We were fully prepared for a quiet night on Thursday but it was so crowded I had wait in a long line to get a water before we started playing. Jason Wilder was there and George Wegman, from the Hangmen. There were plenty of new faces too which is always nice. Jack brought both his guitar and bass clarinet. He sounds great on both but during the break he told us he would probably just bring his clarinet next gig. So Margaret Explosion, with sax, bass clarinet, cello, double bass and drums and no guitar, is moving closer to a chamber punk outfit.
We shoveled again this morning before leaving home and I took a photo of our impressive piles, the one at the end of the driveway now taller than I am. The temperature was 16 which makes for light fluffy snow, perfect for X-country skiing. I have been loving this winter so much, fresh snow everyday and the crisp temperatures to support it, I really didn’t want to leave town. Kathy took us to the airport and as she pulled up to the Jet Blue gate she said, “I probably shouldn’t mention this but did you hear about the plane that rolled over at the Toronto airport?”
As we walked to our hotel we stopped to look at a wall of posters and while I was taking this photo a Black woman, about our age, walked by pulling one of those vertical shopping carts on two wheels. She shook her head and said, “Jazz ain’t dead.” A New York moment.
The gate was open in front of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Bernard so we stopped in and studied the statues of the saints and the beautiful, three dimensional Stations of the Cross. We checked in to the hotel and headed out to see some art. In Tribeca at 42 Walker four grand pianos were arranged in the center of the gallery, three self playing Yamaha Disklaviers and one silent antique Weber, similar to the one in the home where composer, Julius Eastman grew up. Glenn Ligon worked with Eastman’s estate to present the show entitled “Evil Nigger.”
