Leaps of Faith

2008-12-11T08:37:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since writing and so much has been churning around in my life. I have been madly working to make my concert at La Peña Cultural Center on Dec. 21 a success. Not only will there be a concert of the Sephardic music we have been developing, but there is also a companion art exhibit in the lobby of the center. Just getting 13 artists organized was stressful enough. Everyone needed to have their artwork to me by Nov.30 so it could be hung on Dec. 1. Needless to say, many of the artists missed that date. Some came the day of the hanging, other art didn't even arrive until Dec. 2. BUT, I got it all, it has been hung in the lobby and it is really amazing to see how each artist approached the Hand of God. They are all really beautiful and I am thrilled that it all came together so well. Since the hanging of the artwork, I had a photographer--David Belove--come and photograph each piece. I then created a poster calendar and a postcard, each of which will be for sale at the concert. All of this is to help raise funds for the SME recording project. I have applied for grants to help pay for the recording, but I still haven't heard the results and I'm not counting on much--especially in these tough economic times. So, I'm trying to think of creative ways to raise the funds. I will also be doing a raffle the night of the concert with some really nice gifts that have been donated to the cause. I'm pretty confident the concert will be spectacular and the overall evening will be jampacked with lots of fun stuff. It's taking a lot of work to prepare for all of this, but it's been fun, and I'm sure worth every effort.

As of January 5th I will be substitute teaching music for 6 months. one of the music teachers at a school near my apartment is takng a sabbatical to go and tour and record a CD. Lucky for her--and lucky for me! I will be teaching K-3 grades. I think it will be a lot of fun and really good for me to get back into the classroom on a regular basis. And of course the money won't hurt either! As I said previously, we are in tough economic times and my money situation has been precarious at best. Places to perform on a regular basis here in the Bay Area are becoming more and more challenging to find. This is the time that being able to think out of the box in order to survive becomes imperative. I'm not worried, though, I know that I'll be fine. I just hold on, pray a lot and trust that the Universe is watching over me. When I am able to let go and TRUST I am usually well cared for. It may sound somewhat hokey, but I believe in a higher power and time and time again it has been proven to me that the Universe watches over me--and I imagine all of us. Maybe you call it by a different name, but nevertheless there seems to be something bigger than each of us that oversees our existences.

Seattle and Beyond

2008-11-18T08:50:00.000-08:00

Seattle was fantastic. Andy Gilbert wrote a really nice article about me and my music in the Seattle Times that significantly helped to attract customers to Bake's Place--particularly for the Saturday night concert. Bake's Place is such a beautiful jazz club. The most challenging thing about it is that it is located within a gated retirement community. A lot of people are put off by that fact and don't want to go there. But if they could just get beyond their own perception of what that must be like, they would realize what an awesome place Bake's Place truly is. The acoustics are wonderful, the environment is very intimate--it only seats 72 people, and the musical experience is probably like no other in Seattle. Many of the people that came out this weekend had never been to Bake's before. It was because of the article that they came (power to the press!!). I was very grateful and happy to have such fantastic audiences both nights. I made some great new fans and the band, as always, played spectacularly. Traveling with Murray, Peter and Paul is so much fun. They all have such great senses of humor and we all get along very well. I was also happy because the hotel I chose for us to stay in this time was close to the Sound and so we were able to walk down to the water and explore a different part of the Seattle area. While down at the water we saw a couple walking their cat on a leash! Peter got video of it--I'll see if I can post something here soon. So bizarre.

The whole weekend was a huge success. The Jewish Film Festival concert was completely sold out to the point where people had to be turned away. What a thrill that was. And the septet played beautifully. We are all now settling in to this new music and it is beginning to take on a life of its own. That is when the magic really starts to present itself. Even over the weekend in Seattle we played some of the Sephardic songs. As a quartet it was a little more of a challenge for the band, but we figured it out and created some new and interesting sounds around the songs. I guess for me it just really doesn't matter in what context I get to perform--I just LOVE to sing and any and all opportunities are a blessing and a treat for me.

Now I have a month to prepare for the La Peña concert on Dec. 21. The artists are submitting their artwork for the art exhibit by Nov. 30. the art gets hung in the lobby on Dec. 3 and the art reception will be the night of the concert. I also have to contact all of the JCCs in this area to drop off flyers for the concert. The goal is to sell out for this event. I think it will be a truly special evening of art and music and I need to make sure it is well organized and as wonderful as I am envisioning!

2008-11-12T08:54:00.001-08:00

Let me say first off that in the first time in my life I have never felt more proud to be an American! I truly feel the country finally got it right this time in electing Obama and he seems to already be proving that, even before his inauguration. As I've spoken with many people over the course of the past week, both in the SF Bay Area and in New York, I hear and feel a new sense of community, positivity and HOPE. It's fascinating to me that an election such as this historic one, can change a country's entire attitude towards life. Now I'm sure there are people who are very disappointed in the outcome, but I am confident that they, too, will see the change in the world's feeling towards us. And I must say that McCain gave a beautiful concession speech that really seemed to help to bring the country together. Okay, enough about politics.

After spending a few days in Brooklyn and NYC I am back home madly preparing for this weekend. Thursday, at the Cubberly Theater in Palo Alto, I will be performing after the showing of a documentary about an Israeli singer, Yasmin Levy, who is trying to keep Sephardic music alive. The Sephardic Music Experience will be performing a one hour concert after the movie. I love the idea of combining the arts in this way. AND to top it all off, I was featured in the Palo Alto Weekly and put on the cover of the paper! Check it out: http://www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/morguepdf/2008/2008_11_07.paw.section1.pdf

And then the next morning me, Murray, Peter and Paul will all head up to Seattle to play at Bake's Place in Issaquah for a two night stint. I'm looking forward to returning to Seattle to perform. The audiences there are very receptive and friendly. AND it will just be fun to be on the road with the guys for a couple of days. Lots to prepare, lots of practicing to do, lots of excitement in the air!

Waiting, Hoping, Praying

2008-11-03T08:17:00.001-08:00

I must admit that I will be relieved when this election has been finally put to bed. I am so excited about the prospect of having an intelligent president who actually might turns things around and instill a new hope into this country. But what if Obama isn't elected? What if the country chooses yet another idiot to run things? Are we really a country of so many ignorant people that we can't see who is the stronger candidate? Is it a color thing? A liberal thing? Shouldn't we decide on the candidate who will lead us in an even mannered way, who has the education and the willingness to grow and learn? Shouldn't we choose someone who is actually in touch with everyday people instead of someone who has lived with a silver spoon in his mouth? And don't even get me started about how frightening it would be to have Palin in Washington. No, I just don't even want to imagine how even more screwed up the United States will become if McCain is elected.

