I'd be lying if I said I wasn't still a bit jet-lagged. Arriving home on Monday was a great relief, and being greeted by two over-active and extremely enthusiastic little girls was the perfect tonic to three weeks on the road, but since then a full night's sleep has eluded me. A heavily-pregnant wife may also have something to do with that!However, it's been a very useful week in terms of work. When we're home there are plenty of things to think about, whether it's programming, shaping future diaries, dealing with small crises that pop up from time to time, or just looking ahead and preparing music for upcoming engagements. I've been helping to plan travel for our May tour to the Middle and Far East, and Jules came up with a good programme idea last night that I've been thinking about over my morning coffee.Our next trip takes in Holland and Germany, ending with a concert in Berlin in celebration of the music of the Weimar Republic, including tributes to Kurt Weill and the Comedian Harmonists. This is music that the group has treasured for many years, and having just performed music from exactly the same era on our US tour, it's fascinating to hear the similarities and development within the German music as jazz and other new composition styles exploded in the 1920s. The arrangements are wonderful, too - Daryl Runswick's extraordinary harmonies take some beating, especially in my favourite song of them all: Tea for Two, in which David's beautiful solo weaves above our ostinato jazz quartet parts. Worth a listen, if you can come along!
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't still a bit jet-lagged. Arriving home on Monday was a great relief, and being greeted by two over-active and extremely enthusiastic little girls was the perfect tonic to three weeks on the road, but since then a full night's sleep has eluded me. A heavily-pregnant wife may also have something to do with that!However, it's been a very useful week in terms of work. When we're home there are plenty of things to think about, whether it's programming, shaping future diaries, dealing with small crises that pop up from time to time, or just looking ahead and preparing music for upcoming engagements. I've been helping to plan travel for our May tour to the Middle and Far East, and Jules came up with a good programme idea last night that I've been thinking about over my morning coffee.Our next trip takes in Holland and Germany, ending with a concert in Berlin in celebration of the music of the Weimar Republic, including tributes to Kurt Weill and the Comedian Harmonists. This is music that the group has treasured for many years, and having just performed music from exactly the same era on our US tour, it's fascinating to hear the similarities and development within the German music as jazz and other new composition styles exploded in the 1920s. The arrangements are wonderful, too - Daryl Runswick's extraordinary harmonies take some beating, especially in my favourite song of them all: Tea for Two, in which David's beautiful solo weaves above our ostinato jazz quartet parts. Worth a listen, if you can come along!
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't still a bit jet-lagged. Arriving home on Monday was a great relief, and being greeted by two over-active and extremely enthusiastic little girls was the perfect tonic to three weeks on the road, but since then a full night's sleep has eluded me. A heavily-pregnant wife may also have something to do with that!However, it's been a very useful week in terms of work. When we're home there are plenty of things to think about, whether it's programming, shaping future diaries, dealing with small crises that pop up from time to time, or just looking ahead and preparing music for upcoming engagements. I've been helping to plan travel for our May tour to the Middle and Far East, and Jules came up with a good programme idea last night that I've been thinking about over my morning coffee.Our next trip takes in Holland and Germany, ending with a concert in Berlin in celebration of the music of the Weimar Republic, including tributes to Kurt Weill and the Comedian Harmonists. This is music that the group has treasured for many years, and having just performed music from exactly the same era on our US tour, it's fascinating to hear the similarities and development within the German music as jazz and other new composition styles exploded in the 1920s. The arrangements are wonderful, too - Daryl Runswick's extraordinary harmonies take some beating, especially in my favourite song of them all: Tea for Two, in which David's beautiful solo weaves above our ostinato jazz quartet parts. Worth a listen, if you can come along!
