Little Bang Theory

Oh, What A Night! August 31, 2008

Friday night was opening night for the 2008 Tanglewood Summer Jazz Festival, and despite the threat of rain, I went to see my new musical muse, Edmar Casteñeda:

I posted this clip before, but since he opened the show with this number, here it is again!  🙂

To my delight, he was accompanied by the amazing Marshall Gilke on trombone and the equally mind boggling Dave Silliman on drums.  As Frau B would say , “Eeeeeeexcellent!” [rubs hands greedily.]

“But Wait, There’s More…  now how much would you pay?” (Sorry, I was posessed by the spirit of the Kitchen Magician there for a moment!)

Edmar and Co. were joined by Joe Locke, new to me but widely regarded in musicians’ polls as the reigning King of the Vibraphone.  Listen a bit and see if you agree:

Blew.  My.  Mind.  I hadn’t believed anyone would ever dethrone Gary Burton, but I stood corrected, albeit whilst sitting.  In the rain.  Completely oblivious to it.

The show was beautifully rounded out by a jaw-dropping performance by Elaine Elias and her excellent band:

Their set was a tribute to  Bill Evans, whom I had the great privilege to see at Carnegie Hall in the early seventies.  Thank you, Elaine!

It was a perfect night out…  almost.

On the way home, coming down a winding stretch of route 8A in a light drizzle, this Closet Buddhist swerved to avoid a small animal crossing the road, caught my right front wheel in a rain-softened shoulder, and did this:

Seems even my damned car is a tree hugger!  😆

I’m OK, but she’s totalled.

I’m taking this as Godde’s way of keeping me from thinking I’m All That for having been blessed with such a memorable night.

So now I’m full-time driving my work van and getting a whopping fifteen miles to the gallon.

Oy!