I am on the road with the Gil Evans Orchestra. This band is a jazz group with two trumpets alto sax tenor sax, and bass trombone, with electric bass, keyboards and drums. Sometimes we also have guitar, and up to 16 pieces in the orchestra. Gil Evans was famous for his arranging and orchestration skills with Miles Davis in the sixties. Lush and powerful harmonies and rhythms characterize the band along with a unique spontaneity! —and virtuosity— Each member of the orchestra has extensive experience and notoriety in his own right along with an individualistic personality. Sometimes listeners say they are struck positively that the leadership is democratic. Each member can lead the band from time to time, and yet we each can follow skillfully and harmoniously! When it comes to creativity, this band is one of my favorite playing situations of my entire life. :-) Article European Tour 2000-2001

Here is my schedule for Dec./Jan. 2000-2001

12/26/00 travel to Dornbirn Austria
12/27/00 perform in Dornbirn
12/28/00 travel to Orvietto, Italy
12/29/00 through 1/1/00 perform in Orvietto
1/2/00 travel to Munich
1/3/00 perform in Munich
1/4/00 perform in Berlin
1/5/00 perform in Berlin
1/6/00 perform in Paris
1/7/00 travel to London
1/8/00 through 1/13/00 perform in London
1/14/00 perform in Lugano Switzerland
1/15/00 travel home to Boston

Peace! :-)

12/27/00

12/29/00

Wow! We just finished the gig. I sold several copies of my CD "Just Advance" last nite in Dornbirn, Austria. Yaaay! Tonight I gave some to the person in charge of sales at the concession stand at the venue and I gave him a rather large taste. We'll see how many get sold. Hopefully, plenty. :-)

The gig was really incredible. That's two for two! Last nite was spirited and relaxed and free. Tonight was formidable and creative and relentlessly virtuosic.

I sang my lyrics to Jaco Pastorius' "Teen Town" and in so doing I made progress in overcoming my fear of singing connected with my hearing loss, and the two formidable and wonderful singers I had for parents coming up! :-)

I never ran out of energy. Yaaay! :-) "Little Wing" (written by Jimi Hendrix) was great. It was not like we recorded it with Sting—more solid and funky, with Hiram Bullock singing his big *ss off.

"Boplicity" was the distinguished and subtle and swinging jazz tune that we started off the set with. I had fun using the brush techniques I've been showing my students all semester.

Delmar Brown helped conduct the band and play some incredible keyboards at the same time.

We did a Thelonius Monk composition entitled "Rhythmaning" . This music is the most fun to play, because it is sooo freee! :-)

A service man stopped me from going any further towards the North South border, so I asked permission to chant for world peace facing the border. (How's that for turning poison into medicine!) he said OK! :-)

We did another composition by Jaco Pastorius (the late electric bassist who many consider the greatest of all) called "Dania" I surprised the band with my use of the double bass drum pedal which happened to be available to me. :-)

I like the spontaneity of sometimes using it and sometimes not!

Well... let's see! The easy part has been writing ya this message... now comes the difficult part: sending it! Out here in Italy, things run a different way from the way things run in the USA. I don't know how to get onto the Internet from my hotel room. Hmmm...Hey if I get off my hotel bedroom butt, I can do my morning spiritual practice (it's 10:46 AM Fri.,12/28/00) and I can go to the administration office and get advice (in English) Yaaay! Oh yeah, I can take a shower... Breakfast this morning was cool! Couple a hard boiled eggs, a bucket of orange juice, two cappuccinos (the best) :-)

Peace! Ciao! :-)

1/13/01

Amazing! on Jan. 13th, 2000 my friends and I went to visit a beautiful place in Berkshire, England called Taplow Court. Here I go whizzing again: traveling down the N4 motor way going West out of London.

I never knew London (Junction 7) could have such nice weather. Yo what happened to the London Fog? There is none here! Wow the sun shines and makes an already beautiful land even more beautiful. My friend (Lynne Stone ) tells me that during the summer and spring London is so gorgeous that she usually doesn't want to go out of town.

The city is full of greenery during the summer and spring. She assures me that the Summer London is full and rich with flowers everywhere. Well I haven't seen all that, but I am used to the beautiful English architecture and fullness of the city with interesting shops and cafes. For 24 years I've known that side of London. This morning I see a new side: Sunny London!

Taplow is a beautiful little village 45 minutes from downtown London.

1/13/01

Saw the burial mound of the Saxons on the archaeological site of Taplow Court. Mary Queen of Scotts imprisoned Queen Elizabeth here. Wow. The chandeliers in this building are beautiful. Here at Taplow Court, I saw one of the greatest book stores I've seen in the religious tradition I practice. Also, I saw the most comprehensive library I've seen in that tradition as well. Very nice!