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't still a bit jet-lagged. Arriving home on Monday was a great relief, and being greeted by two over-active and extremely enthusiastic little girls was the perfect tonic to three weeks on the road, but since then a full night's sleep has eluded me. A heavily-pregnant wife may also have something to do with that!However, it's been a very useful week in terms of work. When we're home there are plenty of things to think about, whether it's programming, shaping future diaries, dealing with small crises that pop up from time to time, or just looking ahead and preparing music for upcoming engagements. I've been helping to plan travel for our May tour to the Middle and Far East, and Jules came up with a good programme idea last night that I've been thinking about over my morning coffee.Our next trip takes in Holland and Germany, ending with a concert in Berlin in celebration of the music of the Weimar Republic, including tributes to Kurt Weill and the Comedian Harmonists. This is music that the group has treasured for many years, and having just performed music from exactly the same era on our US tour, it's fascinating to hear the similarities and development within the German music as jazz and other new composition styles exploded in the 1920s. The arrangements are wonderful, too - Daryl Runswick's extraordinary harmonies take some beating, especially in my favourite song of them all: Tea for Two, in which David's beautiful solo weaves above our ostinato jazz quartet parts. Worth a listen, if you can come along!
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't still a bit jet-lagged. Arriving home on Monday was a great relief, and being greeted by two over-active and extremely enthusiastic little girls was the perfect tonic to three weeks on the road, but since then a full night's sleep has eluded me. A heavily-pregnant wife may also have something to do with that!However, it's been a very useful week in terms of work. When we're home there are plenty of things to think about, whether it's programming, shaping future diaries, dealing with small crises that pop up from time to time, or just looking ahead and preparing music for upcoming engagements. I've been helping to plan travel for our May tour to the Middle and Far East, and Jules came up with a good programme idea last night that I've been thinking about over my morning coffee.Our next trip takes in Holland and Germany, ending with a concert in Berlin in celebration of the music of the Weimar Republic, including tributes to Kurt Weill and the Comedian Harmonists. This is music that the group has treasured for many years, and having just performed music from exactly the same era on our US tour, it's fascinating to hear the similarities and development within the German music as jazz and other new composition styles exploded in the 1920s. The arrangements are wonderful, too - Daryl Runswick's extraordinary harmonies take some beating, especially in my favourite song of them all: Tea for Two, in which David's beautiful solo weaves above our ostinato jazz quartet parts. Worth a listen, if you can come along!
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't still a bit jet-lagged. Arriving home on Monday was a great relief, and being greeted by two over-active and extremely enthusiastic little girls was the perfect tonic to three weeks on the road, but since then a full night's sleep has eluded me. A heavily-pregnant wife may also have something to do with that!However, it's been a very useful week in terms of work. When we're home there are plenty of things to think about, whether it's programming, shaping future diaries, dealing with small crises that pop up from time to time, or just looking ahead and preparing music for upcoming engagements. I've been helping to plan travel for our May tour to the Middle and Far East, and Jules came up with a good programme idea last night that I've been thinking about over my morning coffee.Our next trip takes in Holland and Germany, ending with a concert in Berlin in celebration of the music of the Weimar Republic, including tributes to Kurt Weill and the Comedian Harmonists. This is music that the group has treasured for many years, and having just performed music from exactly the same era on our US tour, it's fascinating to hear the similarities and development within the German music as jazz and other new composition styles exploded in the 1920s. The arrangements are wonderful, too - Daryl Runswick's extraordinary harmonies take some beating, especially in my favourite song of them all: Tea for Two, in which David's beautiful solo weaves above our ostinato jazz quartet parts. Worth a listen, if you can come along!
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't still a bit jet-lagged. Arriving home on Monday was a great relief, and being greeted by two over-active and extremely enthusiastic little girls was the perfect tonic to three weeks on the road, but since then a full night's sleep has eluded me. A heavily-pregnant wife may also have something to do with that!However, it's been a very useful week in terms of work. When we're home there are plenty of things to think about, whether it's programming, shaping future diaries, dealing with small crises that pop up from time to time, or just looking ahead and preparing music for upcoming engagements. I've been helping to plan travel for our May tour to the Middle and Far East, and Jules came up with a good programme idea last night that I've been thinking about over my morning coffee.Our next trip takes in Holland and Germany, ending with a concert in Berlin in celebration of the music of the Weimar Republic, including tributes to Kurt Weill and the Comedian Harmonists. This is music that the group has treasured for many years, and having just performed music from exactly the same era on our US tour, it's fascinating to hear the similarities and development within the German music as jazz and other new composition styles exploded in the 1920s. The arrangements are wonderful, too - Daryl Runswick's extraordinary harmonies take some beating, especially in my favourite song of them all: Tea for Two, in which David's beautiful solo weaves above our ostinato jazz quartet parts. Worth a listen, if you can come along!
