[Dixielandjazz] I`m home

[Tom Wood]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom Wood" <zenith at ans.com.au>
To: "Dixieland Jazz" <Dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Cc: <maryo at iprimus.com.au>; <pj.ladd at btopenworld.com>
Sent: Saturday, April 10, 2004 8:09 AM
Subject: Fw: [Dixielandjazz] I`m home


> Dear Pat and Listers,
>
> Sorry you caught the Zenith "between gigs" in Sydney.  Just after the
"F2F"
> we had the next weekend at the Gold Coast in Queensland.  A local
> photographer captured some good jazz photographs of the Gold Coast Jazz
and
> Blues Festival which I can recommend to everyone on this list.  Please
visit
> http://www.goldcoastphotography.com/gallery/album62  to view 73 images of
> Zenith alone.  I am glad to give this "first" Gold Coast Jazz Festival a
> plug.  They deserve it, contact is Mary & Jim Oxenford.  Hope it runs
again
> next year.
>
> Hungary Boondocking sounded interesting Bob and Bill, maybe we can try for
> 2005?  We leave for Europe tomorrow but have a house full of Kiwis at the
> moment.  Glad you had a good trip Pat and Wendy - they tell me its a bit
> cold in England at the moment, so Scotland will be worse!!
>
> Cheers,
> Tom (not feeling very Easterly living in the South) Wood
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "PJ Ladd" <pj.ladd at btopenworld.com>
> To: "jazz" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Sent: Saturday, April 10, 2004 1:03 AM
> Subject: [Dixielandjazz] I`m home
>
>
> Hi everyone,
> just to mention that I am back on the list after a 2 month break. If any
one
> noticed.
>
> I managed to touch base with list mate Ross Anderson in Melbourne who was
> kind enough to take me to his `local` for an hour or two where we sank a
few
> beers and talked about the jazz scene in Oz and about the list and how
great
> it was.
>
> I arrived in Sydney on a Sunday afternoon and immediately after dropping
the
> luggage Wendy and I ran Bill Haesler to earth in the middle of his regular
> gig at a pub in the Rocks. A typical pub gig with everyone enjoying
> themselves , musicians and audience both. The `chick singer` did her job
> well and was very easy on the eye in addition. Tom Wood had also made a
> point of being in the pub and we managed to have a talk in between the
noise
> of the band and the shouts of the audience for more beer.
> Tom was very kind and he and his wife invited Wendy and I, together with
> Bill and his wife for dinner at his lovely home way up river from Sydney
> Harbour.
> We had a great time drinking, eating  talking and looking out at the
lovely
> view.
> The whole thing was greatly enhanced by the fact that transport was by
ferry
> boat and the trip back to Sydney, after saying goodbye to Tom and his wife
> and dropping off the Haeslers part way was made under a starry sky with
the
> incredible Sydney skyline illuminated before us.
>
> A bit of non jazz. We saw a superb production of The Merry Widow at the
> Sydney Opera House. The standard of productions there is very high. On
> previous trips we have seen `Cav and Pag` and an Australian Gilbert and
> Sullivan Society production of  The Mikado. Both top class.
> Unfortunately, we had to leave Sydney the day before the Great Gay Parade.
> Damn. Thats twice I have missed it by a day. Now don`t get me wrong
fellers,
> its a great parade......I am told.......
>
> We ran into no further jazz until LA where we noticed that there was `Jazz
> in the Bar` at our hotel. This proved to be a top notch trio, keyboard,
> drums, bass backing a lady named Barbara Morrison.She is apparently pretty
> well known now but when she is in town she often goes back to the hotel we
> were staying in and performs for old times sake as that is where she got
her
> start.
> She was a great performer and swung like crazy. In addition there were a
> number of `Swing Dancers` gyrating around the area. They danced a sort
> jive,cum jitterbug but with a dash of rock and roll. Great beaty stuff. It
> seemes that there is enough of that sort of music, essentially swing,
going
> down around L A for them to dance 5 nights a week, and they do. We were
> invited out to a Big Band (17 piece) session at Pasadena the following
> night. You get there, we will get you back was the offer. Unfortunately we
> couldn`t take that up as we were being taken out to the desert beyond Palm
> Springs and spectacular it was too.
> Stopping in Palm Springs on our way back to LA and looking for a meal I
was
> attracted by a swinging guitar coming from a small cafe. I talked our
hosts
> into picking the place for a meal and as we ate the guitar player was
joined
> by a harmonica player who was just great. He was on holiday  in Palm
Springs
> and said he had been sitting in with all the bands that he could. They
made
> a great duo.
> I found that the guitarist also had a keyboard on which he played backing
> chords with his foot. He had invented the system himself and had an array
of
> tubes, about 8, hinged at one end. The other ends were connected to some
> pads on the keyboard  by fishing line. This enabled him to hold down a
chord
> on the keyboard with his foot while playing hot licks on the guitar.
> Brilliant. He said he had invented it when he was marooned up in the
> mountains for a time.
>
> The only other music we encountered was a selection of marching bands,
> country western and some rock and roll from the floats in the Cherry
Blossom
> Parade in Washington on the day we left for the UK.
>
> We have now just about recovered from jet lag and no longer fall fast
asleep
> face down in the corflakes.
> So aftter 2 months travelling, 6 countries, 22 hotels or B and B`s, 22
> plane, seaplane  or helicopter trips and 3 hire cars we are back in the UK
> in the Spring having experienced only one days rain in all that time.
> Today is bright and sunny and I know it is Spring because I have just put
> the wind chimes up at the front door. Home!
>
> I have also learned from Australians. who shorten all words, that Cabernet
> Sauvignon is pronounced `cabsav`. I shall not forget.
>
> Pat (Very brown and with a very strange accent. She`ll be right)
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