[Dixielandjazz] Alive and well in Jerusalem

[Elazar Brandt]

Shalom Jazz Fans,

It seems our peace partners missed me again this afternoon. Actually I had planned to go into town and play some music, and decided
earlier to stay home and get some work done. Not the first time I've been shall we say passively steered away from terror attacks. I
hope God likes jazz, and wants to keep it happening in his neighborhood for awhile, that is. Now we wait for the list of
casualties -- the next most painful part of these things other than being a victim of one.

But there is also good news. Since I returned from my trip to India and Holland, the phone almost has not stopped ringing with ...
calls for gigs! In the past week I've booked one or two gigs per week for the next several weeks, into July already, most with quite
decent pay. On top of that, the Doctor Jazz trio is booked to play (for a pittance, but it's steady) at a restaurant in east
Jerusalem every Saturday night through the summer. Plus we're playing on the pedestrian mall in town and planning to travel around
Israel this summer to play wherever we can -- Eilat, Tiberias, Netanya, Tel Aviv, whatever.

More good news. My young trombone student is nearing the threshold of being able to perform with us. My banjo student, now partner,
started the same way. So we'll be working the bone player into the band over the summer too. Still looking for more students. The
two I have are university students. I wanted to do this years ago, but it took a long time to make the first couple of connections.
Now with a couple success stories in tow, I hope business will pick up, and I'll have a Dixie/Swing band of players in their 20s in
another year or so.

So maybe God does like jazz.

Elazar
Misrad HaJazz
Doctor Jazz Band
Jerusalem, Israel
<www.israel.net/ministry-of-jazz>
Tel: +972-2-679-2537