Hop, Skip, Jump.

Some how we could not get a good map of what we planned put together before hand.  Carol had to meet me there while I held a place in line so we agreed to start at Montage where Miami Sax Quartet was performing.  We like the performance so much that we stayed right there through the set which ran a bit late. 

We left and decided to go to Rochester Club Ballroom where the Sicilian group was just wrapping up, but the food and service were reputed to be excellent.  We never found out.  As we arrived the group was just finishing up and the temperature in the room was so cold I developed goose bumps.  Carol started shivering so we left, the various alligator items on the menu did nothing to encourage us to stay.  We found what to eat on  Jazz Street.  Carol at Ludwigs and I had a Jambalaya plate from a stand.  We hopped over to Lutheran Church to catch the end of the set of Samuel Hallkvist Center which turned out to be very exciting and very avant-garde, too much so for a lot of people. We enjoyed but did not make it back for a full set.

We  skipped down the street to Abilene where Rosie Ledet & The Zydeco Playboys were performing in the tent over the parking lot.  Lots of beer, lots of people and great Zydeco music.  We stuck out the balance of the set and were really moving with the beat by the time they wound it down. 

On the way back to Jazz street we stopped at the Big Tent to hear Alison Brown Quartet.  Click on the link to learn more about this really bright banjo player.  We never got seated, but I am not sure we would have stayed in our seats in any event.  This was not Jazz, but it sure was great and there was a lot of jazz in the performance.  We loved it and stayed all the way through.

Jumped on over to Max for Bill Dobbins Trio with Chuck Israels & Rich Thompson.  This was very cool jazz.  The audience seemed to be mostly musicians.  Members of the Eastman Jazz Ensemble were there as was Hilario Duran who had played at Max the night before.  We stopped to talk with Jack Presberg the doctor with the best piano Jazz hands around, at the next table.  We had had maybe too much up tempo and rousing music and after 45 minutes we decided that tiredness and the hope of Abbots Custard warranted a slightly early departure.  Abbots was already closed 🙁

Haven’t plotted out tonight yet.  We have a City Newspaper party at Rochester Contemporary Art on East Ave so we may not get into a 6 PM show unless the rain holds off the crowds.  The phone is on except when it is off for shows.

Late add of proposed map: Christ Church at 6:45 Lutheran Church at 7:30 Big Tent at 8:30 Montage at 10 – go home at 11 and start all over tomorrow

From the sublime to the sublime to the . . .

Words cannot do Stanley Jordan justice.  By the time he was done people were crying, were saying he was channeling some alternate universe, was on a higher plane than the rest of us.  Check him out on YouTube.  Jack Garner introduced him as four guitars in one man.  He used both hands on the neck of his guitar, each playing a different part, then he added the piano, (where did that third hand come from?) and when he finally had to admit he was short a hand he used his chin, or was it his teeth, on the top of neck to strum an open chord he found someplace among the other notes he was already playing.  Oh yes, he took his music from Mozart, Bartok, jazz standards, and anyplace else he could find them.  On YouTube you will find videos with him performing with Les Paul and with Chet Atkins. 

It was hard to imagine we could be further moved until we heard Viktoria Tolstoy at the Lutheran Church.  As predicted by the review of her performance on Sunday the first half was fine, but by the second half of the show the tight connection of her band and singing united to thrill us into sitting very still so as not miss a nuance.  Where to go from that?

Could not get into the Tent to hear Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, it was packed with a line out to Main Street.  So we went on to Xerox to hear Robin McKelle a local performer who has made her mark in Europe and returned to Rochester, at least to own a house and play for us.  We could not get in on the main floor and had to ascend to the upper reaches of Xerox Aud, the balcony.  Great view of the tops of heads, everyone is a bit foreshortened from up there but the sound is great.  We expected a fine show from the previews and from people who heard her earlier show, but our expectations were reduced because of the two great shows we had already heard.  Wrong! she was wonderful.  Her style is more polished performance with some small talk but the substance was great and her band were really together.  Three for three.