I don't usually spout about politics. Before now it was never something I wanted to be involved in. But what has happened to this country over the past 8 years has awakened me. And to have someone like Obama appear and instill so much hope for change and a positive future has changed me. For the first time I am excited about the election. It's not about the lesser of two evils, but about choosing someone who will lead us into a future we can be proud to be a part of. Right now I have to admit I'm a little embarrassed to be an American--especially when I leave the country. I don't want to feel this way any more. I want to know how it feels to be a proud American. I want to be able to hold my head up and not have to make excuses about why a country as large and strong as the US would be stupid enough to choose an idiot like Bush--TWICE! PLEASE, oh PLEASE make the right decision tomorrow and vote for Obama. If he isn't elected then I am very seriously going to start looking for a new country I can call home. I can't fathom what life would be like under another regime as we have had. Now I just need to figure out which country to move to. I really hope it doesn't come to that.

2008-10-29T09:40:00.000-07:00

Last night I met a bunch of friends over at the Yoshi's in San Francisco to attend Edgardo Cambón's CD release concert. it was a fantastic concert, very well rehearsed, great songs, great band and great energy. Edgardo was in fine form as a band leader and performer and he was glowing with pride and fervor for the music he was presenting. He also included tango dancers, flamenco dancers and bomba dancers in the concert which added a really nice different element to the music. And to top it all off, the attendance was phenomenal. To be able to pack Yoshi's on a Tuesday night--for both the early and late shows-- is a huge accomplishment and one to be very proud of. So my congratulations all around goes out to Edgardo for such a successful evening and a fantastic new CD.

I have been busy getting my musical life organized. I wonder if I'll ever really get organized!! :) But I am trying to get grants written for the Sephardic Music Experience CD recording project as well as organize various trips that are coming up. The day after the election I'll be flying out to New York to visit with my son for a few days. I'm so excited to see him and to see where he is now living. He's been living in Brooklyn since June of '07 and this will be the first time I am able to go and visit him. It will be so much fun to see him in his new element and also to be in NYC again. I love that city and its energy. I'm also hoping to meet up with some musicians while there, make some new connections and possibly new contacts for places to perform. I would really love the opportunity to do an east coast tour next year sometime, and if all goes well, it will happen. I can't imagine playing on the east coast and not doing something in New York. That would be sad!!

I'm also getting ready for this Sunday's concert at the Little Fox in Redwood City (4pm). The Hearing Voices concert produced by BeasWa productions. It should be a really fun and eclectic kind of concert, filled with a variety of different styles of music. So if you're anything like me and love to hear many different sounds in one sitting, this is the concert for you!! I will have some different players with me that day which I find really exciting. When I play with new people I always find some new treasures within the music that I hadn't found before. Melecio Magdaluyo will be playing the piano--yes the piano!!, Sam Bevan on bass and David Flores on drums. We had a rehearsal the other day to prepare for the concert and I'm excited! These guys are all such consummate pros that I know that the concert is going to be amazing!

Jazz Vespers

2008-10-14T08:28:00.000-07:00

Jazz Vespers is a concert series put on by Ed Klitsch here in the Bay Area. The idea was started in New York so musicians could play for musicians in a more sacred environment on Sundays. A time to reflect with jazz music. The services happen from 5-6pm--when musicians are finally waking from their weekend haze :) --and the format is really nice. The pastor, usually in a non-denominational church, says a few words of greeting and the musical group plays a song. The concert/service continues in this manner with the pastor sharing ideas with words and the band sharing ideas with music, back and forth, creating a celebratory aura within the confines of the church. It's really quite a nice way to present music and ideas. My group, Murray, Peter and Paul, performed last Sunday at Jazz@Peace in Danville and will again perform this coming Sunday at Noe Valley Ministry in San Francisco. I really look forward to these concerts. They give us a chance to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.

Another really cool concert series I am a part of is through BeasWa Productions. Wendy Waller and Matt Beasley have been producing jazz style concerts at the Little Fox in Redwood City for almost two years now. It's not easy putting these shows together and uniting the group of talented musicians they do, but somehow they pull it off and it is always quite a stellar program of music. I am honored to be a part of their next concert, Hearing Voices. There are three "acts" performing on Sunday, November 2 (4pm): my latin jazz ensemble, Wendy Waller and Her Fine Band, a mix of jazz, creole and folk music, and the Clockwork Singers, an a capella group of four singers. It is an eclectic mix of music and musicians and should prove to be an engaging afternoon of a variety of sounds.

2008-10-09T08:28:00.000-07:00

The concert was an amazing success! We had a fantastic turn out of people, it was a completely gorgeous day in Golden Gate Park and performing outside in a beautiful setting was just icing on the cake. The only problem was that there was so much going on in that area that parking was practically impossible. I had a few people e-mail after the fact to tell me that they had driven to San Francisco specifically to see the Sephardic concert only to have to turn around because there was no parking within miles of the park. That's a bummer and that's what makes me most crazy about SF--parking! It's such an amazing city but not if you're driving a car!

The music itself was very well received. There are certainly some wrinkles to iron out but overall the body of work is fantastic and I'm really excited about this project. I'm also really proud of myself and the other musicians involved with how well the music was performed. We pulled it off! Two rehearsals, all new music and a lot of dedication and hard work. It's a beautiful thing working with these musicians and seeing my ideas come to fruition in such a spectacular way. It's also a huge relief that we were able to present this music as well as we did. :)

So now the big push will be to see if I can get funding to record a Sephardic CD. I am selling sampler CDs at my live shows that will help to fund the recording, but I will definitely need to find larger sources of money to be able to record this CD. I'm hoping there are still grants out there that will be willing to help support a project like this. I'm pretty confident there are and I intend to find them so we can get this music recorded and out into the world. I think it deserves a wider audience. The big message I received at the concert on Sunday was that there is definitely an interest in this music and people were asking for a CD with only Sephardic music. And the journey continues....

The Sephardic Music Experience

2008-10-05T08:35:00.001-07:00

This day has finally arrived. The day that we premiere The Sephardic Music Experience. We had two rehearsals this week and everything has come together amazingly well. I am so impressed at how seriously everyone has taken this music, how dedicated they have all been to learning it and how much they bring to the table when playing it. At some point during the first rehearsal I just sat back and listened to the body of work we were bringing to life. I thought to myself, "I couldn't have chosen a better team of musicians to make this happen." Everyone has risen to the occasion and together they sound phenomenal. I am truly blessed to work with such talented and NICE musicians.

