Late in the afternoon on Easter Sunday, I wandered through the streets of Georgetown, in Washington DC. It was very quiet. I love how actively people plan beautiful little displays of flowers in Washington DC, especially tulips at this time of year. Many houses have lamps which are lit with actual gas, not electricity. I also wondered along the historical canal that goes a hundred miles or so into Maryland. I’ve really been enjoying the long spring – we started with spring in California in mid-January and now continuing it in DC well into mid-April....

Stanley Jordan brought the house down at Blues Alley in Georgetown with his recreation of Jimi Hendrix’s music. The audience rose and soared with the Star Spangled Banner. We grooved to Foxy Lady. We were awed by Jordan’s amazing guitar techniques, including lots of high speed tapping. For the guitar nerds out there, he had a series of awesome guitar tones all night long, which must have been driven by some electronics, as there was no guitar amp anywhere in site....

Monday night in Nashville. What to do? We chose The Time Jumpers, a band that’s been together for 24 years. With three fiddles, a pedal steel guitar, at least a half dozen singers, and more, we couldn’t go wrong. The music was a mix of country-western songs with lots of spirited improvisations, as Monday night is the night for the musicians to have fun. The night’s featured singer, Wendy, had been on The Voice and was wonderful....

The Charles Mingus Big Band My birthday present this year was the Charles Mingus Big Band live at Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater. The band was there to celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month and the centential of the birth of iconic bass player and composer Charles Mingus. We were treated to a dynamic concert, full of energy and contrast. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat A highlight was the second tune, a version of the Mingus composition “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” using the lyrics written by Joni Mitchell....

We had a beautiful sunny day for my birthday. Jacob and I rode bikes to the National Mall, and visited the Tidal Basin. The Cherry Blossoms were well past their peak but still beautiful. As we were leaving the Tidal Basin, we came upon this monumental tulip collection.