and Bernstein.  The Towelers were headed there as well.  Since we got in on the first batch of 25 we grabbed a table for 4 and they were able to join us.  Great table, even had service.  By the time we had drunk our drinks we decided it was time to move on.  Couldn’t get into Max for Aaron Goldberg so we reversed course to Xerox Auditorium for Trio Globo with Howard Levy (long ‘e’).  They would have blown my socks off had I been wearing any.  Levy plays piano and harmonica, both supremely.  How do you sustain a note while simultaneously playing chords up and down the scale on one small harmonica?  The drummer did an extended solo on tambourine eliciting more sounds than I knew the instrument had and playing with several different rhythm styles.  All the while the cello was a bowed instrument a plucked instrument and played guitar fashion at various times. He used a Bartok cello piece as the basis for a wonderful trip into another space.  The hall was packed if not sold out and we stayed to the last note, buying a couple of cds on the way out.

Next we headed, still with the Towlers (how amazing is it for us to stick with another couple through three changes of venue?), for Lutheran Church where the Trio had morphed into a lady vocalist with piano – that would be Karlzon and Tolstoy (yes from that family).  Unfortunately Mary Anna and I decided to head for Abilene and more Zydeco leaving Carol and Bill to catch up with us.  We never made it into the venue.  The sound in the line was painful, neither of us wanted to get any closer.  We picked up our partners back at Lutheran and went our separate ways.  Carol and I got some dinner, her at Ludwigs and me back to the cajun, blackened chicken.  Then we got in line at Max for Aaron Goldberg Trio.  It was a long wait, but it was worth it.  Three masterful musicians communicating with the music seamlessly.  We stayed to the end.  Then we walked to our apartment for a refresher before heading out again to the State Street Bar and Grill Jam Session.  The jazz continued to flow and when Bob Sneider declared a break at 1 AM we decided it was enough, I could barely keep my eyes open.

We are leaving the apartment at EARLY at 3:30ish to get in line for Ravi Coltrane at Kilbourn.  I hope that isn’t too late.  The buzz is fierce.  We will most likely be standing in the rain along with many others.  Our plans for the evening are a jumble.  My planner shows Zoe Rahman, Howard Levy, Gamak and Carmen Souza.  We may also get to Lutheran Church for whoever is actually playing there.

On to the street!

Now that you have had a moment to read Day 4 here comes Day 5 – and it is beginning to feel about that fast.  We are past the midpoint and it has just kept getting better.  We just had to hear Alfredo Rodriguez again, this time at Hatch Recital Hall.  He was wonderful solo.  Less glitz and more solid musical performance.  He played almost without interruption for 45 minutes, pausing long enough to tell us what he had played and would be playing and to thank us for the warm reception he had received.  In my estimation the best description of his playing was lyrical.  There was almost no turnover in the audience once he began and the hall was sold out.  We quickly moved on to Max to Michael Wollny Trio while I dined on Max’ chicken Caesar salad.  Carol took a pass on food for the time being.  We enjoyed the performance but were not wildly enthusiastic.  At the end we quickly moved on to Christ Church to catch the last half of Julian Arguelles Quartet.  They had setup rather deep into the performance area and the sound, always a problem in Christ Church in any event,was more lost than usual.  It seemed a shame as the group sounded pretty good despite the loss of sound and echo.

We stayed to the end and then headed for Lutheran Church where Eero Koivistoinen Quartet was playing (I dare you pronounce that or the names of the rest of the Finnish performers).  Carol dropped off on the way to pick up dinner at Ludwigs on Jazz Street.  Eventually I continued on to the church and Carol caught up with me a bit later, blessing on simple technology – texting (or should that be txtng).  Much to our surprise this group from Finland played some wonderful straight ahead jazz.  The melodies were new to us, but the performance style was straight forward with none of the usual quirkiness of Nordic performance.  If I get the count right that was our fourth performance and it was only 9 PM!

Onward to Xerox Auditorium.  We had not been there yet this year.  It is large, the doors bang whenever someone leaves or enters and sometimes it is cold, also it tends to swallow sound, all reasons to stay away unless you really, really want to hear the performer.  We REALLY REALLY wanted to hear Anat Cohen play clarinet and sax with her great piano, bass and drummer.  So did a lot of other people.  I don’t think anyone got locked out, but the hall was packed.  So far this is my favorite of the first five nights and may go down as the best performance overall.  In fact if there is a better one I hope I don’t miss it.  Anat and her group chose a wonderful mix and the Brazilian works she chose were, to use her words, high energy.  After they left the stage and the house lights came up, the audience refused to leave and took up rhythmic clapping.  Clearly thrilled, Anat retook the stage and gave a wonderful slow, quiet performance that left us wanting yet more.  I have never heard a clarinet played so quietly, I have never heard an audience so silent.  We were thrilled.  We tried to buy a CD for her to sign, but the last one was snatched up as we reached for it. We left the hall to find it raining.  We had already been to Max and Kilbourn and the Big Tent is way loud and out of the way from our apartment from Xerox, so we called it an early night and were drying off in the apartment by 10:30.

Tonight’s route looks like Goldings, Stewart and Bernstein (NOT a law firm) at Montage then Max for a wrap on that show – Aaron Goldberg – then on to Lutheran for Jacob Kartzon.  Xerox to hear Trio Globo and a wrap at Kilbourn for Gretchen Parlato.  I’ll let you know what actually happen tomorrow.