Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Hvide Lam Jazz in Copenhagen

I got the change to sit in with "Happy Hansen," a traditional jazz group at Hvide Lam, a small jazz club in the center of Copenhagen. My friend Jan Tapdrup and another Dane suggested we drop by after dinner.

When the "Happy Hansen" took a break I got into a conversation with the bass player, Paul. Originally from Australia, he'd been in Copenhagen for thirteen years or so, playing three or four nights a week. He played a solid double bass, and his slap style (on some tunes) reminded me a lot of Paul Matulich, with whom I played for some 15 years from the late-70s to the early-90s.


After I mentioned I played piano, Paul invited me to sit in, which took a bit of doing since we had to uncover the piano hidden up against the wall. It was a great set, and they had me singing Bill Bailey and Honeysuckle Rose before the night was over. It's really a thrill to play with other groups like this!

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Article 19 gigs...

My quartet, Article 19, played Caltopia 2007 at the Encinal Yacht Club in Alameda on September 9th. Regulars were Dave Kawamoto on sax and clarinet and Randy Hunt on bass. Tony Oliver joined us on guitar, and Mark Ryan from the club played drums. Sue Rau and Carol Woltring, club members, did some vocals. Always a great time!








Roy Kaufmann joined Article 19 on drums and Sue Rau on vocals - for a gig at the Palm Room of the St. Claire Hotel in San Jose on October 27. The job was in conjunction with the 25th annual conference of the California Council for the Promotion of History (CCPH), which I used to head up, and it was open to the public as well. A great venue with really nice acoustics.

We played on September 9, 2006 at Caltopia, a Cal boats rendezvous at the Encinal Yacht Club in Alameda. Mark Ryan, from the club, joined us on drums for this one, and during the last set Tony Oliver from Alameda sat in on jazz guitar. It was a very hot night.






More photos