What a fall it’s been! But first, I’ll start where I left off back in August.

I got to go to Akumal, Mexico to visit our good friends Susan and Nancy along with my sister Elisa and Bill. It was a lovely, relaxing (and HOT) time. Ceviche is my new favorite dish! We also visited the ruins in Tulum which was very close by. See pictures on my facebook page.

Then back to work. The first stop was one of our favorites, Jazz Alley in Seattle. We had great crowds and the band played beautifully: Rod Fleeman, Todd Strait and Jeff Johnson. And as always got to see many great friends, including the KPLU folks and Jim Wilke. On to Portland where we played at Jimmy Mac’s, a sweet supper club. Thank you to the staff and crowd there for making us feel at home and to the great Nancy King for sitting in with us.

Next stop was beautiful San Francisco at the Rrazz Room. Rod, Ed and I had a great time with the crowds there. It was very intimate and vocal! Also got to spend a few hours at the wonderful pier on the Embarcadero – way too much good food and the weather was amazing!

Then to Kansas City, where I first was a part of a very cool live radio music show called “12th Street Jump” with a great cast including David Basse, Joe Cartwright among others. That same night I got to hear Pat Metheny and his trio at the Folly Theater in downtown KC. It was very inspiring!

The next night we played the Prairie Village (Kansas) Jazz Festival with Bob Sheppard as our special guest. The great Bob Bowman & Bobby Watson sat in with us too. It was a starry night indeed!

Mid-September, in the lovely Pioneer Valley I played two concerts with the Amherst Jazz Orchestra. What a great band! I really enjoyed both: in Easthampton, MA and the beautiful old church in the Berkshires.

Back to the West Coast, Hollywood to be exact to another favorite place, Catalina’s Bar & Grill. Had a wonderful weekend with Todd, Tom Warrington and Chris Caswell. Chris and I have been working on original songs and we tried many out that weekend. I think his accordion playing was a big hit too 🙂 !!

I then went to be a Bill McGlaughlin groupie in Las Cruces New Mexico, where his original orchestra piece was performed. It was a huge hit and the orchestra sounded beautiful!! Congratulations Bill!!

In October, I made a surprise (very quick) visit to Minneapolis where my sister Elisa & I gave our Dear Mom a surprise birthday party– Happy Birthday Mom. You are an original, a pioneer and we love you very much!!

Back in NYC, I got to hear a beautiful concert given by the Chamber Music Society in a patron’s very cool loft apartment downtown. What a treat and that’s one of the things I love about living in NYC, you just never know!

Next was Boston. I taught a masterclass for the vocal students at Berklee. I was so impressed by the whole scene there. Imagine, over 4,000 music students there! I thank the 75 or so that showed up (and especially the ones who sang!) and the faculty for making it happen.  We then played another favorite place that evening, Scullers, to a great crowd and the band (Bruce Barth, Ed Howard and Mark Walker) sounded groovin’ and beautiful. I also want to thank Freddie, Alexandra and Chris there for putting heart and soul into that place!

Back in NYC, I sang two of Marian McPartland’s songs for a book signing at the Harlem Jazz Museum It was Paul De Barros’ wonderful biography of Marian. Check it out: “Shall We Play That One Together?”

Then, hurricane Sandy loomed for the east coast and then hit big time. My heart goes out to the folks still suffering… there are lots of ways to help and I hope we all can do a little something. I made it to my gig in Northampton, MA the day after. It was cathartic to play with the wonderful house trio at the “Loft” to a wonderful crowd of folks.

Then, the election! It was greatly anticipated to say the least, and I think we’re all glad it’s over. One of my favorite things written about it is here. Check it out. But I gotta say, after voting I felt a real chill (in a good way) at being able to VOTE!!!

Next to Ohio, to Bowling Green University where I did a couple vocal masterclasses with students and also a concert with the student LAB/Big Band. Fun! Conducted by talented David Bixler. I also sat in for more than a set with the faculty at one of their gigs. Great fun with David, Chris, Jeff and Roger. Many thanks to them and all the folks at the University there.

This fall I got to hear and see some amazing things, among them (aside from the beautiful fall colors) : Christian McBride talk on Jazz in Film at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem.

And Thank YOU for checking in! We look forward to seeing you out there somewhere soon!
With Love, Karrin