Author: Roberta

I’m on the plane home from Germany (by way of London Heathrow. Oh My God – don’t ever go through Heathrow if you can avoid it. The lines and the logic are insane). I will upload this post when I return, as well as a couple of pictures.

(Speaking of God – I cannot believe I actually saw 3 of the Republican candidates for President raise their hands when asked how many of them believe that the biblical explanation of creation is the literal truth. How frightening. Just finished a great book by Richard Dawkins called The God Delusion. )

The most interesting thing about this flight (not the trip, just the flight) is my discovery that a Mars bar is apparently the same as a Three Musketeers. Maybe the bar was just mislabeled, because I believe Three Musketeers is also made by Mars, so that doesn’t make much sense. Can someone clear this up for me? Vielleicht Ich wilt googlen.

Here is a picture of Klaus Kugel and Christian Ramond setting up for our gig at SchauspielHaus, a very cool little theater in Bergneustadt which is near Koln.

Klaus and his wife Uta, who is an actress, live in the country near Koln. Here is the view from their terrace. As a New Yorker this is mind-blowing to me…like living in Central Park.

Klaus recorded the concert. We played a couple of tunes and some free. The gig went very well and I will post some mp3 samples soon. Watch this space or email me to be notified when the samples go up. Particularly interesting (or so I felt when we played it) was a deconstruction of Monk’s Straight No Chaser. We’ll see if my perception was correct. [EDIT: the recording didn’t come out due to technical difficulties. We’ll try again next time.]

I also had some nice gigs with guitarist Roland Heinz, who is a brilliant and creative improvisor. It was our first time playing duo togetther. I hope we will do more in the future and perhaps I will try to record it.

Now I’ve got to start practicing for the September 24th “21st Century Schizoid Music” concert. I have to relearn the Nabokov music I wrote about two years ago; at this concert I also intend to perform a sonata for violin and piano sonata written by my father, Frederick Piket, in 1932 when he was studying with Franz Schreker in Berlin. (Look for a web site about Frederick Piket in the future. I have reserved the domain name but haven’t had time to put anything up.)

The other half of the concert will be my trio with Billy Mintz and Ratzo Harris. So it should be an enjoyable evening showcasing the variety of creative music I am into. As Duke said, “there are only two kinds of music – good and bad.”

I almost forgot…this pic is mostly for the amusement of the West Coasters…

Time to hit the (piano) keys.

I stepped off the plane last Tuesday, looking forward to a week in Berlin – to playing with my old friend drummer Andrea Marcelli, and going to my favorite ice cream parlor; and I got sick immediately. I think the air on the planes is worse than ever. I am sure I got sick on my American Airlines flight. I was fine at takeoff. Anyway, I got worse as the week progressed, and although I did get to play a nice session with Andrea, by the day of the gig I was in no condition to do anything but lie in bed. Last Friday I went to the doctor, and today the antibiotics are finally kicking in and I am a little more myself. So hopefully the next ten days of gigs in Ireland, Innsbruck and Koln will go smoothly. I will keep you posted.

Since there’s nothing very exciting to discuss this week (the color of my phlegm being my main focus recently), I’ll tell you about a nice gig I went to about a week ago. Mike Garson played at the Blue Note for the after hours show a couple of Saturdays ago. Jazz fans may know Mike as a great West coast jazz pianist with a remarkable virtuosity and scary harmonic inventiveness. (There’s a link on my site to a duo we did at his studio a couple of years ago.) Rock devotees will know him as the long-time pianist for David Bowie. It was a pleasure to hear Mike in a piano trio context playing with a great rhythm section – Ratzo Harris and Billy Mintz! Mike and Billy’s friendship goes back to their teenage years when they played Bar Mitzvahs together. Mike asked Billy to suggest a bassist and Billy asked me and the only logical person was Ratzo. Who else in New York could keep up with these monsters? It was a true pleasure to hear them playing mostly standards but in a decidely non-standard way.

During the first set, a colleague of Mike’s from Bowie’s touring band, Gail Ann Dorsey, sang a stunning version of Alfie with the band. Everything about her singing was spot on – pitch and tone of course, but most importantly phrasing. I have never heard a better jazz singer live. Her intuition was flawless. She had a perfect sense of when to be true to the melody, and when to play with it without ruining it. So many singers miss that delicate balance.

(I had arrived at the club early enough to hear a couple of songs from the club’s headliner earlier that evening. For me, Gail’s singing further highlighted the tragedy of the incompetent Steve Tyrell singing to a packed house of (mostly) brainwashed spectators. Here’s a guy who doesn’t even sound like a wedding band singer. He sounds like the amateur family friend who insists on sitting in with the wedding band. Compare that with the exquisite musicianship on stage that night after hours. Something is really dysfuntional in the music industry.)

