Upcoming Dates for Dan Barrett and the Blue Swing Family
REMINISCING ABOUT 2007:
In 2007, a song I composed--with lyrics by Dave Frishberg--was presented
in two separate CDs, by Dave Frishberg and John Pizzarelli's trio--with
guest Ken Peplowski--respectively. The title is Eastwood
Lane, and is a tribute to the composer--Eastwood Lane--whose
piano pieces influenced the jazz cornetist and pianist Bix Beiderbecke.
Dave's lyrics are beautiful, haunting, and practically existential. Dave
honored me by performing it at his appearance at the Jazz Bakery in
Los Angeles last December, and I heard from him that John Pizzarelli
featured it in an arrangement for full symphony orchestra (probably
written by the great Don Sebesky) at a concert that Dave attended in
Portland. Thanks to both Dave and John for bringing my melody to
life.
By now, most of you know that in April 2007,
I had emergency eye surgery for a detached retina. I had to forfeit two
months of work (I wasn't allowed to fly because of the nature of the
operation), but the good news is that I was back playing by the summer
of 2007, and my eye seems to have healed completely. I very much appreciate
the many cards, gifts, and kind words I received; thank you all
very much.
I was in Europe a couple of times last year. In July, I flew
over to Germany for Bernd Lhotzky's Swing Festival in
Elmau, at the beautiful Hotel Schloss in the
Bavarian Alps (I'll be there again later this year; see June
2008, below). I then traveled by car to Heeze, Holland
for Frank Roberscheuten's second annual Jazzin' July Workshop (see
July 2008, below). After some down time back in the USA, in late September
I again flew to Europe for seven weeks--from late September until early
November--playing with some very swinging Austrian, German, and Dutch
friends.
While in Austria, I did a few nights at the venerable
club, Jazzland, with my friend Martin Breinschmid,
and his band, the Radio Kings. Martin plays terrific
drums and vibraphone ("vibraharp" to you purists), and his little band
is a great one. After that, I flew to Germany for gigs with clarinetist Engelbert
Wrobel and his fine band, Swing Society,featuring
my friend, pianist Chris Hopkins. I also played in Holland
with my longtime friend, clarinetist/saxophonist Frank
Roberscheuten, who is now helping me out in the capacity
of "manager" for my European bookings. He's been a great help already.
In early November, I flew to New York City, and
took part in a recording session for Arbors Records,
with leader/pianist Johnny Varro. The band was a great one, and included:
Randy Sandke, Ken Peplowski, Scott Robinson, Joe Ascione, and bassist
Frank Tate. We had a great time at the legendary NOLA recording
studio, on 57th Street in Manhattan.
From New York, I flew to Ames, Iowa, and led
another "all-star" band for a concert billed as the Ames Jazz
Party. The band there included cornetist Randy Reinhart; New
Orleans reedman Tom Fischer; drummer Jeff Hamilton (the one who lives
in Arizona, and who studied drums in New Orleans with the legendary Cie
Frazier); Italian piano phenom Rossano Sportiello; and bassist Frank
Tate.
I rang in the New Year playing jazz on a paddlewheel steamboat!
I took part in a jazz cruise (for Jazzdagen Tours) up
the Mississippi River with my friends Rebecca Kilgore (the outstanding
vocalist from Portland, Oregon) and guitarist/vocalist Eddie Erickson,
from Pacific Grove, California. We mixed and matched with the many other
musicians on board, and had a great time. (Incidentally, Jazzdagen means "Jazz
Days" in Dutch). For more information about upcoming Jazzdagen
Tours jazz cruises, visit the Jazzdagen website
at: www.jazzdagen.com or
contact Ms. Alida Meijers at: jazzdagen@aol.com or
800.433.0078
PILLOW TALK:
The quartet BED continues to attract attention both here in
the USA and overseas. By now, I hope you all know that the name is
the acronym for Becky, Eddie, and Dan.
I also hope everyone understands that BED is a quartet,
utilizing the invaluable bass work of Joel Forbes, from
New York City! As someone once wrote, "Joel is the box spring upon which BED rests..."
I entertain dreams of leading and writing for a big band, but until I--or one
of you--wins the lottery, BED is my group "of choice." Right
now, it's simply more practical to travel with a quartet, and BED is
perhaps the most musically rewarding foursome with which I've had the pleasure
of performing.
Please visit BED's own website at: www.BEDjazz.com We
would love to perform at your next jazz event, but we are also
available to play
in your home for a party or any occasion. (We've been doing
more and more of these intimate house parties lately). You don't have to wait
for the next big jazz festival, or jazz party or cruise to hear BED!
Let us come to your home! For bookings, please contact me at Dan@BlueSwing.com or
Rebecca Kilgore at rebecca@rebeccakilgore.com (we
share the booking duties).
Thanks,
--Dan Barrett.
DATES for 2008
JANUARY 2008
Jan 12: The Lover's Point Traditional Jazz Extravaganza, Pacific
Grove, California (www.loverspointjazz.com).
This event, in guitarist/vocalist/banjoist Eddie Erickson's hometown of Pacific
Grove (next door to Monterey), should be a lot of fun. I will perform with Eddie,
our friend, Big Mama Sue, and others in the Bring Down the House Band. I'm
proud to announce that my son Andrew Barrett is also on the
program as one of the six fine ragtime pianists to be featured. Please visit
the website for more details.