Could we keep the string going?  It might have been, but with such great shows under our belt the Kilbourn group Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba’s material seemed repetitious and not really interesting.  As a stand alone show it was probably stupendous, but it had some mighty competition.  We moved on  after 25 minutes to Max to hear the second Cuban pianist Hilario Duran Trio.  His cerebral performance (quoting the D&C reviewer) was also exceedingly good, but we were tired and Carol could not get into it as much as I could, so we started walking for home before the last number.

The tally; we were in five venues for performances on night 4 brining the total number of performances on our Club Pass to 17, so far.  Where can you find a better entertainment value?  $105 invested in December (based on one Club Pass) and we have already had $350 worth of great performances with five nights to go.  I wish my stock investments performed as well.

Night 5 will start at Montage with Miami Sax Quartet and we plan to get to Abilene for Rosie Ledet & The Zydeco Playboys.  Looking at the list it seems we will also try to get to the Lutheran Church – I’m beginning to feel like a member already – and Xerox. 

Click on any of the links to read more about the performers and follow a link up to see the whole schedule – it is daunting to view in its entirety.  Actually each day it is a challenge to map out a route, taking into account the groups we want to see and the logistics of time, place and expected wait time in line.  Dinner is mostly a matter of picking up something handheld to chow on while walking to the next venue.  Onward!

We got off to a great start.  We left the house walking at 3:40 and arrived at the front of Montage at 4:15 or so.  We were not the first to arrive, two other groups were represented by individuals holding place.  By 4:30 the line was filling and by 4:45 the line was beyond the area where it is probable that you would get into the hall.  Chuchito Valdes was the featured artist.  He is Cuban from a line of Cuban pianists and the anticipation was very high.  He played continuously with no break to talk to the audience other than to say THANK YOU at the very end.  We thanked him with two standing ovations and a lot of cheering.  It was great to hear such a different approach to the piano.  It was very high energy.

Onward to Lutheran Church and the Stefan Karlsson Trio.  They were very good, very smooth and well thought out.  After the energy of the prior show, it was a bit low key for me and we left after about 30 minutes to hurry on over to Xerox Auditorium to catch Dmitry Baevsky Quartet from Russia.  We needn’t have hurried, there was plenty of room.  Carol and I agreed that they were pretty good lounge group, have a drink sit around and talk with some smooth jazz in the background.  Thirty minutes of that and we had had enough.

Off to Max to hear Katie Thiroux Trio.  We were surprised to walk right in at 9:45 for the 10 O’clock show.  Sunday night and 5 venues competing for the crowd and she is a definite newcomer.  We split on our appraisal.  Carol, with her vocal training, felt that Katie has a ways to go.  I really liked her singing and the scat.  Yeah I know there were some intonation problems, but she is really cute 🙂

We don’t have a plan yet for tonight other than to get there early and to hear Viktoria Tolstoy at Lutheran and, if possible Robin McKelle at Xerox.   That looks like a conflict, but we will see what plays out.  Now I have to post this and preview the rest on tonight’s acts on YouTube to see what else we must hear.

That’s Xerox Rochester International jazz Festival for the those not in Rochester.

Last night we started out at 5:30 (in line by 4:15) at Harro East, which many of us remember as the auditorium of the JY, to hear Catherine Russell sing for her third trip to the festival in four years.  We had heard her before and didn’t want to miss this year.  The sound in the venue was right on for her and she sang many of the songs from the 20’s that were performed by Fats Waller and later by Louis Armstrong and the band her father lead.  It was a great start to what turned into a wonderful evening even with the scattered rain and chill in the air. 

From there we went to Christ Church to hear a group called Brass Jaw, think of it 3 sax’s and a trumpet in an 1800’s church.  They had arrived an hour before the performance at the end of a 38 hour trek from England with a lengthy stop in Ireland – where apparently they got no rest.  They certainly filled the hall and with sound and with audience.  We stayed through because we were enjoying it so much.