During the second set, Mike invited me to sit in. He said it was the least he could do since he’d borrowed my rhythm section for his gig. After a rather uptempo If I Were a Bell (I’d just had a cup of coffee to keep me up through the late night show and what I knew would be a hang after), Mike joined me and we played some duo. It was really fun. Watching his thunderous chops, I almost forgot there was an audience out there. It was such a kick trying to keep up with him.

Afterwards the four of us grabbed a bite and by the time I got home it was 6AM. Felt like the old days.

I’ve decided that, instead of waiting until I’m on the road to add to this blog, I’d use it to keep you posted on what’s going on with my music and career. If you’d like to receive these occasional updates by email, please contact me.

I’m so pleased at the fantastic review Love and Beauty received from Tom Conrad in the current issue of JazzTimes. To read it online, click here. For info on the CD, go to www.robertajazz.com.

The Seattle Women’s Jazz Orchestra (SWOJO) has offered to purchase three of my big band arrangements of my compositions, including two arrangements of tunes from Love and Beauty. I’m very encouraged by this and will try to write more for jazz orchestra. It’s so time-consuming to write a big band chart – but very rewarding when it gets played! I’ll also try to post some samples of these arrangements at www.robertajazz.com in the near future. I haven’t really publicized them before, but my charts have always gotten positive feedback from my colleagues, and now this aspect of my musical life seems to be gathering its own momentum.

In November of 2007, the trio will be returning to the West coast for our third consecutive year. One of the most important ingredients in music is playing with the same people consistently for a long period of time. This is a very rare thing in the jazz world now. I’ve had this trio with Ratzo and Billy for a few years now, and audience members keep telling us it shows in the music.

In New York we can be heard on August 19th as part of the Harlem Meer Performance Festival at the Dana Discovery Center Central Park.

In May and June of 2007 I will be in Europe, performing with several fantastic musicians including the drummer Klaus Kugel in Germany and the guitarist Roland Heinz in Austria, and the drummer Andrea Marcelli in Berlin.

My work, “Five Poems by Nabokov” will be performed in New York on September 24 as part of the 21st Century Schizoid Music series curated by Frank Oteri of the American Music Center. The work, composed for mezzo-soprano, violin, piano and speaker, blends neo-classical harmonic concepts and free improvisational sections. Also apearing on that bill will be my trio with Ratzo and Billy. Hence the term “schizoid”! I look forward to this opportunity to stretch in different directions on the same night. What fun!

I am sorry I didn’t do a better job of blogging this tour. Below are some photos to compensate.

Here is one of Masa and Billy at our performance at Jazz del Clot:

Here is one of the scenery in Innsbruck. I played there a bit with the guitarist Roland Heinz, his brother Elmar and Billy Mintz after our Spain tour:

In Berlin , I played at the A-Trane with the guitarist Jeanfrancois Prins. A few days later I visited the Hoschule Fur Musik at the University of the Arts. My father studied composition here in 1931-1932 with Franz Schreker:

We played the last two nights at Bogui Jazz, a beautful and relatively new jazz club in Madrid for the 23rd Madrid Jazz Festival. It went very well. Billy and I have both played with Masa Kamaguchi a lot. Masa lived in NY for many years and relocated to Barcelona with his wife Patrica about a year and a half ago.

Tonight we are playing at the first Jazz Del Clot Festival, which takes place in Masa and Patricia’s basement. I will try to post some pictures soon.

It is very nice to be back in Barcelona, which is as beautiful as I remember. As much as I liked Madrid, Barcelona is something really special.

The party’s over. Time to head home. We played at Tula’s in Seattle the last two nights for the Earshot Festival. The first night we had a little trouble hearing each other so it felt weird. The room was quiet, but something about the acoustics on stage was a little strange. Last night we set up closer together and it was better. The audience seemed to like the music but they were strangely rigid. Every time I made a joke there was utter silence. That has never happened before on tour.

Thanks to Paul DeBarros of the Seattle Times and Tom Conrad of Jazz Times for stopping by to hear us. It was great hanging out with both of you.

I’ll be in Spain and Germany in late November. I’ll keep you posted.

People sometimes ask, “what’s it like on the road?” Here is what it’s like:

Friday morning Billy and I did a clinic at Crater HS in Medford, OR, near Ashland. Meanwhile Ratzo, who had returned to NY a few days earlier to get a haircut, flew in to Portland that morning, rented a car and drove six hours to Ashland.

Friday night we played a concert in Ashland, OR at the Old Siskiyou Barn. It was great: nine foot Maslin Hamilin piano tuned that day; quiet, attentive capacity crowd that gave us a standing ovation; band that’s been playing together almost every day for ten days.

Afterwards we grabbed some dinner and went back to the hotel around 1AM. The next morning, we did a masterclass at the same venue from 11Am to 1PM. Then we drove 6 hours to Portland, and arrived just in time to set up to play at LV’s from 7PM to 10PM.

What a day. We need a road manager.

