Audrey

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. We left in a Purple Haze. ...

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. Singer Frank Lacy gave an impassioned, powerful rendition of the story about saxophonist Lester Young, who married a white woman, and found “love is never easy street.” Scott Robinson started the tune with an amazing unaccompanied sax solo ...

On a lovely spring Sunday, we took Lola, Ollie and Sugar Baby for a walk at the National Arboretum in Washington DC. It felt very spacious and quiet. Trees were blooming everywhere. We were surprised to find huge columns, which were moved here from the Capitol when it was expanded. The dogs loved their walk and so did we.

We were lucky to be in Washington DC for the cherry blossoms. We decided to take a morning off from work and picked the perfect sunny morning. It was so festive: lots of people taking photos in fancy dresses, people dancing, and everyone just having a great time!