Springtime Rural Rambles

Spring is in the air.  The clocks go forward on Sunday and last week we saw our first sunny days of the year.  I was actually able to wear my sunglasses for the first time this year!

And as has been the case for the last 3 years, spring for me means rural rambles.  I have 4 performances coming up in April and May with the excellent David Frankel on piano.

Celebrating the Divas of Jazz

04 Apr - Calver Village Hall, Main Street, Calver, Derbyshire, S32 3XR
05 Apr - Gilbert Sheldon Hall, Stanton, Derbyshire, DE6 2DA
16 May - Winforton Community Hall, St Michael's Church, Winforton, Herefordshire, HR3 6EA
17 May - Garway Village Hall, Garway, Herefordshire, HR2 8RQ
18 May - Snailbeach Village Hall,Shropshire, SY5 0NX

Playful Puns and Spellbound Stories

Great news!  My grant application to Arts Council England was successful and I've been offered funding for my new project "Spellbound Stories".

Spellbound Stories is a set of songs I've written that are inspired by some of my favourite novels. Novels used as inspiration include "Vanity Fair" (William Makepeace Thackeray), "The Colour Purple" (Alice Walker), Veronika Decides to Die (Paolo Coelho) and "White Teeth" (Zadie Smith). 

I'm really looking forward to working with my great band - Nick Ramm (piano) Oli Hayhurst/Ben Hazleton (bass) and Eddie Hick (drums).  Our premiere performance will be at The Forge in London on 22 May 2014.  I've almost finished all the songs now - just a few bits and pieces to finish. I've aso been working on setting up a tour for later in the year and already have several dates confirmed.  Exciting!

While I was waiting to hear my fate I busied myself by searching out some excellent puns.  Here are a few of my favourites.  

• No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.
• Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
• Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other: 'You stay here; I'll go on a head.'
• A vulture carrying two dead raccoons boards an airplane. The stewardess looks at him and says,  'I'm sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger.'
• Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.

 This also made me chuckle.

Licking the Lid of Life - Happy New Year!

In 2014 I will be licking the lid of life!  I don't want to waste a moment. Lost my focus at the end of last year but now I am determined to set my goals and stay on track.

I have various projects brewing and am really looking forward to seeing them come to life.  Will keep you posted.  :-)

Until then here are a few quotes that I hope will keep us all motivated for the year to come:

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." Aristotle

"The talent of success is nothing more than doing what you can do, well". Henry W. Longfellow

"A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds." Francis Bacon

"Life is like a game of cards.  The hand that is dealt you represents determinism; the way you play it is free will." Jawaharlal Nehru

"When one door closes another opens. But often we look so long so regretfully upon the closed door that we fail to see the one that has opened for us." Helen Keller

Rural Touring, Mediterranean Chicken Stew and Fantastic Fudge

I've just returned from the latest rural adventure and am thinking how fortunate I am to be able to visit such beautiful parts of the country - doing the thing I love!

All of the gigs were well attended and we had a great time. Should be back on the rural road again in the spring - can't wait!

Kirk Langley Village Hall

We had a sold out audience on our first night with a waiting list for returns!  A great audience too with two encores.  And before the show we were invited to a lovely dinner at promoter's home.  Beautiful scenery, interesting venues and a warm welcome from both the promoter and the audiences are just some of the things that make rural touring so special.

Bramshall church

The promoter of the gig in Bramshall was also the vicar of the beautiful church above.  Again a good audience and we were told that he had the best turnout ever over the five years they have been running.  A very appreciative audience once again.  And to top it all, the vicar's wife made us a Mediterranean chicken stew as they'd seen on my website how much I love Italy.  It was delicious!

The Fold in Bransford

The Fold in Bransford, Worcestershire is a very special and inspirational place.  It was set up to encourage sustainable living and is home to designers, artists, complementary therapists and several little shops that sell everything from organic wine to leather goods.  I bought some lovely pear and ginger jam here.  Also some of the most amazing fudge I've ever tasted.  Can you tell I love food? :-)  The venue itself was also wonderful with great acoustics and it was a lovely gig.
 