So today we will perform this music for the first time in front of a live audience. At 2:30 pm in the Barbro Osher Cafe at the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park my newly formed 7 piece band will present what I feel to be a truly spectacular repertoire of Sephardic music. I am really hoping that more than just Jews and friends come to this event. The music has been arranged to encompass a world music sound, ranging from flamenco, to afro-peruvian, afro-cuban and even a little reggae thrown in! How about a little samba with your Sephardic music? :) We cover the world and it seems to work really well! I can't wait to get a sense of how the general public will respond to the music. of course it is sung predominantly in Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) so there will be explanations and translations given so people can truly experience the richness of the music and the stories they tell. Can you tell I'm excited? So much so that sleep has eluded me for the past few nights. No matter, the music and adrenaline will drive me throughout the day.

Ray Vega is in town today to perform with the Latin Giants of Jazz. Now this would be very exciting for me if his concert weren't happening at the same time mine was!! Now I won't be able to see him perform. If only I could split myself in two for the day! I'm hoping that we can at least meet for dinner after our respective concerts. He leaves back to Vermont tonight so there is a very small window of opportunity. He is such a good human being. Not only talented as a musician but as a friend. He has been one of my greatest supporters since I began this latest leg of my journey and I am grateful to him for that.

It's going to be an amazing day filled with surprises, adventure and best of all, music. It just can't get any better than that!

Austin, Texas

2008-09-26T07:42:00.000-07:00

I'm here in Austin, Texas to be a support for my friend as she awaits the birth of her first baby. I thought the first time I'd come to Austin would be to perform in some cool jazz club, but the universe had different plans for me!! My friend is a little over two weeks overdue and very much ready to have this little creature come out and introduce itself. But he/she is taking its sweet little time!! We got up at 4am today in order to be at the hospital to start inducing her labor. When we got there at 5am they sent us back home because they didn't have any beds available for her. It is now almost 10am and still we are here, waiting to hear from them so we can go and get her started on the path of labor. It just goes to show that nothing and no one is in control of any situation. Things just happen as they are supposed to and we all have to learn patience and keep our senses of humor in the process.

This brings back so many memories of my own pregnancies and labor and boy am I glad that part of my life is over. This is truly a beautiful experience to be able to be a part of my friend and her husband's new baby's life. I feel honored that they both want me in the labor and delivery rooms with them. She was supposed to have a home birth but because the baby is so late it was decided that there needed to be some help in convincing it to come out. IU'm really hoping that he/she decides to enter this world before I have to leave tomorrow night. I'd hate not having the opportunity to meet my "nephew/niece" (I'm honorary "zia"--auntie in Italian)

Austin is a nice city, from what I've seen of it. It is quickly being developed to accommodate all the people moving here for business. There are buildings being constructed all over the town and tons of pregnant women ready to populate the city even more!! I swear there's something in the water here that makes women more fertile! Luckily I don't have to worry about that happening to me! :) I do hope, however, I get the opportunity to come back and perform here. I've applied for the SXSW festival for next year and hope my group is chosen to be one of the performers. If we get the gig then I'll try to book other gigs in the area while here such as in Houston, San Antonio and beyond. It all depends on how finances look at the time. Right now my main focus is to work out a deal with some people on the east coast so we can go out and perform in Massachusetts, Wash, DC, NYC and the likes. We'll see if that pans out for next year. i really hope so.

Okay, time to go and practice my Sephardic music while I can. The first rehearsal is this coming Monday night and I want to be ready! Ciao.

2008-09-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

Time is passing and the Sephardic Music Experience premiere concert is quickly approaching. The challenge is always how to create enough time and space to learn the new material while still trying to make a living teaching and gigging. I took a substitute teaching job at the JCC in San Francisco for the next few weeks. I had never taught preschoolers music before and it is definitely a fun experience. These children are so incredibly wide open to the experience of sound and movement. It is truly a pleasure to see their faces light up when they have a chance to play instruments and learn new songs. Where along the path do the children begin to get jaded about all of this? When does the novelty and excitement wear off? And how can we as parents and adults help to keep refreshing the adventure of music for our children? Maybe it's when the parents start telling their kids to practice. Or maybe we just have so many stimulations for our children that they can't do everything. I really don't know the answer, but I do find it interesting to see how different parts of our experiences change and sometimes shut down as we get older.

Ten new songs have been arranged for my new Sephardic project. All the charts, however, have not yet been sent to me so I'm beginning to get nervous that the musicians won't have enough time to learn all of the material. BUT, I also need to remind myself that I have chosen a group of musicians who are very talented and dedicated to their art and will do a fine job on Oct. 5th--and beyond. I am the one who is nervous about my own personal performance. Some of the songs are quite challenging for me and learning all of these lyrics can also get overwhelming at times. But I know this is my process: I obsess and obsess and obsess until the music encompasses my entire being. I listen to nothing else but the Sephardic music now so I won't be influenced by anything else. I guess it''s like an actor immersing him or herself in their role, I'm immersing myself in the Sephardic music so I can present it as authentically and honestly as I am capable.

Yesterday I attended a Town Hall Meeting in San Jose that was run by the Center For Cultural Innovation (www.cciarts.org/). San Jose has committed to helping artists in the South Bay. What does that mean exactly? Well, they have realized that the arts and music scene has deteriorated significantly enough in their community that they need to find ways to entice artists to stay and other artists to want to come to San Jose. They are looking at ways to better support the artist by creating work/living spaces, more performances spaces, studios, possibly financial support. It all sound really good on paper, and spoken out loud, but can they do it? Can they really create an environment in the South Bay where people can actually survive as artists? It will be interesting to see if they can achieve this goal. I truly hope they can. Would I then move back to San Jose? I asked myself that question while at the meeting yesterday. The answer would have to be answered much further out in the future. Right now being in the East Bay is the best possible place for me. But anywhere that wants to support musicians and artists gets my vote!

Arranging the Old Into the New

2008-08-27T08:48:00.000-07:00

Last night I met with David Pinto who is arranging two songs for my Sephardic Music Experience project. David is Susana Baca's bass player as well as musical director. He is an incredibly talented man who is very soft-spoken yet strong in his ideals of the music and how it should be performed. We met at my apartment where he brought his portable studio. He wanted me to record the vocals over the arrangements he had created in GarageBand. He has quite a nice little set-up and it was fun to see how detailed you can get with that program. I definitely need to learn how to use GarageBand to help me compose and arrange ideas I have for new songs.

Anyway!! The arrangements he has created are exquisite!! I am so excited about how this whole project is coming together. Each arranger--and I've engaged four different people--brings something completely unique to the table. My dream of creating a "world" sound for this music is being realized right before my eyes. I was worried that I might not like tackling all of this music, but I am infused with a new energy of pure unadulterated excitement! :) Now I can't wait to get all of the arrangements to the musicians and hear how it will all sound with live instruments. I feel like we are beginning to create something very special here and I look forward to presenting these pieces to the world. All that remains is making sure we get enough rehearsals in so we can present the music how it is meant to be played.

