Following our annual tradition, Micah and I had a fantastic father-son backpacking trip in California’s Sierra Nevada. Of course, we missed Jacob, especially when we saw the lakes full of big fat trout. Throughout the trip, we enjoyed beautiful weather. The highs were in the 70s, lows in the 50s. We looked up to brilliant blue skies. True to the idea of wilderness, we saw few people once the weekend ended (Our trip was from Sunday to Wednesday)....
As the lights dimmed, members of Shakti entered the stage to a thunderous standing ovation. The minimal stage set (a low riser, draped in black, and spread with a few Indian carpets) gave few clues to the amazingly complex music soon to follow. As the musicians took their cross-legged seats, a subtle droning sound filled the room. The musicians tuned their instruments casually and settled into their places, like friends relaxing at home....
A wild mix of blues, jazz, cuban funk, oh my! Micah and I enjoyed so many genres in one day at this year’s San Jose Jazz Festival. On the main stage, we discovered Vanessa Collier, a passionate young blues singer from South Carolina. In addition to having a captivating voice, Vanessa sang the blues through her saxophone. On the cover photo, she is jamming with Laura Chavez, a brilliant blues guitar player from nearby Mountain View....
To see Micah run the San Francisco Half Marathon, I arose at 5:30 am. Driving up 280, I watched the most beautiful sunrise unfold over the East Bay hills. There was no traffic in San Francisco, so I arrived at the Golden Gate Bridge parking lot by 6:20 am and the clouds were still pink, with some sun coming in from the east. The top-ranked marathoners were already across the bridge....
We’ve enjoyed Maria Schneider several times now, but this is the first time we’ve heard the Orchestra in San Francisco. The compositions were lush and original, and ranged across many of her albums. We were glad to have time to catch a quick meal of Thai food beforehand with Micah and Victoria. “Sputnik” was my favorite tune this time, with the encore “Walking by Flashlight” a close second. Audrey ordered a copy of the book of poems that inspired many compositions, 100 Postcards to Jim Harrison....