My Hero

I went to see Jack DeJohnette featuring Bill Frisell this past Saturday at World Cafe Live here in Philadelphia. It was my first chance to see either of these immense musicians perform live, and I must say I was definitely pleased with the overall performance. As you can see above, I got to meet my guitar hero Bill Frisell, and I definitely look happy about it. In my hands is the CD I had just bought and had autographed by the trio.



Jack DeJohnette, even though suffering from a horrible cold (as you can see, he looks less than thrilled in this photo) managed to put on an incredible performance. Aside from being a living legend and possibly the best drummer alive today, he's also a gifted piano player and composer. We got to see him perform 2 different ballads in the 2 sets the band played. In the first set, he performed Flamenco Sketches on the piano, and in the second set he performed After The Rain, a John Coltrane composition. Both were thoughtful and beautifully performed. The biggest shocker from this performance was their encore, where they did Cripple Creek by The Band ... a tune I would have never expected to see three jazz musician EVER perform. Most notably, Jack DeJohnette did a great job singing and playing the drums at the same time, just as Levon Helm from The Band sang and played it at the same time.

Aside from all of that, Halloween is approaching and this time of year usually produces some interesting social happenings. I am sure I will be posting photos of the various Halloween parties I'll be attending this year in due time.