Labor Day Weekend. I can't believe it is already fast approaching. Next week I will take on a substitute teaching gig at the JCC in San Francisco, teaching preschoolers music for a little over two weeks. I think it's going to be a blast working with such little guys, playing music and just generally having fun for a few hours each day. But first I have my first gig at Anna's Jazz Island in Berkeley this coming Sunday evening where I'll get to play with the quintet and SiNG!! I love performing with these guys so much because there is always some kind of magic that happens on stage. They are not afraid to take chances and explore the depths of the music. They constantly and continually inspire me to rise to higher levels within my own self and for that I am grateful.

Talent and Decency CAN go Hand in Hand!

2008-08-19T09:01:00.000-07:00

One of the things I appreciate most about the people I work with, besides their incredible talent, is what nice people they are. I have certainly met some "divas" in this business who believe that because of their talent they can be rude to others. But not so with the people with whom I work. And that is for a reason; I won't work with nasty people. Why should I? To me there is a certain kind of energy that I want to surround myself with and if I am playing with a musician who is rude and full of him or herself, then they create a negative energy that does not generate good "vibes." I want to be able to come to a gig--or a recording session--knowing that I am surrounded by good positive energy. This way I think we all perform to a higher level. I have been told that if I want to play with some of the best musicians of the world then I will have to tolerate some nasty behavior. But I still say no! I would rather play with lesser known musicians who bring their true, good selves to the gig, than have to be agitated by divas.

So why am I talking about this? Did something happen recently that caused me to get all riled up about this? No!! :) I was just thinking this morning about what wonderful, decent musicians I work with and how incredibly blessed I am to be able to share the same stage with them. So it got me thinking about what my musical experience could have been like and I became even more grateful that I have surrounded myself with such talented and nice people. Is the BAy Area a unique place for this? I think not. The musicians I have met elsewhere have all shown me that decency abounds in the musical community worldwide. What a relief that is!!

Tonight I will be performing at the Village California Bistro in Santana Row in San Jose from 6-8:30pm. Joining me will be Murray Low on piano, Peter Barshay on acoustic bass and Michaelle Goerlitz on percussion. This is going to be a fun and eclectic night of music in an intimate venue where we can really shine close up and personal. Playing with these very talented musicians is inspiring and exciting. I'm really looking forward to singing in San Jose again and hope you will come out and support live music.

2008-08-13T08:51:00.000-07:00

The Family Arts Bridge Camp was a fantastic experience. The camp was created to give families of all types, straight, single parent, gay, etc., a place to bring their families and feel accepted and comfortable to be who they are in a safe and loving environment. The bottom line is family and how much each of those families love and support their children. My friend Wendy brought up a really good point about "alternative" families: their children are more likely to be accepting of others as well as feel more comfortable--and supported--in exploring who they are as individuals. What I saw at the camp was a wonderfully tight community of people who deeply love their children and who are committed to giving them the best life possible. And it was evident in the way the children behaved and reached out to each other, becoming fast friends in the process.

My role as music teacher, drum circle leader and expressive arts practitioner was a blast. Everyone seemed to respond very positively to what I presented and the children were completely adorable in their enthusiasm and talent. I had a great time, met a lot of new people and experienced something a bit out of my own comfort range--which is always a good thing to do! I hope I am invited back there again for next year.

This month is proving to be a busy one for me. On Sunday I will be going up to Carson City with Wayne Wallace, Orlando Torriente, Carlos Caro and Javier Navarrette to once again perform with the Reno Jazz Orchestra. We will be the closing act for the Carson City Jazz Festival. Although we will travel the same day of the gig (4 hour drive), it should be a lot of fun to get to perform with this big band again.

I then come home the next day and then travel down to San Jose to the Village California Bistro in Santana Row on Tuesday to perform a couple of sets. This should be a lot of fun as well as I am playing with Murray Low, Peter Barshay and instead of Paul VW I'll be using Michaelle Goerlitz on percussion. I like switching things up to see what kinds of interesting new things occur on the gig. And besides, Michaelle is such a dream to work with--as are Murray and Peter--I know it will be a blast. AND I get to sing!! How much better can it get? :)

Reno Jazz Orchestra and now Gualala!

2008-08-04T08:29:00.000-07:00

Going to perform with the Reno Jazz Orchestra was a blast. They have been together for 10 years and have created a non-profit organization out of their group. They are very well organized and a really fun group of guys to perform with. Orlando tore it up as the other lead singer. He's got fantastic stage presence and really knows how to work an audience. We had such a fun time playing outdoors next to the Truckee River--so pretty. AND it was nice to be able to play in an area where smoking isn't allowed!! I now realize how lucky I am to live in California where smoking isn't allowed indoors. I literally was quite ill bu the time we left due to all the smoke in the hotel/casino where we stayed--yuck!!

This Wednesday I leave for Gualala, California to go and teach music at a the FAB Family Camp. It should be really fun. I'll get to work with children as well as adults at this camp and also be able to hang out in the redwoods for a few days. I'm looking forward to spending the weekend with these families. I will also get a chance to do some Expressive Arts workshops while I'm there. This is something I have been wanting to get more involved with and so this will be a great start for me. Hopefully when I get back I will be able to put together some more workshops that people might be interested in.

The Sephardic Music Experience concert series is moving along quite nicely. La Pena has given me the lobby space to display the art I want to have created for the Winter Solstice concert on Dec. 21. Now it's up to me to find a group of artists interested in creating these pieces. I think this is going to be a really fantastic combination of art and music and how we all need each other to create a more vibrant and cohesive existence. It's really fun putting these concerts together and making them into a reality. The music arrangements are going to be exquisite and I'm excited to get to play with a full group--7 of us--for each concert.

Sephardic Music

2008-07-26T09:19:00.000-07:00

Last week I went to see Yosvany Terry perform with his group at La Pena Cultural Center. He was given a grant to develop music of the Arará tradition and it was an amazing concert. Pedro Martinez, along with Yosvany and all the other very talented musicians on stage, tore it up. Pedro is an incredibly talented percussionist as well as dynamic singer and he had the crowd going wild. The music had the crowd going wild. It was interesting to hear Yosvany talk about his research, following tradition, asking Sandy Perez for guidance and then creating jazz music over the rhythms of the Arará music. Needless to say it was very inspiring to hear as I am developing Sephardic music. As I research it more and more and learn more about the traditions of the many cultures that made up the Sephardic world, I am inspired to continue its development. But I am also inspired to put my own stamp on the music. For awhile I felt that I was tied to the tradition of the music and that I shouldn't stray far from what has already been established. But I now realize that is all wrong. I can almost guarantee that anyone approaching this music does so with their own flavor. And so why not me as well? :) I am a world jazz vocalist, interested in many different world rhythms and this music definitely lends itself to a world music sound. It has been influenced by many different countries all over the world and my goal is to show that in the repertoire of songs we are developing.