1/13/01

Dear diary:

LONDON WHOO THIS IS KIND OF COOL. Nice to get a birds eye view of London. I took the double decker bus tour from Piccadilly Circus on 1/13/01. Pretty cool. Matter of fact, actually it was freezing cold and dark outside, but beautiful. I saw the headquarters of the WHITE STAR SHIPPING LINE which owned the TITANIC at TRAFALGAR SQUARE. The ill fated Titanic departed from London. Saw a spot at Trafalgar Square where Mandela spoke to the masses after he achieved freedom. The beautiful architecture in this Trafalgar square area exerts influence over much church architecture in the world. Especially in the North East of the United States. I saw Ten Downing Street. It has a totally unassuming appearance , but apparently it is huge on the inside. The Prime Minister lives there. Saw Parliament Square, the heart of government.

London aquarium is one of the largest in Europe. Our tour guide says it's not as big as the aquarium in Boston, though. :-) Saw the Florence Nightingale Museum. Looks like a museum I'd like to visit sometime. Saw this huge observation wheel. Looks like a Ferris wheel but it is not... Waterloo Station is the gateway to Paris. England has a super quick train to Paris which travels underneath the English channel. Saw England's largest movie theatre: Cinemax.

Westminster and London are sister cities I saw the "Tipperary" oldest Irish pub in England. Saw some beautiful art deco interior enclosed in glass. Apparently it post dates the Empire State Building. Saw the Thames river. The fame of the Thames is surpassed only by its beauty! Saw Saint Paul's cathedral. Prince Charles married Princess Di there. It's called the people's cathedral. St. Paul's is England's longest cathedral. During World War 2, Winston showed the importance of St. Paul's to England when he said after a major bombing of London: "Is St. Paul's still standing?" I glimpsed the German chapel of reconciliation (with East Germany) . During the Second World War the area around St. Paul's was completely in flames. Saw the financial district. Apparently Britain is richer than all of Russia and Saudi Arabia combined. If you were born in the Bow Bells area of London you are a true cockney not mockney. 1 sq. mile 8,000 inhabitants. Because of Greenwich Mean Time British bankers can do business with both banks of east plus Wall Street at the same time. Medieval Londoners wore flowers for good luck against the black plague "ring around the rosies" sneezing was the last stage of disease before death. Saw the Tower Bridge. Not to be confused with the London bridge. Saw where the ship fled from "Mayflower" your house would burn if you were not insured by the fire company which was founded 1833.

Saw new buildings of old Scotland Yard which was established in 1890, even though 221B is a fictional address, people are still sending letters to 221B . The police department had to hire a secretary just to handle the mail to that fictional address. Saw the London aquarium. It extends three stories down. Perhaps I'll visit in the future.

I experienced the absurd Chevy Chase roundabout. He went around this roundabout 43 times in the National Lampoon film. Many times saw much 1547 gothic architecture houses of Parliament. Saw Victoria tower. Westminster Abbey, beautiful. Martini Luther King and Churchill and married there.

I braved the cold and took some pictures with the guards at Buckingham Palace!

London is a beautiful city jam packed with culture and wonder. It is diverse and hip and thriving! When I see the Charles River, I see the Thames. I see more clearly than ever now where New England comes from.

Peace! ...Beautiful!

Dear Diary :*-) What a tour this has been! what a touching quote I just received from a friend.. "A friend is someone who knows the song of your heart and sings it back to you when you have forgotten the words!" Wow! :-) I AM SITTING on an airport bus to the airplane just as happy as a drummer beating his drums! Or a baby drinking his mother's milk or ... well...as me chatting with YOU! Directly in front of me is a touching sight... a mom talking ever so carefully and thoughtfully and lovingly with her 5 month old baby----ho sh*it gotta go don't wanna miss the flight....

ahhh...12:00PM...1/15/01...

Mark Egan had a birthday on 1/14/01 on our tour! 50th b'day. Wotta beautiful time we had celebrating with him... We had an interesting dinner: Italian pasta in Switzerland . But not just Switzerland. We ate in Lugano Switzerland, which is an Italian district of Switzerland. I mean for all intents and purposes, Lugano IS Italy, but actually, geographically it is located in Switzerland (South) . We had a wonderful final show at the Radio Svissera Italiano.

During the performance various band members quoted "Happy Birthday in various clever ways during the night much to the audience's delight. I quoted it once in an obvious fashion, then once which only band members and connoisseurs must have noticed, and once which apparently only Mark noticed. This was incredibly fun! The band also surprised Mark with a full-blown version of Happy Birthday instead of Gil Evans' "11" which was originally announced to the band members as the last song of the evening. As Mark was searching for the bass part to eleven, we launched into the surprise paean to his life! :-)

Yaaay! Overall the show was one of the best of the entire tour... a 100% success. WE PLAYED with a sensitivity and musicality that was as rewarding as it was exciting. This time there were absolutely NO MONITORS on stage. Amazing. Beautiful hall with clear and lively acoustics. What a treat. I am vindicated without revenge. I am deeply proud without a feeling of egoism... :-)