Idyllwild - 2013.
I've lived in the area now for
JUST over 8 years, and this only my
third time going to this WONDERFUL
opportunity for those who love music and art.
My first time going was a few years ago.
Mainly to see saxophonist
Tom Scott...
...Though my friend
Sean Longstreet, a wonderful
musician (and teacher!) himself,
was a part of a big band performing
that year also.
My next
Jazz in the Pines
was only last year - 2012.
One of the headliners was Kenny Burrell.
I had interviewed
Kenny not long before the festival about his
FIRST SOLO RECORDING IN A FIFTY-PLUS
YEAR CAREER! I aired the interview at KVCR
shortly before the festival and was given the honor
(I feel) of introducing Kenny on stage AT the festival.
I thank Bubba Jackson for
that opportunity, and a MAJOR thank you to
Regina Davis for arranging the interview,
and SO much more.
She gets a big
thank you this year as well.
With her help, I could've had access
to pretty much any and ALL of the artists
for an interview in advance of the 2013 festival.
Unfortunately, at this point my A&E show is only
monthly (soon to change), so only a few
interviews filled my slate.
The interviews I got though?
My GOD they were fun! Ya shoulda
been there. Though you CAN access them
with a click HERE. This'll take you to the website for
KVCR, in the podcast section. You may still have to
select "KVC-Arts" then scroll down to whichever
show you want - the newest on top.
interviews you can access via podcast.
SO glad she opted to come to the studio for this.
We got better audio AND (more importantly) got
to hang out and cut up before recording. Of course the
cutting up continued INTO the interview.
I mean, I started
by asking her - as a person
hailing from Long Island - how long
it took before she stopped using the hard "g" in those
very words... long Gisland. She replied "What makes
you think I've stopped?" It went from there.
One of a few cut-ups
I did NOT include on the air
was when she starting referring to herself
as "a New York Jew." She said this repeatedly
and eventually asked if I noticed. I told her I did,
"...but as a Presbyterian from Kentucky, I felt funny
pointing it out." She loved this, and had a great time
telling of her times performing with Diane Schuur - occasionally scatting in Yiddish?!?!
OH! Speaking of which,
Diane was ALSO one of the
performers at Jazz in the Pines this year,
and I knew ahead of time that Janis would be
joining her on stage.
Janis ended up spilling the
beans though, so a BUNCH of people went sailing
from Janis' performance, to catch Dianne at another
stage about 25 minutes later. I made SURE to see
Janis perform. And it's a treat to do so. She's
a wit, and MAYyyyyy start to cut up in the
middle of a gig. Actually - you can pretty
much count on it. You can
see it in her eyes.
Go to janismann.com (click HERE) for more.
You HAVE to see Janis live when you can. And
if you can, go to a more intimate venue. One where
the performers and the audience can see each other.
She WILL interact! At this performance, loved
having Joe Bagg on piano, and it was
a real treat to see Henry Franklin
on Bass. Skipper.
Skipper's an area player who
you can often see performing as part of the Pierce Street
Jazz series at La Sierra University. When you see him,
and please do, take note of his bass. Particularly - that
carved lion's head at the top. Nice!
The next man I HAVE to mention is Clayton Cameron.
Clayton was there last year
leading his own group (The Jass Explosion)
and I don't know HOW many years beyond.
This year he led his own group and played with at
LEAST Janis also. There could've easily been more.
Clayton's credits include lesser knowns like
Sammy Davis Jr and Tony Bennett.
And it goes up from there.
He always brings great players to the table,
whether or not it's his name out front. I hope that
I'll have an interview with him soon.
We talked about it.
You HAVE to see Janis live when you can. And
if you can, go to a more intimate venue. One where
the performers and the audience can see each other.
She WILL interact! At this performance, loved
having Joe Bagg on piano, and it was
a real treat to see Henry Franklin
on Bass. Skipper.
Skipper's an area player who
you can often see performing as part of the Pierce Street
Jazz series at La Sierra University. When you see him,
and please do, take note of his bass. Particularly - that
carved lion's head at the top. Nice!
The next man I HAVE to mention is Clayton Cameron.
leading his own group (The Jass Explosion)
and I don't know HOW many years beyond.
This year he led his own group and played with at
LEAST Janis also. There could've easily been more.
Clayton's credits include lesser knowns like
Sammy Davis Jr and Tony Bennett.
And it goes up from there.
He always brings great players to the table,
whether or not it's his name out front. I hope that
I'll have an interview with him soon.
We talked about it.
the Diane Schuur performance.
I noticed her drummer was Tony Moore.
Didn't get to say hello to him, but I had met him
last year, a very humble drummer whose camera was
about to crap out when he wanted a picture
standing next to Billy Childs (one OF those
players Clayton might bring in).
Okay. More soon.
There was a lot to say,
and this installment has already gone long.
Simple enough to divide it into two. Check back
for word on The Ray Goren Band, Tim Weisberg,
Rob Thorsen, Casey Abrams, some REALLY
cool art, and more!
