It feels incredibly strange to wake up on a gig morning and not have those usual reflexes to draw upon. I've been out of the game of regular "gigging" for...
It feels incredibly strange to wake up on a gig morning and not have those usual reflexes to draw upon. I've been out of the game of regular "gigging" for over a year now for some self-imposed re-grouping and to give myself space to work on the new record. Tonight however I accepted an offer from Mr. Clint Eastwood to play at the Monterey Jazz Festival now in to its 51st year as one of the great Jazz Festivals of the world. I toyed with the idea of saying no, on the grounds of not feeling quite back in "Live-Jamie" mode, but then I realised what a bad idea it would be to turn down Clint Eastwood. I've seen all kinds of punks do that, and it didn't end well for them.
I am glad I came. Any festival where you meet Herbie Hancock at the hotel bar is fine by me. I never suffered from full-on stage fright, but this afternoon, the concept of playing a proper show fills me with the kind of nervous energy that I haven't felt for a while. I guess that can only be a good thing.
So here is the rundown of the day: Gig at 2:30pm - 75 mins, a rumoured collaboration with Kurt Elling on his gig sometime in the early evening, an onstage interview with Mr Clint Eastwood at 5pm, watch concerts back to back from jazz legends Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter, knock back a few bottles of that funny Belgian ale with Thelonious Monk on the label, eat some kind of fast food concoction, brandy at hotel bar, sleep.