Padded applique wall hanging in Yoxall Parish Hall

We spent out final day in Yoxall which was very beautiful and winner of Best Kept Village 2013.  Sadly as it was a Sunday and raining there wasn't much to see/do.  Another great gig though.  Extremely well organised by a promoter who was a retired salesman and who did a great job with promoting my CDs!  We drove straight home to avoid the storms.  Just made it. 

Summer, Medieval Tuscany and Rural Midlands

Summer was a string of lazy afternoons.  Some of it spent relaxing in beautiful Buggiano Castello in Tuscany, Italy.  I love Italy and it was good to go back there after what seemed like way too long.  The sun was hot in London but was even hotter in Italy but there's nothing like a siesta under a cool ceiling fan on a scorching hot afternoon.  I had plenty of those!

View from the medieval village walls of Buggiano Castello

Next month I'm back on the rural touring road in the Midlands.

23 Oct - The Leeke Memorial Hall, Kirk Langley, Derbyshire DE6 4NJ
24 Oct - The Fold Café, Bransford, Worcester, WR6 5JB
26 Oct - Bramshall Parish Hall, Uttoxeter ST14 5BQ
27 Oct - Yoxall Parish Hall, East Staffs DE13 8NE

Yoxall Parish Hall today...

... and being opened by opened by Lady Burton in 1905

I find it interesting that, in over one hundred years, mens' suits haven't really changed all that much compared to ladies' fashions . 

The weather has suddenly turned awful this week.  We went straight from summer to winter.  What happened to the balmy autumn days?  I hope the sun makes a reappearance in time for my village ventures in October. 

Making Music in Minsk (and Accidental Shopping!)

I've just returned from a lovely week in Minsk where I performed three "Divas of Jazz" concerts with a fabulous local band to very warm and appreciative audiences.   The weather was mostly very kind; apart from a few exciting thunderstorms it was very warm and sunny.  Also met some wonderful people.  Hope to go back soon!

The Venues

Palace of the Republic

Palace of the Trade Unions - a stunning building!

Poster at the entrance of the club

The Band

With Andrei (sax), Dimitri (piano) and Alexei (bass)

With Katerina (tour manager) and Alexei (drums)

Going Home

I flew out on a regular plane that you'd expect to see on a short haul flight -3 seats across on both sides.  I was very happy when I saw there were only a few people booked onto the return flight and had visions of stretching out across the seats for the 3-hour flight...  Imagine my surprise when the transit bus pulled up to this "mini" aeroplane.  It barely seated 50 people!  Definitely the smallest plane I've ever flown on and there were some dicey moments of turbulence when I wondered if we would make it!

Private plane?

And Accidental Shopping...

I was very good throughout my stay and didn't go out to any shops but... as luck would have it :-)  and amazing designer (Valentina Filimonova) came to my final concert and brought one of her creations.  I bought it on the spot and absolutely love it!  It's multi-coloured gold (so very glam!) made from very good quality leather.  And it's reversible with changeable coloured handles and pockets!

I love the fact that I didn't even need to go to the shops.  Shopping came to me! :-)

This photo doesn't really do it justice.  It's beautiful!

Easter, Rural Touring and Snow!

Spring is finally here! Although you wouldn't have believed it last week. We had to drive through snowy rural landscapes to get to our gigs at the end of March. Thanks so much to all those people who turned out to see us in such unseasonable weather. We had a great time!

Very happy that we also had some sold out gigs even given the Easter period and horrible snow. Such warm and appreciative audiences too. Can't wait to go back. hopefully I'll have some more dates at the end of this year.

Snowy Leics

And my next London date at the Royal Albert Hall is also already sold out! If you managed to get tickets, look forward to seeing you then. 

Looking forward to performing in Minsk, Belarus at the end of next month. Please - pretty please with a cherry on top - no snow!

Before then, I'm off to the Jazzahead conference in Bremen at the end of April to mix and mingle with the international jazz glitterati. It was great last year so hoping for more of the same.

Happy Spring!