We ate our sandwiches on the hoof (sorry Carol) as we headed to Lutheran Church of the Reformation – it should have been a five minute walk, but the crowds gathering around the two street stages impeded progress.  We arrived to find the church full to almost overflowing to hear Torben Waldorff Quartet with Torben on the guitar.  We advanced our seating toward the center as the set progressed waiting for the last note to fade before dashing out the door to find it raining.  Fortunately the car was across the street with our rain gear so we got out the coats and headed over to Kilbourn Hall to get in line for Billy’s Band. 

This was their fourth performance in two nights and the hall rapidly filled to the limit.  We were way down front and there were some high school jazz musicians sitting in front of us and their enthusiasm was infectious.  The performance was over the top and is was great to see them on a stage where they could move around.  The last time we saw them was at Max which is a nice venue, but the stage is conducive to a group that stays in one place for the performance.

We tried to go to the after hours club across town, but parking was difficult, it was raining and by now it was 11:30 pm.  I must admit after seven hours in the crowds and four of them listening intently to great acts, I was tired.  We made it home before falling asleep.

O. K. so we are not on the road.  Gee 2 is in storage for a bit while we catch up with things in Rochester. 

This week – nine nights actually – is devoted to the Jazz Festival in the title.  We have Club Passes, bought last December, just in case, which give us access to ten venues doing two shows a night for the nine nights of the festival.  That is a possibility of ninety different club shows.  Plus there are free shows – four or five a night, plus 6 headliner events which we have not bought tickets for, yet.  Missed Gladys Knight last night. 

The line up is incredible.  The opening night we went to four shows.  We stared with Mose Allison in Kilbourn Hall and left after 30 minutes to catch Stan Tracey at Christ Church (all UK performers there) and then after a stop to pick up sandwiches and eat them we were on to Lutheran Church where the theme is Nordic Jazz.  We then got in line at 8:45 for a 10 o’clock show at Max featuring Michael Klaeshammer.  This was a show where we saw no one leave – of course we were sitting way up front.  The show was supposed to end at 11, but Klaeshammer asked if anyone wanted to leave and then played on until 11:15 when the clean up crew wanted to get in.  We walked the 3 miles home and it was just enough of a walk to get us over the excitement so we could get to sleep. 

We have a line up planned for tonight starting with Catherine Russell at 5:30.  If you are in Rochester you will know where to find us through next Saturday.  If you really want to locate us text me, send email (my phone is with me me) or try to call me, I may answer if I am not in a show and can hear the ring.

Those of you in other cities or on the road, if you love Jazz, plan on joining us this year or next.  This is one of the biggest jazz Festivals around.  They project attendance of 150,000 in a metro area of a million.  Last year was 133,000.

We have decided that driving to Alaska is not possible this summer.  I am taking the first steps toward retirement and do not want to rush the transition of my practice to our son.

We will be staying in Rochester at least through June.  As the transition proceeds, I will see when I can get away.  Then we will leave by plane or RV for points to be determined.  I will post when I know the plan. 

In the mean time we have our Rochester International Jazz Festival Passes and hope to see many of you there.  For our RVing friends we would love to entertain you if you are passing near Rochester, NY.  The Finger Lakes are really grand.

Since writing last we have finished crossing the US to Virginia and spent 9 wonderful days with Malena, Dan, Alex and Cory.  We had a delightful evening with the Robbs at Devil’s Backbone and are at the  moment of writing we are northbound on I390 about 60 miles south of Rochester. 

The homeward drive has been reasonably uneventful.  One hour and a half hold up for a truck turned over on I81 in the middle of Maryland and the usual assortment of nutcases behind the wheel of assorted vehicles, is about par for the course of any long drive.