Jan 31 - Feb 3: North Carolina Jazz Festival (http://www.capefearjazz.com/2008_nc_jazz_fest.htm)in
Wilmington. The quartet called BED (Becky Kilgore, Eddie
Erickson, Dan [hence BED] and bassist
Joel Forbes) will be featured, along with many other great jazz musicians. (See
the website for the unbelievable line-up).
FEBRUARY 2008
Feb 15-17: Dan at The Newport Beach Jazz Party (www.newportbeachjazzparty.com)
This prestigious event, in the heart of affluent Newport Beach, and hosted by
jazz lovers Joe Rothman and John McClure, is always exciting and lots of fun.
See the website for the terrific line-up and other details.
Feb 22-24: BED at The San Diego
Jazz Party (www.sandiegojazzparty.com)
Dan returns with BED to this great jazz party. hosted by Dan's
friends Dave and Joanne Cooper. The great tenor saxophonist Houston Person will
return for his fourth consecutive appearance, aided and abetted by many other
stellar jazz stars.
MARCH 2008
Mar 7-9: BED will again perform for the sixth or seventh
(eighth?) consecutive time at the Monterey Dixieland Festival (http://www.dixieland-monterey.com/).
APRIL 2008
Apr 12-13: Dan in Cincinnati, Ohio for a concert at Xavier
University--and other tentative gigs--with trombonist Bob
Havens; c/o Mr. Rod Barr (bearcatrod@aol.com)
Local trombonist Bill Gemmer is putting together arrangements
for a trombone quartet, in which Bob and I will join Bill and a friend of his
for for several numbers.
Bob Havens is one of my heroes. I'm sure many of you remember
him from the great jazz he played on the Lawrence Welk Show,
and his many recordings with Pete Fountain and others. I'm looking forward to
this one! Please contact Mr. Rod Barr for details at his
e/mail address above.
Apr 18-20: Dan flies to Atlanta for the Atlanta
Jazz Party (http://www.atlantajazzparty.com/)
Apr 25-27: BED in Australia for
the Bob Barnard Jazz Party(http://www.rockyotway.com/bobbarnardsjazzparty.htm)in
Melbourne.
MAY 2008
May 2-5: BED flies to Merrye Olde England for
the Norwich Jazz Party (http://www.norwichjazzparty.com/)
This is a huge, exciting international jazz event hosted by Dan's friends Brian
Peerless and Jerry Brown. Jerry owns and operates Jazz 'N' Blues Records,
an online CD store. For great--and hard-to-find--jazz on CD, visit Jerry's website, http://wwwjazznblues.co.uk/.
May 16-18: Dan flies to Odessa, Texas, for the 42nd
Annual (yes, that's correct: FORTY-SECOND ANNUAL) West
Texas Jazz Collaboration. The neighboring cities of Midland and Odessa take
turns hosting this event, now
the longest-running annual jazz
event in the nation. Dan was
first invited to play this special jazz
party in the mid-1980s, when great artists like Ralph
Sutton, Flip Phillips, Yank Lawson, Milt
Hinton, Gus Johnson, and Kenny Davern were
featured. Sadly, all of those jazz legends are gone now,
but the party lives on in the
hands of younger players like
Dan and his colleagues who learned alongside these masters. See
the West
Texas Jazz Society website for more details: https://www.wtjs.org/About_Us.html.
May 23-26 (Memorial Day Weekend): BED returns to
the big-big Sacramento Jazz Jubilee (http://www.sacjazz.com/)
JUNE & JULY 2008:
I'll be returning to Europe for June and July...
June 11: Dan in Italy (with Rebecca Kilgore)
for the Rimini Jazz Festival (http://www.jazzswingrimini.com/);
June 20-27: Dan in Germany at the Elmau Swing Festival at
the Hotel Schloss, in the Bavarian Alps (e/mail info@schloss-elmau.de)
June 28-29: Dan in Oberhaching, Germany (near Munich) for
concerts with pianist Bernd Lhotzky (for details, contact
Bernd at: lhotzky@gmx.de
JULY 2008:
June 30-July 6: Dan leads The International Swing Party at
the Ascona Jazz Festival (on Lake Maggiore, on the
Swiss-Italian border; http://www.jazzascona.ch/)
July 14-19: Dan returns to teach trumpet and cornet (!) at
the third annual Jazzin' July Workshop in Heeze, Holland. The Workshop is
produced by clarinetist/saxophonist Frank Roberscheuten,
who also serves as Dan's European Manager. Mr. Roberscheuten can be contacted
directly at: frank.roberscheuten@planet.nl
Dan's close friend Howard Alden will be the other
American instructor--for guitar and banjo--at this fun, exciting workshop.
More information can be found at: http://www.swingcats.nl/workshop2007.htm
July 25-27: Dan meets up again with Randy Sandke, Ken Peplowski,
and Scott Robinson (and others!) for the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz
Festival in Bix's hometown of Davenport, Iowa. (http://www.bixsociety.org/)
AUGUST 2008:
Aug 2-12: BED flies to Scotland
for yet another return engagement at the Nairn Jazz Festival (http://www.nairnjazz.com/).
SEPTEMBER 2008:
Aug 28-Sept 1: BED at the Sweet and
Hot Festival in Los Angeles, over Labor Day Weekend. (http://www.sweethot.org/)
October 2008:
Oct 9-12: BED performs in Roswell, New Mexico for
the Pecos Valley Jazz and Arts Festival, c/o pianist Mike
Francis. For more information visit the PVJ&AF website: http://web.mac.com/pecosvalleyjazz/pecosvalleyjazz.com/WELCOME.html
I'll be back in Europe for most of October 2008; details and venues to
be announced!
Stay Tuned for updates! |
