TED NASH

Another tour down, and more memories and experiences - musical, social, educational, gastronomical - to enrich this life. I think the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra is growing in new ways. The band sounds tight and loose in all the right ways, and the sense of sharing a vision seems stronger than ever to me. Maybe because cats in the band are contributing more than ever to the repertoire.
After less then a day home, many of us participated in a concert in support of Target's effort to feed the homeless, in an event called Party for Good. We were a bit jet-lagged and began to hit the wall just before we had to perform at 9:30, but the enthusiastic crowd (which seemed more like a Metallica audience) snapped us out of it.

...bringing the music to the people. For the last leg of the tour we hit the road in the UK, playing Manchester, Brighton, Birmingham (tonight), Gateshead, and Glasgow.
Check out the recent vlog (video log), made from clips I took during our week in Berlin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hTFI6ZBe3g

I'm here in London with the JLCO. They sure have us working - but it's good stuff. Sat in with the Guy Barker band at a swing dance, along with my bandmates Wynton Marsalis, Victor Goines, Marcus Printup, and other guests like Wycliffe Gordon and Terrell Stafford. On the 18th we played a concert at the Barbican of music from the 20s and 30s. The band actually was killing on this music - felt alive and fresh! Last night we played another concert at the Barbican, featuring a lot of great guest artists, like Peter King, Soweto Kinch, Andy Panayi, and a great latin rhythm section that was smoking! Yesterday, Vince Gardner and I did a worship with a local college band, that sounded great. Vincent and I were particularly knocked out by the maturity of the rhythm section.
This week is the first of a ten-year residency with the Barbican, so we'll be coming back many times...!

One more concert tomorrow night.  This has been a great experience.  All of us in the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra are inspired by the musicianship we have been hearing all week. And Simon Rattle is very cool. I am going to miss this great orchestra. I also learned something (besides that fact that the Berliner Philharmoniker is BAD!!!) - when the conductor says "gay sex" he means rehearsal letter G-6...

After our second concert of Wynton's premier of "Swing Symphony" a bunch of us from the band, and many from the Berliner Philharmoniker went to hang at A-Trane, Berlin's great jazz club. Some of us sat in and played with the killing guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkle, who was headlining. The air conditioning had broke down, and it was a warm, humid night to begin with, and inside the club, which was packed like a rushhour train, was a sauna. After losing about ten pounds each, the hang continued outside the club. Vincent Gardner and I were dropped off out our hotel around 3:00 am, and the very cool man who drove us gave Vince and me a 30-minute tour of the city's landmarks on the way home.

Even if you don't have plans to join me with Wynton in person in Berlin, Germany, this June, you can still be a part of the world premiere of Wynton's 'Swing Symphony' performance on June 10 with the world-renowned Berliner Philharmoniker, when the concert will be broadcast live through the Berliner Philharmoniker's acclaimed Digital Concert Hall. You can sign up for the Berliner Philharmoniker's Digital Concert Hall and purchase broadcast tickets to view the concert live. Broadcast tickets are 9.90 EUR and are valid for the live broadcast only and does not include subsequent access to the performance's recording. Use the code: WYN785 for a 10% discount. I believe you can go back and watch it later from their site as well.