As of this writing there are now 3 Sephardic concerts that have been booked and confirmed. One at the De Young Museum on Oct. 5th, one at La Pena Cultural Center on the first night of Hanukah, Dec. 21, which also happens to be the Winter Solstice! and one at the Yerba Buena Gardens in May of 2009. These are all very high profile and prestigious concerts and I am thrilled to be able to bring this music to such varied audiences. I am still trying to book more concerts around the time of Hanukah and hope that we can perform this music throughout the Bay Area, but for now I am very content with what we have accomplished so far. I am also excited about the arrangements that are being developed and can't wait to add the music to my ever-growing repertoire of songs.

Next Wednesday, July 30, I perform with the Reno Jazz Orchestra along with Wayne Wallace, Orlando Torriente, Javier Navarrete and Carlos Caro. It should be a blast singing with a big orchestra like that. I've been diligently learning new songs for this gig and hope I don't forget the lyrics when I perform them!

Back from Mexico

2008-07-16T09:17:00.000-07:00

Wow! What an amazing and fun trip to San Cristobal de las Casas. The people of the city are wonderfully warm and friendly, the city itself is beautiful and the surrounding terrain and mountains are breathtaking. I had never been in the state of Chiapas before and I was very impressed with its beauty.

The festival itself was a huge success. I played in el Teatro Zebadua in the center of town and packed the theatre. It was very exciting to perform to such a fantastic audience--over 300 people present. We (Murray Low, Paul VW, David Belove and Wayne Wallace) all had a great time playing together. the music rose to a higher level and the response was of excitement and energy. I was called back for two encores. The first encore we played Quitate la Queta. I insisted everyone get up and dance--and they did!! How cool to have everyone on their feet dancing to one of my songs! :) The second encore was a duo version of Imagine. Murray has reharmonized that song and it is completely lovely how it sounds. The audience responded very positively, not only to how we performed that song, but to all of the music. They told me they like the variety of it. And it is nice to be able to explain to them what they are listening to. I feel fortunate to be able to communicate in more than one language. It opens up so many more doors for me.

Traveling with everyone was so great. I feel that we have all created a stronger bond with one another by being on the road together. Everyone brought their significant others (except for me and Wayne) and it was great hanging out with them as well. I love traveling, I love the fact that the entire band was able to be present and that we all got along so well. I hope that I will not only be invited back to San Cristobal, but that many more trips abroad, as well as in-country, will take place in the months to come.

San Cristobal de Las Casas, Mexico

2008-07-07T07:41:00.000-07:00

Well now that I'm finally settling into my new place, it's time to take a trip to Mexico!! I'm actually getting very excited about my pending trip to San Cristobal. I've never been to that part of Mexico and it sounds fantastically gorgeous. I spent a good part of the day yesterday organizing my gig bag, getting all the charts ready for the musicians, packing CDs to sell, creating the set list for the songs I'll perform. It's one thing performing close to home because if you forget something you can easily find it. But when I'm traveling and I've forgotten something then it becomes a bit of an issue. That's where improvisational skills come in very handy!! Also learning to be flexible and not let the little things get to you. Of course there will be some bumps along the road, it's how they're dealt with that makes the trip either a nightmare or a pleasant experience. I strive for the pleasant experience and try to leave the nightmares at home!

It will be fun traveling with the entire band to Mexico. Most everyone is bringing their significant others with them, so the parties will be even wilder each night! I'm looking forward to the Jazz Festival and hearing all the great music that will be going on this week. I'm also very excited to be able to perform as a part of this festival. I think the music will be well-received and a good time will be had by all.

Tonight is Wayne Wallace's CD release concert/party. I am of course going to go and support the crew. It will be held at the new Yoshi's in San Francisco and I'm sure it's going to be an amazing evening of music. At some points of the evening he'll have up to 19 people on stage performing. Pretty wild. His new CD is fabulous--The Nature of the Beat--and has been getting a lot of really nice and positive attention. I'm excited for him--and for the label. I feel very honored to be a part of Patois Records and all the successes we as a group have achieved since its inception.

KQED's The California Report Reviews my CD, Azucar de Amor

2008-06-29T08:41:00.000-07:00

Wow! The amazing power of PR!!:) Andy Gilbert reviewed my new CD, Azucar de Amor, on KQED public radio last Friday and the response has been overwhelming. People from all over have been contacting me to let me know they heard the review, and even more people flocking to both CDBaby.com and Amazon.com, not to mention iTunes, to purchase not only the new CD, but also the first one I recorded--Birds in Flight. This has been an amazing experience--and also very rewarding. If you would like to hear the review you can go to:
http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R806271630/c

Andy has been such a great support of what I'm doing since I took this giant leap of faith almost three years ago. He not only said very nice things about the music I am performing, but also about my voice. And to top it all off he gave Murray Low wonderful compliments about his stellar arranging abilities with the Sephardic music. Murray deserves this and so much more. He is so talented, not only as a pianist but as an arranger, musical director and educator. I'm so glad he's starting to get the attention he deserves.

Today I perform a Jazz Vespers concert at the High Street Presbyterian Church. What a perfect time to thank the higher powers for these wonderful gifts that I have been given! I do believe there is something bigger than all of us that watches over, protects and guides us. As long as I trust in that power I will be fine. And right now I need to do a lot of trusting!! Moving to a new city and then getting laid off from my teaching gig in Campbell! Now I've got to see if I can replace that teaching gig with another one up here. I'm dusting off my resume and starting to contact places up here and hoping--trusting!!--that something will appear before the school year starts. I also really want to start putting effort into creating my Creativity Workshops and find a space where I can do them. Lots of possibilities, lots of unknowns and LOTS of excitement all at the same time!

Performing This Week

2008-06-24T08:27:00.000-07:00

It's been a few weeks since my last gig but it feels like forever! I'm really excited to perform again this coming Friday at Stanford and on Sunday at the High Street Presbyterian Church. Both performances are based on uplifting spirits. At Stanford Hospital the Bing Concert Series is a way to ease the pain of people that are in the hospital as well as their loved ones who go there to visit them. As well, the staff have a wonderful outlet to relax and forget about their difficult and challenging jobs for a bit. Stanford really does such a great service to everyone who enters their hospital doors. It is good to see how much they appreciate the power of music as a healing tool. They even have roving musicians who visit people in their rooms to serenade them. I feel very lucky to be included in this series and love the ability to perform in front of such deserving people. The concert is from 12:30-1:30pm in the Stanford Hospital atrium. Admission is free.

