Notes from the Road: Europe and Hawaii

After two weeks of far-ranging travels, I’m heading back to NYC for a Thursday night duo gig at the Kiosk with guitarist Tony Romano.

Austria and Germany: Jet Lag, part one

March 25th I flew out of Newark Airport with Max Pollak and Chikako Iwahori for Rumbatap shows in Austria and Germany, my first time in either country. We landed in Munich the next morning; Max and I had spent much of the night discussing future projects, and neither of us slept much on the flight. In Munich we met up with Rumbatap members Lynn Schwab and Dimitri Moderbacher, something that would not seem difficult, but in our sleep-deprived state it took a while to realize Dimitri had not arrived at the same terminal we had. After picking up the rental car we finally were pulled up at the curb in a non-standing zone getting the last of the gear in the car when a German police officer drove up and began telling us we couldn’t park there. Max was explaining why we hadn’t used the loading zone when the officer interrupted by asking, “are you from Austria?” Max responded yes, and the officer, without another word, laughingly got back into his car and drove off. When all this was explained to my non-German speaking self I thanked the gods for providing me with the perfect way to laugh off the ugly sleep-deprived mood I was starting to fall into.

After arriving in Bad Hofgastein, Austria, later that day, I thanked the divine powers once again as I looked out my hotel window at the Austrian Alps:

After a day of jet-lag recovery we were ready to throw down at the SnowJazz festival. Brothers Sepp and Thomas Grabmeir at Sägewerk, the festival venue, treated us spectacularly well, and we performed the night of March 27th to a full house:

Making Friends with the Locals

After the show we hung with Sepp and Argentinian Fernando Tarres’ band at a local watering hole. On the way to the restroom I discovered a local skier face- down on a table, completely passed out, with full ski wear on including ski boots. Apparently he’d been that way several hours after a coma-inducing drinking bout with several friends. Having had a couple myself, and feeling impish, I conspired with Chikako to create the following series of portraits:

What fun!!!

Passau and Salzburg

The next day it was on to Passau, Germany, and the Cafe Museum for our next gig. On the way we availed ourselves of a never-ending stream of incredibly delicious pork products and beer. ¡andale!

Too soon, the Rumbatap Fellowship parted ways after this gig as Lynn headed off to teach workshops in Switzerland, Dimitri and Gottfried Stoger to visit with Austrian relatives, and the rest of us drove to Salzburg to stay the night. In Salzburg we visited the old part of the city, including the birthplace of Mozart:

The next day , March 30th, we drove in the snow to Munich for the flight back to 50-degree New York weather.

Hawaii: Jet Lag, part two

The following day, after unpacking and repacking, I flew out to Honolulu with my mom for a visit with my brother & family, and to play a series of gigs with Hawaiian musicians. Arriving in Honolulu Tuesday night, March 31st, at 7 PM, I reflected, but not too long, on the fact that at that moment it was 7 AM Wednesday morning in Munich, which I’d left less than 48 hours before. Arf! But all worries slid away in the warmth and sun of Oahu.

After a day of rehearsals my quintet started off the weekend at the Diamond Head Grill. Pianist Satomi Yarimizo put all of my Hawaii gigs together, including the booking of gigs, musicians and promotion, for which I am eternally grateful. It was a stellar night with a full house and a kickin’ band including trumpeter DeShannon Higa, bassist Steve Jones, and drummer Von Baron.

The next night Satomi led a band at the banquet for the University of Hawaii’s Zoology department-sponsored Tester Symposium. Saturday night I led a quartet including bassist John Hawes, Von on drums, and pianist Joshua Kaye at the Dragon Upstairs in Chinatown. The Dragon is a great little joint with killer decor:

Again we were blessed with a capacity crowd. I was amazed and humbled by the enthusiasm of the tightly-nit jazz audience on Oahu; many people came to two or three different gigs over the course of the weekend.

Sunday afternoon I performed once again with Satomi, her husband Shinya on drums (Shinya also took all of the Hawaii performance photos shown), and bassist Mark Tonouye at a jam session at Ward’s Rafters. Jackie Ward is a long-term Hawaii resident whose late husband Herb was a bassist with the Honolulu Symphony as well as a jazz player. She runs informal Sunday-afternoon events on the third floor of her home. Boasting a spectacular leeward-side view of the ocean, the space was set up by Herb as a performance venue, with stage and piano. Once again, the house was full and we all had a blast playing standards, some of my arrangements, and originals by Tom Harrell and Freddie Hubbard. Mahalo (Thanks!) to Jackie, Satomi, Dancin’ Dave Rohner, Dj Ray Cruz, and all of the beautiful folks and audience members in Hawaii who helped make these shows possible!

I’m already planning my next trip to Hawaii; stay tuned–

Paul

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