Shoehorn: SEE A SHOW!

It was the best we have done door-wise at Tony Starlight's so far. The jams were amazing, I exceeded myself in many ways. The music is soulful and complex, much of it unfamiliar to North Americans, player sand listeners. It was not all samba- some contemporary Brazilian tunes balanced the set. Our singer is a phenomenal performer. She is an inspiring human being and a knockout. Her husband joined us on percussion. We had some sit-ins from Pink Martini; Doug Smith and Martin Zarzar. The Maracatu drum line Free Beat Nation ( led by PM percussion guy Derek Reith) totally rocked the place- we did our medley of Lady Gaga's "Bad romance" into "Ain't no Sunshine" to "Sunshine of your love" and a couple of more-Latin numbers. The crowd went nuts. I think Tony will have us back!
So thank you to Tony Starlight, Derek and Free Beat Nation, Reinhardt Melz, Dave Captein, JB Butler, Dan Gaynor and Alexandra Santos.

Curtis was feeling funny and went to the ER. we were afraid he had another heart attack, but he called today and was okay. I had to set up the sound, and it was weird, since I did not manage to get the mains working. The mix was good and monitors were enough in that small space with only Gramps and I. We missed Curtis.

Wow, That was an incredible night! Claudinho and Alexandra are both great singers and the band was right with them. I was sitting in a high powered horn section and got to launch some inspired riffs. That and last month's Free Beat Nation gig opening for Sambada have reaffirmed my belief that music is a force for sanity and understanding in the turbulent worlds ( personal and societal) we inhabit. I am very interested in having some kind of work in Brazil as artist-in-residence or a little concert tour.

The show was a blast! the best attendance yet. I have had the house band for this event for the last 12 years!