The High Street concert will be mixed with a Sunday afternoon service. The theme for this service is Tolerance. I also feel honored to be a part of this service. Yes, I'm Jewish but the message of peace and tolerance transcends all religions and brings us all closer together. I am thrilled to get to be a part of that message, even if only for an hour-long service. The service/Jazz Vespers will be held at the High Street Presbyterian Church from 5-6pm. Admission is free.

I am also beginning to ramp up my Sephardic Music Project. I am thinking of calling it the Sephardic Music Experience and am trying to create a concert series that will showcase this music all over the Bay Area. I really hope I can pull this all together in the timeframe I am hoping for. I met with a marketing consultant yesterday in San Francisco and he motivated, inspired and charged me up for this project. He was wonderful in reinforcing that my idea is a good one and entirely plausible. I'm also hoping that through these concerts I can generate enough interest in the music to get donations for a recording. But first things first! I need to put together this concert series and find enough venues that will support it. Wish me luck!! :)

Oakland, California

2008-06-18T08:47:00.000-07:00

I must say that this move is probably one of the best things I've done for myself in a long time. I already know this is the right place for me. There are so many more things that go on up here than in the South Bay and it's up to me to tap into all of the resources available to me. The woman who is my "land mistress"!! :) has been living in Oakland for a very long time and has been an invaluable source of information and guidance for me as I maneuver my way through the newness of this city life. My dog Tito has also been good for me as we need to take walks everyday. Each day we set out on a new path in order to explore more of my new neighborhood. I'm having so much fun discovering new things.

Last night I went down to the Lake Merritt Dance place and took a salsa class--SO much fun. And it felt really good to be dancing again--it's been way too long. I am planning on taking classes there on a weekly basis and then also going to the Allegro Ballroom on Sunday nights. Salsa at least twice a week--Wow!!! And then of course I want to get more involved with the music scene up here. I am planning on tapping into La Pena's vast resources as well as the JazzSchool. Whereas these places were always available to me before, now they are a stone's throw away and so I have no more excuses to procrastinate (or at least less excuse!)

I love my new place! I only have a couple more boxes to empty and everything seems to be finding its place here. The animals have all been adjusting amazingly well and it's been a lot of fun decorating and organizing my very own place. In actuality this is really the first time I have lived in a place that is all my own. I've always shared my space with my children but now this is a place that has my own personal signature all over it and no one else's. It's been fun discovering my own voice within these new walls. Even the artwork I have been putting on the walls tell a new story. Yes, a new story, a new beginning, a fresh start! All of that along with all the other things I have already achieved create a rich, vibrant and exciting existence in my life.

Living Bi-Residentially!!

2008-06-10T07:36:00.000-07:00

I'm now sleeping in my new place in Oakland. I really love it and will love it even more once I have unpacked everything. But I'm also still driving down to San Jose to finish closing up the house. I still have some stuff there, repairs are being made, painting is getting done, the hardwood floors refinished. So I'm still not quite done with the South Bay.

It's so ironic to me spending so many weeks packing boxes only to arrive at the other end of the journey and have to unpack them all over again. It's like a never ending circle of chaos!! But I'm happy in my new place. I really love the location and close proximity to shops and restaurants. This is what I had been dreaming of; to be able to walk out my door and easily access all sorts of different places. I know this is good for me--this big move. I must admit, however, that before we got the U-Haul van on Saturday I started to have an anxiety attack!! It's been a very long time since I felt so scared and panicked. But I'm okay now and am very clear about how good this move to Oakland will be for me. And just to seal the deal, as I was getting ready for bed last night I heard someone practicing their conga drums across the street from me. MAybe some people would have been perturbed at the extra noise in the neighborhood, but I was excited and started dancing around my new place.

The development of the Sephardic Music Project has begun. I am gathering up a cadre of arrangers to help create an interesting assortment of sounds and rhythms to compliment the music. I am getting really excited about working on this new/old material and evolving it into something that can be accessible to the general public. Now all we have to do is book some concerts in the late fall/winter to showcase the music and what we're doing with it. This is going to be another fun ride!

Fresh Start, Fresh Life

2008-06-03T07:35:00.000-07:00

It's odd to begin again in so many ways after so many years. Am I too old to do this? Or does change welcome you at any age? I have been packing for weeks and selling off most of my furniture to anyone willing to come and get it. Craigslist.org is amazing in aiding me to cleanse myself of so many material objects. I am learning to let go of "things" that no longer serve a purpose in my life. Simplicity is what I search for and hopefully will be able to hold onto in my new place.

This Saturday is moving day. I'm a bit nervous about living in a new city and having to learn where everything is. But I am also very excited at the prospect of exploring new territory and discovering new things. I really love my new place and think I can make a nice home for myself, my dog and two cats. I know it will be most difficult for the animals with this huge transition, but we'll get through it. My mantra: change is good, change is good!! I just feel there will be many more opportunities for me in the East Bay than down here. And I also feel that it will spark more creativity within me as I am confronted with new experiences.

Lots of exciting musical happenings in the works. But in the meantime, no gigs until the end of June. I think I'll be going into some serious withdrawals by then. I pretty much planned it that way, though, so I could get myself settled into my new place with as little stress as possible. Then I'll be ready to sing my heart out! AND it will be so much fun to perform in my new city-Oakland-at the High Street Presbyterian Church. And then off to Mexico to the Jazz Festival in San Cristobal. What a fun time that will be!

Moving to Oakland

2008-05-26T07:38:00.000-07:00

The house is about 2/3 packed up at this point. What an incredible undertaking to pack a full house after living here for 9 years. It's definitely been a great cleansing of both the soul and all the clutter I've accumulated over the years. Yesterday I had a garage sale and half of the house was out on my driveway and lawns. After it was over it didn't look as though I had sold hardly anything! But in actuality I got rid of a lot of stuff. Now today I pack up my car and take the rest down to Goodwill and donate it to charity. Hopefully the things I donate will land in the hands of people who will truly appreciate and need those items.

Saturday I performed in a "Battle of the Bands" type competition that was sponsored by Burger King--"Tu Ciudad, Tu Musica". What a funny thing to do, but fun nevertheless. I was invited by the event organizer to compete. We were the only latin jazz group. There were 5 bands "competing"; us--the latin jazz group consisting of myself, Murray Low, Mary Fettig, David Belove and David Flores, a merengue group, a latin rock group, another 70's sounding latin rock group, and a latin hip-hop group. Needless to say the hip-hoppers won the competition. But no matter. It was a fun experience and a great way to expose my music to a new audience. People seemed to really enjoy the music and I made a really good contact for booking in Chicago. Every experience is a great opportunity to learn more and meet new people and this was definitely one of those moments for me.