We plan to be in Rochester for the month of May and the first part of June.  Just heard that Club Passes for Jazz Fest are sold out.  We have two that will go on sale the end of May, when we know we will be leaving for Alaska for real this time.

Until re roll out again.

Paul/Xctraveler

All of a sudden Carol is posting daily.  I cannot write my long posts and do it daily.  I won’t!  Well I do try to write daily, but it takes a day or three to assemble the posts usually.

You may be wondering about the () around Ann.  We have known each other since before first grade as many of you know.  Her given name is Ann Carol a single name although it looks like two with no “-“.  I have known her by that name, by a familiar name “Anky” and mostly as Carol.  There are other names that are best kept just between ourselves.  The Ann Carol was not used much until she started actively producing art and she chose to resume that name as her artist’s name.  When a call comes in for Ann Carol I know it is from the Arts community.  When they ask for Ann I know they haven’t a clue and Anky is only used by aunts, uncles and older cousins of whom there are too few remaining.  Anyhow, I haven’t a clue why I wrote this.

For our visit to Berea, Kentucky you can read her post at Message in a Minute Entry #3.   

When we left the west coast we had a tentative plan that included the COE stops we have made and a couple of Escapee Rainbow Parks that we had never seen.  It turned out that the Missouri SKP (alternative spelling) was a bit too far south for us to reach, but we did divert a bit south to come to Raccoon Valley Escapee RV Park, just north of Knoxville, TN.  We laughed as we drove up, because we drove right by Volunteer RV Park that we stayed at in January of 2006 for our visit to Oakridge, TN.  The park is under reconstruction with the building having its space almost doubled and a new section of the park being developed and leveled as we sit in the older section of the park which is quite nice.  We back up to a stream and there is a wonderful nature trail, quite steep, just across the creek.

We drove to Great Smokey Mountain NP to swing through Cades Cove before the summer traffic  clogs it up and learned as we arrived that it is closed for major road reconstruction until five days from now.  We drove through the park from Townsend to Gatlinburg very slowly and then though Gatlinburg as fast as we could.  I cannot even begin to describe the lineup of chain everything mixed with amusement park rides, Ripley’s Believe it or Not, and ice cream and pancake joints all lined up along the highway like a gauntlet of beggars looking to take my money in exchange for items of dubious value.  We continued on to Pigeon Forge which is only slightly more charming, but does offer three huge outlet malls in a row where almost any clothing item can be bought at a discount for almost anyone.  I qualify that because Carol finds the selection of clothes in her size to be limited to nonexistent.  She did find something to buy however.  

Back in Raccoon Valley RV we gathered with our neighbors, Jim and Dee and Earl and Barb to exchange tales from the road and other assorted common experiences.  When we all agreed it was time to eat, we went our separate ways.  Carol and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and the picnic table next to the creek outside our door.  We dined out there and were sitting and relaxing when the sun set taking away the last of the nice warmth.  Nice end to a great day.

And today – Tuesday, April 20 – it is raining which is why I have time to write.

For those who don’t know, COE stands for US Army Corp of Engineers.  They are much maligned and maybe deservedly so in New Orleans and other places, but as RVers we love them.  Wherever they have created massive works on water in the US they have wrapped up by creating campgrounds in some of the most beautiful places and these campgrounds are generally spacious, well maintained and really inexpensive, especially for seniors with National Golden Age Pass or America the Beautiful Pass.  These entitle us to 50% off of already inexpensive camping. 

Having called the Lustigs in Prairie Village KS (Kansas City KS area) and agreed to get together, we  found a COE facility just south of Lawrence KS (home of Kansas University) on the south shore of Clinton Lake, a lake created by the Corp.  Our plan was to take the coach into Prairie Village and park on the street as we did two years ago.  Saturday dawned clear and warm.  It seemed a shame to give up a wonderful campsite in a great park on the water so we called and the Lustigs agreed to a change of plans.  They drove out to us and we had lunch together, Carol put together a wonderful omelet plate for each of us and we sat around the campsite and enjoyed reconnecting and just relaxing in the gorgeous weather.  Eventually we drove into Lawrence to wander the Main Street shops (actually Massachusetts Ave) and eventually we ended up at Pachamama which Dianne had chosen.  The meals were very good and the company even better.  I hope we get to see Diane and Marty again before another two years pass.

