The internet is an amazing resource for musicians like us to be able to share our music.  One of our latest ventures is Jango Radio.  We have been gaining new fans from all over the world with three of our original tunes that Jango has approved for airplay.  It is very cool to see who is listening and becoming fans from all over.  We will still be plugging away trying to sell CD's online and at our shows, but it is great to be able to "distribute" our music via the web.  Thanks for the support.

 It has been a little over a month since we put together a CD compilation of original tunescalled "Out and About".  We are thrilled that so many people have downloaded the CD.  Lots of you have told us you like the CD and have been sharing our download link with your friends.  We have decided to extend the free download offer until the end of March and look forward to sharing our music with more friends, old and new.

We felt it was time to say thanks to our fans and hopefully gain some new ones this year with a "free or pay what you like" album download.  We know alot of artists have gone down this path and we wanted to jump in too.  Digital downloads have some legal and licensing implications, so all the tunes on our download page are ones that we own the rights to because we wrote them, except for Amazing Grace, which is in the public domain.  We encourage you to "help yourself", but we sure would appreciate it if you would spread the word on our behalf.  Of course we would be thrilled if everyone checked out our latest CD "Quintesential Coffee" while they are at it.  

 We played an intetresting gig last night.  It was a gala for about 125 professional event planners.  The theme for the evening was that of taking a flight and the ballroom was decked out with all things airplane.  The MC for the evening played the role of a pilot making a series of inflight announcements.  He repeatedly talked about having great live jazz  during the flight.  The name of our band was mentioned over and over again.   It was defintely airtime deluxe.  

We are amazed that our website had visitor number 20,000 today (August 1, 2011).  Google analytics lets us know where all of our site visitors are from and how long they stay when they visit our site.  The average length of a visit is just over four minutes.  We get visitors from around the world, which is one of the cool things about the internet - we can share our music anywhere people are online.  Just to be clear, we are not trying to be a big online marketing machine, but we do like the idea that if people come to visit us online they would be interested in our music and stick around for a while.  Thanks to everyone who has stopped by over the years.  

The harmonica is not usually considered much of a "high brow" instrument - it is the inexpensive instrument of the street.  And most people would not consider it to be a prime candidate for jazz.  But that all changed when Toots Thielmans got his hands on one.  There is no denying his amazing soulful playing.  His most famous song is Bluesette, a tune I love to play.  Here is a sample of many from You Tube. Enjoy!

This past Wednesday (May 18) we were hired for our first ever Harbor Cruise gig on the Pride of Vancouver.   We  have had a cool, wet spring in Vancouver this year, but the day of the gig was gorgeous - sunny and warm.  It was a bit of a challenge to get our gear from the parking area to the boat and up on to the lounge deck, but it all worked pretty well. The crew on the boat were very helpful and in no time we were set up and ready to play for about 60 people from around the world who were here to experience the fabulous city of Vancouver.  It took us a few minutes to get used to the motion of the boat on the water.  Once we got cruising it was pretty smooth, except for when we crossed the wake of a large container ship!  We played jazz standards and originals for about three and half hours, although we did get a 45 minute break.  I have to admit that it required more concentration to play than usual because the scenery was so spectacular.  Seeing Vancouver from the water was amazing.  It was cool as we passed other vessels because we were playing right beside a big open door and the sound of our music was carrying across the water.  The would look at us and give us a wave. During our break the guests were on the lower deck having supper so we just kicked back and relaxed.  The chef was kind enough to save us supper, which we enjoyed once the cruise was done.  We all agreed it wouldn't be hard to get used to gigs like this one.  

Last Saturday we were invited to play at Mosaic, in downtown Vancouver.  Mosaic is a faith community for everyone, but especially for the marginalized and disadvantaged.  They have a great gathering space and a really interesting mix of people who participate.  We were asked to provide a jazz concert along with a presentation about the creative aspect of improvisation as being a reflection of the creative nature of God.  We also shared how different types of jazz tunes serve well as expressions of the human heart, ranging from despair through to joy.  We played the very sad Angel Eyes as a reflection of heartache and the very happy St. Thomas as an expression of happiness.  The vibe, interaction with the crowd, and pre/ post concert conversations with people were really meaningful.  It was one of those times when the music really provided a great way to interact with people.  Very enjoyable.

We are giving away 5 free CDs in honor of the mystery coffee cup rhythm track!  Doug surprised us with it on our recent CD, Quintessential Coffee.  Can you hear it?  Listen to our sample tracks and let us know which song includes the mystery coffee cup rhythm track.  Post your comment the first five right answers will a free Quintessential Coffee CD.  We will not confirm or deny any answer posted so as not to give things away.  

This past week our band was featured in both of the local newspapers after I sent a press release out about our CD launch.  We appreciate the way both papers do a lot to support the local arts and music scene.  These days everything that goes in the newspaper is also posted on line, so if you want to see the articles you can find them at the following links:  Coffee's on at the Watershed Cafe and Quintessential Take on Jazz