Today I had a nice visit to the Olbrich Botanical Garden in Madison. I’ve purchased a pass for the city bikes, and I picked up an electric bike nearby. It was a nice 15 minute ride along the Capital Bike Path, which went adjacent to extensive community gardens. The botanical garden has 16 acres of land, and is planted in sections with varying themes. One area was a Thai garden, and it has a Thai temple but this was closed for repairs. ...
The Orrin Evans Quartet took the stage of the Madison Jazz Festival on a beautiful evening at 7 pm. Audrey and I packed a picnic dinner, including fresh sugar peas from the morning farmer’s market. The terrace was packed with people, most with plastic pitchers of beer, in most various states of disattention to the music. Which was unfortunate as Evans led a blazing, innovative set with super talented musicians. ...
Saxophonist Miguel Zenón joined with Pianist Luis Perdomo to perform songs from Latin America as a duo. It was a treat to hear music without any amplification inside a gallery of a local arts space. I appreciated the full emotional range of Zenón’s saxophone, and he inserted fun quotes of jazz classics as he played. Perdomo sensitively accompanied Zenón with fluid time in ballads and driving Latin rhythms in the uptempo pieces. They played selections from the “El Arte del Bolero” albums. ...
A hot tip led us to Madison’s Yahara River for the annual Fools’ Flotilla. This boat parade flowed down the river between Madison’s two lakes on a beautiful Sunday morning. The end destination was the Marquette Neighborhood Association’s Waterfront Festival. Good zany fun. Click any picture for bigger images
Raul Midón kicked off the Madison Jazz Festival. Nothing better to make me feel welcome in town than a local Jazz Fest! Raul is a virtuoso guitar player, and he generates a lot of sound for one guy: strumming, slapping, fingerpicking and more. At one point, Raul played his bongos with one hand, his guitar with the other hand, and imitated a trumpet thru pursed lips. He’s also a wonderful songwriter and vocalist. His one man show held the audience entranced for two sets. ...