Jealousy

I am not the sort of person to gloat or to make people jealous .... however .... I think I am about to.

To John, Michael, Jason, Dr. H and many others ..... I am sorry for bombarding you with texts last night but it was worth it!



Last night I went to see the one and the only (and I really mean that) Oscar Peterson and his Quartet at the BOZAR in Brussels. Wow. Great seats too (thank you my love) 30 foot away, 3rd row and we faced Oscar and his bass player straight on and watched the wonderful musical communication between the two.

The man is 81, had a stroke about 7 years ago leaving it difficult for him to walk, he has Alzheimer's and is genuinly not in the best of health, but put the ledgend behin a piano, add the best form of musical ensemble there is (Bass, Drums and Guitar) and he turns his clock back about 30 years.

It was an amazing spectacle to see him play ..... in fact, just to see him was an event for me as I have been a lover of his playing for many years. OK .... he aint as clear, fast or as methodical as his early days ... and yes there were moments when he veered of the tonal path ... and moments of slippy fingers, but I was so wrapped up in the event that I accepted this as "jazz"!



His bass player David Young was incredible, not only his extremly dexterous playing, but the fact that he really kept everything going. He played literally on top of Oscar, ensuring that if he moved away for the chord sequence (which happened a few times), he would follow the change and nod gentley to his fellow musicians who would then simply slip a gear. He also helped oscar to remind him to wipe his hands before playing, whispering a possible next number but most of all not panicking when Oscar started "Satin Doll" ..... for the second time in the set!

His Alzheimer's was evident in a numbers of area ... the repeating of Satin Doll and one of his Blues compositions which was also played twice; a funny moment when he looked at the set list on his piano and said "I have to choose one of these songs now ....... hmmm .... dont even know that one"; his solos towards the end did repeat a lot of similar phrasings and riffs and he also mention twice the missing DJ of the Bass player (lost in transit) and dedicating numbers to Ray Brown. But this did not detract from the performance of the great man. The emotion shown during performances was very moving. He played "Requium" as a dedication to Ella Fitzgerald and Ray Brown and by the end you could see the tears .... he played from his heart.

Last night was incredible ..... never to be forgotten .... He has quite a schedule ... I hope he makes it.

We will never see him again ..... but last night was such an incredible event, I would not want to spoil the memory of a fantastic night.

Sorry guys ... I know you are Jealous ..... and I can live with that.

My memories going ..... I think ..... I cant remember

There was a time during my musical career where I would never forgot a single screw, washer, cymbal felt, stick etc for a gig, concert or performance. I always prided myself on having everything, for every occasion, always. OK, there was once where I left my entire bag of drum stands in Aberdeen ......... and played in Doncaster the following night without them ....... AND there was one time I left my stick bag in the back of a car and had to use woodern coat hangers ...... Oh yes .... and I left my mouthpiece in my parents car when auditioning for Bretton Hall ...... but apart from that, a very good history.

Recently however, call it old age or that fact that I am using a different entertainment tool, I have been forgettng a lot of things. In Brugge a couple of months ago, I had no plectrums. I had to cut the plastic from inside the guitar case and literally carve our the plectrum shape. Last week at the Tap & Spile I had left my Acoustic De Capo and so had to use my fender de capo ...... with the assistance of a metal hammer to straighten it. Last week ..... I forgot my strap .......

Nick Yule .... Lawyer, Scottish and almost a Daddy ... very kindly reply to my text stating ...... "At least you dont forget the chords ........... that often". Thanks Nick, you sent me into a frenzied panic and dropped "Why Does it always Rain On Me" as a precaution. For those who know .... this is the one song I usually screw up in the chord department ..... oh and "Layla".

So the solution is to go back to the old fashioned way of check lists. I thought I had grown out of checklists, but no .... looks like the memory is starting to go ... and I am only 37.

A request for a coupl of photos again so ..... here you go. Thanks to Nick Worrall for these outstanding takes!

It's been a Month .....

..... how can I possibly do a blog to cover a month!!!!

I know .....