We started east in earnest on Sunday and came to a screeching halt in less than 60 miles to tour the Harry S Truman Library and Museum in Independence MO.  Leaving there we had a goal of spending a night in Illinois.  In all of our crisscrossing the country we had never stopped in IL overnight which meant our door map had a blank in the IL space. 

First we had to stop for the night in Missouri.  The best we could do on the way to Rend Lake in Illinois was Wal Mart in Sedalia, MO.  When we got to Rend Lake for our overnight stop, we realized it was too nice to just leave in the morning.  We booked a second night.  In case you are wondering, young wage earners would pay $24 a night for the privilege, that is what two nights cost us.  We biked and hiked and lazed around, hard to do all three in one day but we are good.  We had a small ceremony as Carol affixed the Illinois sticker:

On the second morning we packed up and headed for yet another COE, Canal View Campground at Land Between the Lakes, the Kentucky end. 

We move on again in the AM to Berea KY.

Liberal Kansas is situated on US 54 in the south west of Kansas, just over the border from Oklahoma.  There is little reason to be on this route unless you happen to want to get from I 40 to I 70 on the diagonal.  This is how we happened to be on this road.  Carol was reading the paper map and noticed that alongside Liberal there was a notation “Dorothy’s House”  in   Kansas there could only be one Dorothy!  A call confirmed that they would be open when we got there and that we could park the motorhome on the street in front of the house.   In 1982 the Kansas governor was convinced to declare Dorothy Gale a resident of Liberal, Kansas and to declare that this was the one and only location of her home. 

A resident donated his house, which is the exact floor plan of the house in the movie, to the County Museum and it was furnished precisely as in the movie.  Tours are usually lead by local high school girls dressed as Dorothy.  We happened to arrive when there were no girls present, but a staff person who does their training gave us the tour which, after touring the house, follows the Yellow Brick Road into a large structure in which the entire Yellow Brick Road is laid out with all of the major scenes in the movie characterized.   It was a hoot! 

It was now 5 PM and we needed a place to stay the night and there was another attraction to see, The Mid America Air Museum located on the site of the former Beech Aircraft Manufacturing facility.  We had called earlier and been told we were welcome to park in their lot overnight and tour in the morning.  We backtracked 2 miles on US 54 – here named The Yellow Brick Road and Pancake Way (a tale for another time) and followed signs for the museum into their lot.  We parked near the fence between the lot and the flight line.  There is a collection of old Jet War Birds out there and just beyond is an active runway.  Since we have stayed at Dockweiler RV park a few take offs and landings by small aircraft were hardly noticeable.  More noticeable was a rail line with several grade crossings in ear shot.

For those into aviation history this museum is a delight with planes ranging back into the ‘30’s and earlier arrayed with some more modern aircraft and just enough WW II War Birds to attract some of us.  The NASA display is minimal and disappointing, but that is not what this about.  I was enthralled with the WW II era Link Trainer and the B 24 and the equipment used to train mechanics on the repair and maintenance of those fabulous bombers.  There is also a complete Norden Bombsite on display.  Carol enjoyed the exhibit even though she is not quite as aviation crazed as I am.  It was a chilly morning and the hanger which houses the display is not heated so eventually the chill got to us and we retreated to the gift shop and found ourselves in conversation with the staff people who were very warm and welcoming.  While we were there we saw two school groups that arrived on one bus being toured through the museum.  Other than that we saw no other tourists.

We left something for another visit to Liberal.  They claim to be pancake crazed, but we chose to move one without sampling their pancakes as we had had breakfast it was not quite time for lunch.