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Wednesday, August 1st, 2001
Paris, FRANCE
     
AT NEW MORNING

The New Morning is an amazing club. It's hot and stuffy. Truly hot and stuffy. But it's owned and run by Madame Fere who has been there for years. She has heard everybody from Nina Simone in the 50's to Miles Davis. The place was sold out for us last night, which means that it's really hot and stuffy. They put an extra fan on stage for me hoping i wouldn't have to leave the stage (as i did in San Diego because it was stuffy). The trio started, the audience was lovely, the room adds its own weight and spirit to the art. The cafe afterwards had its French windows open to the street, the salmon with cream sorrel sauce was too fine for 1:30 am anywhere else. People were out in the cafes enjoying their food and wine and conversations. Paris was good.

 
      
HAIR SALON

Tuesday, July 31st, 2001
Paris, FRANCE
On these tours, one starts to physically fall apart. At least I do. The guys I travel with on the whole are physical and mental soldiers, but I'm not. Finally everything starts to show wear and tear. Today I'm in Paris, my favorite city on earth, and i spent it at the hair salon. Show tonight. Touring is about extreme highs and extreme lows. I'm not sure I like that.
Sunday, July 29th, 2001
Vigo, SPAIN
      
AMPARO AND JAY
There is a rider in my contract that asks for cognac to be available in the dressing rooms before our concerts. In Pontevedra, a bar owner and his wife proudly supplied the cognac for the artist that was appearing in their town's jazz festival that night. He wanted to bring it over in person, which he did, and pour it for me, which he did. The square was full of people, the half-moon was shining over the stage, the medieval buildings in Pontevedra served as sophisticated setting for a wonderful evening in Spain. The promoter in Spain met us at the airport and followed us to hotels and cities and venues to make sure we were comfortable. They should all be so nice. Her name is Amparo and here she is smiling with our fourth member and sound man, Jay.

We're in Paris tonight, recovering from a very, very long travel day...missed connections and missing musicians. Hopefully we will all coalesce tomorrow night at the New Morning in Paris for our gig.

 

Friday, July 27th, 2001
Nice, FRANCE
The concert went well. The guys in the band and our fourth man, sound guy, Jay Tenhove helped make it a success. It wasn't easy walking onstage after Dee Dee Bridgewater did a dynamite set.
 
Friday, July 27th, 2001
Nice, FRANCE
      
BEACH IN NICE
       
UMBRELLAS IN NICE
Nice...what a relief to land in France. and Nice is a feast for a camera, even my cheapest and weirdest of cameras. Today we did an early soundcheck and swam and relaxed. Tonight we play late....at 10:00pm out in an ancient Roman Amphitheatre. The weather is gorgeous. Let's live for today and forget that tomorrow it will take us three flights to get to Vigo, Spain. (Of course we could fly more directly couldn't we?) We go on tonight after Dee Dee Bridgewater whom i just met in the lobby. That cannot be an easy task since she is a huge jazz star in France and has a cast of thousands of percussionists with her. Well, my little trio was hired to do its job, and we will bravely take the stage at 10:00pm.
 

       
PASSPORT HELL
Thursday, July 26th, 2001
Airport
This tour doesn't have a single real day off. That makes things difficult. Last year, we had a few whole days off in which we neither traveled nor played a concert. In other ways, this tour is easier, but in that way, this tour is more difficult. Yesterday was a long travel day. Something about flying is dehumanizing and trying. The experience will defy any poetic description and that's one of the reasons it is so hard. Almost nothing of value ever happens while traveling these kinds of distances except that you get from the one place to another.
 
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