The 20th Annual Jazz in the Pines - part 3

So check THIS out.

This rather COOL pic 

is a natural choice for me to 

start off my 3rd and final installment on the 

2013 Jazz in the Pines in Idyllwild. The art is by Marcia Gawecki, and there's a cool tie-in interwoven in several ways with this... and her. 

SOOOoooooo.... 

many GREAT acts to catch over 

this 2-day affair! Some are national headliners. 

Some are local favorites. ALL are WELL worth seeing! 

And SOOOOOOooo..... many people came 

TO see... and hear.... and taste... 

and more!

This year I was asked to

introduce Casey Abrams to the stage.

If you DON'T know this guy's name, well,

a quick google search will land you with Gawd

knows HOW many hits. Take a look at that picture above.

The lower-right corner EASILY represents folks there

JUST for him. Anyway - check out his website

for a bio, schedule and more,

but in a nutshell: 

Casey's family moved to
the Idyllwild area when he was quite young,
and he attended his first Summer Arts' Camp
somewhere around the age of 10. He studied under
Marshall Hawkins, and graduated from the
Idyllwild Arts' Academy in 2009, and then
attended college at CU Boulder.

(((Ah! THAT'S it! THAT'S why I like him!)))

Now this is the part
that Casey asked me NOT to
talk about when introducing him on
stage - his involvement with American Idol.
He placed well on the show, and has been on the
program numerous times since. But here's why I 
mention it now. I have to recognize that MANY people 
reading this may only know him FROM American Idol 
(unless you were lucky enough to catch him on 
campus, or maybe on Pearl Street. 

I don't KNOW this mind you - just guessing). 

I don't really blame him for not wanting 
the Idol thing to be some kind of focal point. 
So many past winners were SO pop-oriented...
and didn't really go horribly far. Don't get me
wrong. Some winners (or others who placed at
some level) DO have decent gigs now.

Others have a disc with their name on it
sitting on their shelf.

Casey's line is ANYTHING but bubble gum 
pop.It's SO much more heartfelt.There's a smokey rasp, 
a full voice belt...

...and a continuous drive
on a variety of instruments.
Most of the time accompanied by a friendly
smile - engaging with the audience..

Oh! And speaking of which,
Casey was joined on stage by another
Idyllwild Arts graduate, Jacob Scesney.
I caught Jacob LAST year performing as part
of a small ensemble made up
of Idyllwild grads.

Jacob brought in some wonderful sax work...

...and brought in the clarinet as well.
Not just doubling, mind you, but at one point
playing both instruments simultaneously. Something
you would see from the likes of Rahsaan Roland Kirk.
NICE! And he IS a nice guy too. Jacob soloed
incredibly well, but he didn't JUST solo.
Casey and he played TOGETHER...
SO well.

At one point,
Casey was told of a young girl
who loved loved LOVED one of his songs in
particular, and was asked if he might dedicate it
to her. Instead, he brought her up on stage to SING it.
And sing it she did!

So... 
Maybe you know
Casey's name from Idol...
Maybe not. But DON'T think of him
as some sort of pop performer. He's above that
sort of limitation, really. Think of him as a cool,
laid back Boulder, CO kinda guy who can drive
through a COOL funk and groove - be it on bass
(electric OR stand-up acoustic), cello, recorder.
I know there's more, but this is all I saw
hauled up on stage.

Now...
Back to that cool art we saw at the top of the page.
Casey performed on Sunday. On Saturday I had gone
to see Tim Weisberg, and ended up sitting in the middle
of a very packed house. A woman on the center aisle saw
me and the camera, and offered her seat to me,
explaining she'd only be snapping a shot or
two before leaving.

This allowed me to get some REALLY nice shots. Some nice, CLOSE shots.

And several shots
which showed off the painting in
the background. The woman who had given
up her seat to me was the person who painted
the art hanging behind Tim as he played, and she had a REALLY nice booth at the festival...

...Set up on THIS day

to showcase the Casey Abrams art.

Meet Marci Gawecki. I just KNEW her

artwork looked familiar. I mean, not just

stylistically, but there was something in recent memory.

Turns out it had been hanging when I went recently to

San Jacinto for a Klezmer/Hobo Jazz performance.

I made sure to say hi to Marcia, and promised to

send her copies of the photos which showed

Tim and her work.

She promptly signed and gave me one

of the Casey posters...

...Which I promptly showed

to Casey after his performance. He thanked

me for a cool introduction and signed the poster as

well. I was then QUITE proud to have a COOL lookin'

poster signed by the artist who created it

AND the artist for WHOM

it was created.

Nice!

Not TOO long after,

I really had to make some decisions

regarding a few things I had left in the cabin

after we had checked out. The following

picture sums up my indecision.

I ended up NOT seeing Rob Thorsen,

another person I had interviewed in the

time leading up to the festival. BUT, Rob's a

San Diego player, and I have plenty

of opportunities ahead.

Also ahead,

I just HAVE to re-visit Marcia

and her artwork. I mean... I MEAN.... she's

gonna have her work up and down the streets of

Palm Springs soon - and doesn't even have a website up!

She need to have something!

But for now...

...the evening,

AND this 3rd and final installment...

...Come to a close.

It was another good'n,

shared by my wife, a few friends,

a few thousand other folk,

and myself.