Upon arriving in Vancouver for the AAAI Conference, I took a photo walk and water taxi to False Creek. In two hours it was misty, then sunny, then it hailed, then sunny, then gale force winds. Welcome to Vancouver! There is a wonderful public market on Granville Island, and I found smoked salmon, some rice paper rolls, and a little soup for lunch. Granville Island was an industrial area and became an art gallery area, perhaps best illustrated by the “Giants” painted onto cement towers....

The power was out, yet the music lit up the night as Delfayo Marsalis led a joyful set at the Bach Dynamite and Dancing Society in Half Moon Bay. Getting there was half the fun, as California was in the midst of a major winter storm, with high winds and strong rain. And when Micah and I arrived, we learned that there was a power outage from the storm, so the set would be played acoustically by battery-powered camper lights....

On a warm Sunday afternoon in January, the Bach Dynamite and Dancing Society offered the best of both worlds. Indoors, we enjoyed an energizing set led by Australian bassist Linda May Han Oh. She was playing fresh compositions from her album, The Glass Hours. The album is described as “a collection of works based on abstract themes of the fragility of time and life; exploring paradoxes seeded within our individual and societal values....

Julian Lage led a quartet through an inspiring take on Jazz Standards on a rainy Sunday evening at SFJazz. The fourth member of the quartet, Chris Potter, was the guest sax player. I love when a band is having a great time, and the quartet seemed just overjoyed with how this set went. Julian was playing a four-night stand at SFJazz and this was the final night. The show was organized as a tribute to seminal jazz guitarist Jim Hall, who was a mentor to Lage....

For Martin Luther King weekend, I drove up to NYC to see Mom & Paul. We had a fantastic visit. And I always love taking photos in New York, so brought my camera along. Our first destination was the Bowery, via the trusty 15-SBS bus. In particular, we were going to the New Museum to see their Judy Chicago exhibit. When we got off the bus, we were on Houston St right near the famous Katz’s Deli....