So two weeks left of teaching the children at the school where I work and then I pack up a U-Haul van and move myself up to Oakland. I am going to be living in an apartment/house near Piedmont and am very excited about the change. My new landlady--whose name is Cat!!--is a really great person and her house is beautiful. It is going to be such an adventure learning about my new surroundings and acclimating myself to the new environment. The prospect has me both scared and thrilled simultaneously. I'm really hoping that this change will spark more creativity in me and help me to connect more to the musical community of the Bay Area. Life is an adventure and I love it!!

Change Is Good

2008-05-05T07:50:00.000-07:00

I'm in the process of packing up my house. This is a truly daunting task for me as I have lived here for a little over 9 years and have accumulated too many things. I constantly find myself reminiscing about this or that as I go through drawers, cupboards, closets, etc. My goal is to simplify my life and possessions and to clean out/throw away the things I no longer need or use. If I think clearly enough about this there really isn't a whole lot that I NEED to keep. But I am sentimental and so this cleansing process is somewhat painful for me. My oldest son Pat is also struggling with my readying to move. This is his safe haven and he doesn't want to lose his comfort zone. But I think the change will do us both some good. And besides, wherever I live he is always welcome!

My goal is to have everything packed up by the end of this month. I need to rent my house out and then find a place for myself in either the East Bay or in San Francisco. I really think I would like living in SF but for the parking challenges. I have been combing through craigslist.org trying to find the ideal location that allows for dogs and cats, has parking, is safe, and is located in an area with easy walking access to stores, cafes, etc. I know this is a tall order, but there are definitely some possibilities out there. Now the question is when to commit to a new place and how much I will be able to afford.

Change. I need change. I need to be in a place where the atmosphere is more vibrant and the music pulses with a stronger beat than here in San Jose. I need/want/desire/hope to be nearer to fellow musicians with whom I can work and play. And hopefully a change will spark more creativity within me. I feel that living in San Jose has begun to make me complacent and I hate feeling like this. But staying in the Bay Area for now is important for my career--at least for now...

Aftermath

2008-04-30T09:09:00.000-07:00

The house is quiet again. Kate Smith, my friend Deliane and my son Pat were all at the house over the weekend to help celebrate the CD release concert. It was a weekend filled with music, planning, organizing, a little stress and a lot of fun! The concert was a great success. The musicians all were as amazing as I had hoped they'd be and my voice and spirit were in good form. I was very pleased with how things turned out. there were a lot of people who had never come to hear me perform that day and Juan Flores, a DJ from Houston, was even in the audience. He was so excited to be able to see so many of his favorite Bay Area musicians all on one stage performing together!

After so much planning for such a big event I must admit it's a bit of a letdown after it is all over. I kind of went into a daze after the concert and needed a day to recuperate from all the energy needed to pull it off successfully. But now that the fog has cleared, I can proudly stand tall and be happy with the outcome and the body of work that I have developed over the past couple of years. In such a short time I have come a long way. Now that's not to say I don't have a long way to go yet, because I know there is SO MUCH more to learn, but if I stop for just a minute, I appreciate all that I have been able to accomplish since making the decision to be a full-time musician.

Now I've got to start planning my trips to Mexico, Perú and Argentina. Mexico is a for sure thing, now I've just got to make sure I can make Perú and Argentina happen as well...

Readying for the CD Release Celebration

2008-04-21T10:35:00.000-07:00

Yes, it will be a celebration as well as a kick-butt concert!! 14 musicians on one stage! It's going to be a true grandiose production that will allow me to honor the musicians and their talented contributions to Azucar de Amor. Yesterday I was interviewed by Jesse "Chuy" Varela on KCSM 91.1. I think the interview went very well and the feedback I received from friends and family afterwards was very positive. I love interviewing with Chuy because of how incredibly personable he is and so very supportive of the musicians of the Bay Area and beyond. He is so great to talk to because he encourages me to keep moving forward with this dream.

Today I will be interviewing with Brad Stone at KSJS in San Jose. Hopefully this will also get more exposure for the upcoming concert. I'm hoping to sell it out. This is going to be such a fantastic show with so many of the Bay Area's most talented musicians supporting me on that day: Wayne Wallace, John Santos, Michael Spiro, Paul van Wageningen, Peter Barshay, Masaru Koga and on and on and on!!

I'm starting to get really excited about the concert and all that will be leading up to it. Kate Smith is flying in from Chicago and a few other friends are flying in from different parts of the country to come and celebrate this concert with me. Now I've just got to organize everything so it all runs smoothly and so I won't have to stress on the day of the concert. This will be on top of teaching this week, rehearsing and doing another gig in Pacifica before the big concert. Life is busy, but so incredibly exciting right now. I am completely convinced that if I maintain a positive outlook on life, opportunities and good positive occurrences come my way. It's all about trusting in the universe and believing that I am following the right path for me!

A Brand New Week!

2008-04-14T08:03:00.000-07:00

After a week off from teaching I am ready to jump back in and get things rolling with my students again. I am preparing them for the end of year concert and I'm really hoping we can pull it off. I know they've got the talent I'm just hoping they have the "ganas" to work hard on making this a success. I think we can do it and I'm pretty confident they will do a great job when the time comes. The biggest challenge is the STAR testing that is coming up and how much time it will take away from their music classes. Somehow we'll just have to make it work!

When I am feeling down, depressed, frustrated and unsure of myself, I am reminded that there are many people in my life who are there to support me and lift me back up. I performed an in store concert at Down Home Music in Berkeley on Saturday. It was a fun event and the music was very well received. People walking by on the street stopped and hung out to listen. Jovino Santos Neto just happened to be hanging out there at the time (big surprise!!) and so sat in with us for the first song. The whole idea of doing the in store concert was to promote the new CD and sell lots of copies. But that isn't what happened! Not one person bought one CD!! I couldn't believe it. Is it a sign of the times? Should I take it personally? I did take it personally!! But then I got an e-mail from my good friend Ray Vega and I began to feel so much better. This is what he wrote to me:

"don't worry about them buying the CD's in the store...they'll buy them when they come to see you at a club, etc...don't let it get to you....your game is way above that small stuff.

If I haven't told you, your CD has wonderful energy.....sit back, relax and breathe.........things will come together without you getting anxious.....let them figure it out.
Your art is documented.
let it go where it will."

Thanks Ray. This is what I need from time to time to center myself--I just have to remind myself that the universe will take care of me and that I MUST trust that or I'll make myself crazy. It's people like Ray Vega and Jovino Santos Neto--two amazingly talented and well-established musicians--that help put it all back into perspective for me. I am truly blessed to have people like that in my life!

