A spontaneous trip to jazz nirvana...

I made a rather spontaneous decision last night to head down to Sunset Boulevard and catch the second set at Catalina Jazz Club. John Pizzarelli has been on my radar for quite a long time. I can't latch onto the specific reason, but I really love the sound of jazz on guitar. Django Reinhardt. John's father Bucky Pizzarelli. And John is taking the mantle and running with it into the modern age. Jessica Molaskey is an amazing Broadway actress, most recently taking part in the acclaimed revival of Sunday In the Park With George. She brings those theatre chops to a classic jazz songstress vibe and it's a beautiful thing. I've felt that I've gotten to know them a bit lately by listening to their radio show, Radio Deluxe. In fact most recently I've listened to them on my morning hikes. I was so excited to catch them live – so close to my hood.

I was NOT disappointed. Wow! John and Jessica were accompanied by John's gang of regulars – Larry Fuller on keys, Martin Pizzarelli on bass, Tony Tedesco on drums. These guys really ripped it up. The song selection was amazing. I was particularly happy to hear a couple of medleys from Jessica's recent albums that John put together – John Hendricks' Cloudburst with Sondheim's Not Getting Married Today and The Circle Game with Waters of March. There were a lot of tunes from John's recent Richard Rodgers album that were amazing. I'm particularly fond of (actually fanatical about) the amazing Mountain Greenery. All in all, it was tune after tune of happiness and I loved it. Pretty spiffy experience for a spontaneous adventure.

Now, I'm wrapping up a little sketching. And then I'm hitting the road down San Diegy way – catching Patty Griffin and Langhorne Slim at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach (which I'm looking forward to) and then Les Miserables at the Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista tomorrow eve. I'm particularly excited to see this show. So many dear friends have poured themselves into this epic, the southern California regional premiere of this show that is so special to many my age. And this will be the last production on the Moonlight stage as it is. So many wonderful memories live on from that no-nonsense but limited platform. It's so exciting to say that Vista passed a bond initiative that, in addition to building other city facilities, will build a brand new stage house with a fly loft and other fantastic resources. Next season will be a new animal on the hill.

So... onward! Take care, all!! Be curious. Be spontaneous. Peace and love!

A few healthy thoughts...

As I mentioned a couple posts back, I'm trying to make some healthier choices. I've been mostly consistent in walking a trail in Fryman Canyon which is a roughly two-mile trek up into the hills and back down. And being a rather curious person and observing as much as I can as I huff and puff and listen to podcasts, I began putting together some clues about the origins of the trail. The trailhead is at a park (well, parking lot) called Wilacre Park that actually has a street address. The steep winding path uphill is paved for the first quarter mile and is lined with terra cotta bricks (mostly grown over) and features what I think was once a large fountain and now has a big tree growing in the middle. At the end of the paving, the path opens up to a large field that boasts remnants of old fences and some old, bare foundations. What the heck was here? Well, after a little digging, I found one brief reference to the park's namesake. Evidently, Lila Wilacre was a silent movie actress who had an expansive estate here in the 1920s. I wish I could find out more, but that one reference was all I could find on Google. Really interesting though.

Some more intriguing facts about the trail is that at one end is the Alex Trebek estate and at the other end is the George Clooney compound. And near Clooney's is the entrance to another trail that is more obscure but often talked about on hiking sites and LA city recommendations... the Rainforest Trail. I hear tell of a seasonal stream and a rope swing and a half-buried VW Bug. An exploration might be in order soon.

One final granola-ish health observation is a memory from junior high. Mr. Wilkinson, p.e. teacher and coach, told us of something he called mushroom tea, a tea cultivated over a month using a fungus (not actually a mushroom, but a cake of cultures). There were supposedly many health benefits, but that didn't matter to junior highers who wretched and convulsed at the thought of the stuff. Well, mushroom tea – or Kombucha – while still falling under "alternative supplements", is becoming more and more accepted. Folks have cultivated their own for ages, but bottles of the stuff are now available mixed with various juices at Whole Foods and other stores. I'm still a little creeped out a bit by the idea, but I've tried it and it isn't nearly as disgusting as I thought it would be. Anyway...

That's enough musing for the day. Back to drawing... lots of projects on the desk. Peace and love, y'all.