Back from the road. It started with a couple of nice gigs in the Boston area, then off to Germany (Denmark and Austria) for almost a month. I do believe I heard a lot more good music in Germany than I played.
My thoughtful German promoter took the time to set me up with musical adventures on my days off. This started with a show at Die Glocke (kleiner saal) in Bremen where I heard the Trio Ondine perform Mozart, Haydn and Schubert. These boys were tight. The next night I heard Kari Bremes at the Kulturzentrum Schlachthof - a converted slaughterhouse... Oooo. I heard Kari at the Nurnberg Festival last year as well. She is a long and tall 'winter woman' from Norway who follows the eddaic tradition in song.... Norse mythological musical wanderings. The next night at The Schlachthof I heard a wonderful concert of Pop & Jazz Choirs. The groups from Bremerhaven (Essenzen) and Bonn (Bonner Jazzchor) stole the show. Very hip... but how? I have a lot to learn about Europe.
The next day it was time to get working. Out to Stuhr where Edgar Woltje had set up a nice gig for me in the town center hall. This was a good way to start my tour. My tenacious friends from Schleswig-Holstein, Karl-Heinz and Gabriele Engel drove down to the gig. I don't know how they do it. They come... and then they go.... heading out into the night to their home up north.
The next evening - still in Bremen - I caught two shows (rugged tour schedule wouldn't you say?). The first performance was in the Selbstandige Church... a concert of works for choir and baroque orchestra (with period instruments... oboe d'amore, etc.). Okay the intonation was a little difficult, but it didn't seem to matter much. It was facinating. I'm a sucker for Handel continuums anyway, so I was movin' the body to the walking bass groove.
The next day the real travel began... first down to a place called Fulda, then to Ingolstadt. I spent a few days in Ingolstadt, doing interviews, television, going to the gymnasium and, of course, searching for music. I went to a concert at the Konzertverein Ingolstadt featuring a remarkable woman clarinetist named Sabine Meyer. To many, she is the best there is in Europe. She performed with a group called Trio di Clarone. Added to the group was composer Michael Riessler on (4th) clarinet and Pierre Charial on drehorgel (hurdy gurdy). The music they played was extremely adventurous... technically beyond imagination. The hurdy-gurdy was programmed by Charial for the arrangements and it was shocking to witness the precision of the group when one considered the uncertainties of the hand crank. Wow.
The venue I played in Ingolstadt is called Neue Welt. Walter and Josef run the place and it is club heaven. I had played there before so I new to ask again for the goulash. Mmmm. Spent a little time with a guy named Carl-Ludwig Reichert. This fellow has a folk-rock protest band that sings songs in Bavarian dialect. I don't what the hell they're saying, but somehow I'm behind them a hundred percent. Carl-Ludwig is a maverick, knows all about the Cambridge folk scene... Farina, Von Schmidt, etc. I'm looking forward to seeing him again... hopefully in his hometown of Munich.
The next night I played down near the Swiss and French borders in Lorrach... a big blues gig with John Hammond and Eric Bibb. Although I see Eric a bit these days, I hadn't seen John in forever so this was a nice time for me.
And the next night I was back up near Nurnberg in a place called Wendelstein. What a beautiful little performance space. Perfect. I guess I was performing as part of a festival. A lot of the people in the audience were familiar with my music because I had played the Nurnberg Festival last year. So, uncommonly, I got lots of requests. Herb Ellis, Charlie Byrd, Hammond, Bibb and many other good folks have played this space.
Played a blues club in Frankfurt the next night and then headed back up to Bremen (my home!). On my night off I caught Mahler's Seventh at The Glocke (grosse saal) by the Bremen Symphony. One and a half hours of non-stop Mahler. The acoustics in the hall were spectacular as there were about a hundred musicians on stage but when the guitar player started strumming you could actually hear the guy! I still can't believe it. A wonderful night I'll never forget.
The next night I played Bremerhaven and then went on to Berlin to play Quasimodo. Pretty good night for me. This is a town of hipsters and I think they're starting to find out about this boy. This is good. I love Berlin. And I love the Quasimodo Club. Georgio served up some good, hot coffee and a delicous sandwich when I got there and Ulli welcomed me with open arms. It's a special place. Turns out, after talking with Georgio, that he's a Bix nut so we hit it off. The next day I had some time off so I went to The Kammermusiksaal Philharmonie to hear hear some chamber music... Berg and other modernists, and some Brahms.
Next I traveled up to Odense, Denmark for a show in a club called "Jazzhus Dexter" as part of a festival. The people there were used to Chicago-style blues so my stuff was very different for them. But they made the leap and all went real well. Jan (Mr. Musical Knowledge) and Steen were the promoters and did a great job of it.
The next night I was in Norderstedt, Germany in a little recod store named Music Star. This was a crazy little gig. People packed into a tiny space... but these folks knew their stuff. My friends Karl-Heinz and Gabriele came down from the north and Anja Rittmoeller, who helped me put together the Private Astronomy album, came up from Hamburg. Cozy times.
Back to Bremen where I did an interview at Radio Bremen and later attended a concert at The Hochschule Der Kuenste. A small string orchestra of students played Mozart, Bartok and Tchaikovsky. I felt like a member of the community just walking over there to the hall to give my support.
The next day we headed down to Austria on the high-speed ICE train. These trains are a joy to someone like me who lives in a less evolved country. I travel the world now, and I'll tell ya... the USA ain't in the top 25. Sad really.
After my gig in Austria I made it up to Frankfurt and flew to Boston for a gig at Sanders Theatre in Cambridge. The show was put together as a tribute to an old friend of mine, Bob Jones and as part of the Club 47's 47th birthday weekend. Twenty years ago I did a Club 47 25th anniversary. Hmmm. You do the math. Anyway, we had a great time. Friends came from LA, Denver, Paris, London... all over. Highlights of the show were Olabelle, David Grisman and Richard Thompson. A real good evening. David and Richard backed me up on a couple including a ballad that Jones used to sing way back when... Black Jack Gypsy. I also put in a little time at the Mt. Aururn Cemetery looking at warblers.
So, now I'm home. In a couple of weeks I head to Alaska. This summer I'll start writing for my next album. I've gone on a bit here so adios for now.
Geoff