I think the music keeps getting better and better though. I get bored really easily, which I think is a good thing, because I keep finding new ways to play the music, new rhythmic approaches particularly. And since Ratzo and Billy can go anywhere, it never needs to get boring.

I think my singing is improving too. I took a technique lesson with a great vocal teacher right before I left NY. I think the work I’m doing on that is making a difference.

I’m a little sad that we only have three gigs left. See you in Seattle.

This morning Billy and I did a clinic with the Ashland (OR) HS jazz band. (Ratzo flew back to NY to take care of some academic business.) They were very good. We talked a lot about rhythm and dynamics, as well as locking in with the rhythm section. We did a couple of the charts they are working on, opening them up for solos. Then we all created a spontaneous head arrangement on Sonnymoon For Two.

Yet another visit to a food coop – this one the Ashland Food Coop. One thing that is nice about these Coops I’ve been visiting is that anyone can shop there. However, the prices are quite a bit higher than our beloved Park Slope Food Coop.

Ashland also fed my road addiction to used book stores. There are several good ones here. There’s also a great deal of natural beauty here, especially with the leaves in the mountains changing colors.

I have to go vocalize and hit the sack.

What day is it?? What week is it? It feels like we’ve been out for three weeks, not one. We have a couple of days off, after doing six gigs in five days.(Not that I’m complaining. Actually after two days I’m ready to play again.) Tomorrow is a travel day to get us up to Ashland, OR. Thursday AM we do a clinic, then Friday a concert for the Siskiyou Institute, and Saturday AM another clinic before driving up to Portland to play at LV’s Uptown.

The concert Sunday at Chez Hanny went very well. We had a big crowd that was very receptive. Frank Hanny took some photos of us. (Thank you Frank – sorry I almost stole your toothpaste.)

This is Ratzo demonstrating his advanced technique in performance:

Here’s one of Billy:

The three of us relaxing after the Chez Hanny gig, just to prove that after a week in a minivan we can still stand each other:

Here is one from our gig the night before, at the Hillside Club in Berkeley. Here’s me doing a little schtick for the audience. Billy asked me to talk less. He feels it takes away from the performance. After thinking about it I decided he had a point: the schtick is more effective when it’s set off by more music in between.

By the way I wasn’t just using that mic for talking. I’ve been doing some singing on this tour. I keep working on it and it keeps getting better; like most things in life.

Yesterday morning I did a “Desert Island Jazz” interview on KCSM. To find out what CDs, what book, and what luxury item I picked to take with me as I theoretically cast off, you’ll have to listen to KCSM. At this point it’s scheduled to air on Dec. 1st at 9am local time. Here is a picture of me with host Alisa Clancy and producer Michael Burman. Alisa was very smart and engaging. It was very easy to be interviewed by her. Michael is English which means he can say the most obnoxious things and still sound charming. Seriously they were both delightful and it was great fun doing the show.

Last night Billy and I went out with our good friend Melissa to a Chinese restaurant on Geary Blvd. It was the first good Chinese food I’ve had in years. NYC used to be famous for great cheap restaurants but no more. Apparently the high rents mean there’s no money to spend on the food.

After dinner we went to a local venue to hear saxophonist Harvey Wainapel play with bassist Devin Hoff. I would have taken pictures but the battery died on the camera. I promise I will try to elevate the standards of this tour blog to last year’s blog. Oh yes, there is a picture of me on the back of a golf cart riding around the Soka University campus. Ratzo is supposed to email it to me.

Today we visited the Rainbow Food Cooperative. It was interesting to compare it to the Park Slope Food Coop, where I’ve been a member for many years. (The more astute among you (all two of you) will notice that in the KCSM pic above I am proudly sporting a PSFC T-shirt.) The Rainbow Coop is quite a bit bigger, and you can shop there even if you’re not a member. It’s a beautiful place.

Later we hung out in Oakland with Harvey Wainapel, visiting Amoeba Records and Moe’s Books. Here’s a picture Billy took of the three of us on Telegraph. Pretty good for a self-portrait:

Tomorrow morning we leave for Ashland, OR. We have a long drive ahead of us. Good thing we bought some healthy snacks at the Rainbow Coop!

For me there is always one gig on the road, hopefully early on, where the conditions enable you to completely loosen up and take the music to a level of complete intuition and impulse, where your conscious mind gets out of the way. You’re finally rested enough, and you have a great piano, and you have two sets, and the audience is accepting, and something just clicks. And then you know you’re going to be okay for the rest of the gigs. I try to get there from the first note of the first gig, but it isn’t always realistic. Finally last night I got there on the Soka Univerity gig. Jim Merod videotaped and recorded us so I’ll try to post something. As Jim pointed out, live music is always better than the studio (as proud as I am of the CD).

Gotta run. We are leaving LA for Berkeley this morning. Playing the beautiful Hillside Club tonight which has a 9-foot Steinway and where we will also be recorded.