A Day in the Life

2008-04-09T08:02:00.000-07:00

Some days I struggle to find my place in this crazy world. Not only with the music but in the world in general. What do I bring to the table? What do I contribute to help improve the planet? What can I do everyday to feel that I am a part of a the bigger picture? Of course I could find little details that I could justify as being a contribution to this earth, but it never quite feels like enough. So what to do? I try to live a healthy life and treat everyone with the kind of respect I want to be treated with. I recycle! and I drive a hybrid. But I want to give something more of myself. I like to think that my music is helping to send a message out into the universe of unity and peace--and I hope in it's little way it does. I would love to more involved with concerts that are for good causes and I definitely need to look more into things like that.

Since I'm not teaching this week I think I just have too much time to think about things! I am trying to organize my upcoming CD release concert and looking into ways to go out into the world to research Sephardic music. I was in contact with Dr. Judith R. Cohen--the authority on Sephardic music--and she basically told me that the majority of authentic resources of the music are either getting too old or are already dead. How sad to think that the music might die. I can't let that happen and really want to continue on this quest of keeping not only the music alive, but the language as well. I do have a couple of resources here in the Bay Area and I need to tap into them, but I also want to travel to farther reaches of the world to explore this music. While in Mexico in July I'm going to at least try and visit some of the Jewish temples that exist there. I am also contemplating a trip to Cuba--we'll see.

Day Three in Washington

2008-04-02T08:10:00.000-07:00

We all met downstairs in the lobby of the hotel to start our two hour drive up to Bellingham on Sunday morning. The sky was fairly clear and it looked like it would be a nice day to travel. The drive was a little rainy, but overall smooth and uneventful. The scenery was lovely with snow on the mountains around us and beautiful waterways alongside the freeway.

We arrived in Bellingham with enough time to have lunch. Bellingham is a quaint town with a lot of charm. Our gig was in the Museum of Radio and Electricity which turned out to be a really cool location. Apparently one of the founders of Microsoft, along with another man, had been collecting old radios and record players for many years. They combined their collections into one big building and began this museum. The items inside are beautiful and amazing. The RCA dog, alongside one of the bell record players was even present and accounted for.

The gig itself was very well attended with over 100 people. The crowd was attentive, engaged and fun to perform to. The band sounded awesome that day, my voice was in good form and a good time was had by all!! Jud Sherwood puts these shows together in Bellingham under the name The Jazz Project. He has done an amazing job with this jazz program, bringing people from all over to perform in Bellingham. It is definitely a very worthwhile program and greatly appreciated by people such as myself who strive to bring live music to as many people as I possibly can.

After the concert Jud and his girlfriend Monique took us all out to dinner at a very nice Italian restaurant. They were both fantastic hosts and fun to hang out with. Afterwards we said our goodbyes and headed back to Seattle. The weather again held for us until we were just about to exit off the freeway to our hotel. Whew!! Then the rain came pouring down--hard!

All in all this was a fantastic tour of Washington. The music was well received, the band was fun to hang out with and I was able to spread my music to another little corner of this world. Hopefully there will be much more of this in my future. I absolutely LOVE to perform in front of live audiences and am heartened by how well my style of music is received by people who don't necessarily understand everything I sing. It seems that they are "getting" it through the emotion of each song I perform. It's a very good feeling!! :)

Day Two in Washington

2008-03-31T13:37:00.000-07:00

We all met late morning to go and have "real" coffee as Paul specifically requested! We ended up going to this Las Vegas style restaurant called the 13 Coins. Very bizarre and dark decor. We had a decent breakfast and then Murray had to go back to the hotel to work on his computer for the day. Paul and I wanted to go sightseeing, but Peter wanted to stay and watch the NAACP games on TV. So we dropped Peter and Murray off at the hotel and Paul and I proceeded to drive into Seattle to the Experience Music Project museum. This is an incredible museum that showcases music of the United States, a lot of Rock and Roll, Jimi Hendrix, lots of guitars and an incredible sculpture of instruments that reaches at least 40 feet into the air. The building was designed by Frank Gehry and so is very interesting on the exterior with a lot of colored metal bent and twisted into many shapes.

We also wanted to take a ride up to the top of the Space Needle but when we saw it would be almost $20 to just go up and then come back down, we decided that going to Pike's Market made much more sense. So off we went in the rental car and drove a little ways next to the docks where the ferries go. We parked the car and walked for a bit until we finally found the market. It's a pretty crazy lively place. Very much the tourist attraction. Paul had to show me the fish tossing guys--definitely one of the highlights of the day!! So funny. Luckily the weather was holding pretty well until we got into the car to go back to the hotel. Then the skies opened up and it began to pour buckets.

We all decided to meet up at 8pm to go into Seattle for a nice meal, but when we were about to leave the hotel it starting snowing really hard. None of us wanted to drive in that weather. The shuttle driver overheard us and suggested we go to this "great" place down the street where they serve steaks and have karaoke. Since he was offering to drive us there we all blindly followed him into the shuttle and allowed him to drop us off at the Bullpen. Oh my God!! It was like entering the twilight zone. The people were definitely from a different world than what we were used to. A lot of beer drinking, overweight, rowdy, some of them mentally challenged, dart playing, karaoke singing people. It was at least very entertaining to watch all the activity. I think we all were nervous about eating there, fearing that we would end up with food poisoning, but we were basically stranded in a snow storm and didn't have many other options for escape. So we stayed, ordered the safest looking things on the menu, tempered it with a pitcher of beer and watched people get up and sing their hearts out to these karaoke songs. To say it was a bizarre experience would be a huge understatement. After we had had enough (which really didn't take long) we all opted to walk back to the hotel instead of waiting for the shuttle driver to come back and get us. It has definitely made for a lot of laughs on this trip!

Day three will be the next blog--our journey up to beautiful Bellingham to perform for the Jazz Project.

Day one in Washington

2008-03-30T09:18:00.000-07:00

Murray and I flew out from San Jose, CA while Peter and Paul flew from Oakland, CA. They were supposed to arrived 10 minutes before us but ended up having their flight delayed. They arrived a little more than a half hour after us. Not bad. BUT it did make me relieved that at least I had my pianist with me in case the bassist and drummer couldn't make it. (Those little details that one forgets to think about can be pretty intense if something were to go wrong.) Murray and I decided to go and pick up the rental car and then go back and pick up 'peter and Paul after they got their luggage. When we got to the rental place they wanted to give us a PT Cruiser. 4 adults and tons of luggage was NEVER going to fit in such a tiny car. I got a little upset since I had assured them that the car I had rented guaranteed me that 5 suitcases would comfortably fit in the back. The woman attending to us said, "2 big suitcases and 3 small ones!" NO, that just wasn't going to work for us!!. After asking to talk to her manager, we were able to get into a Ford Patriot which comfortably fits all of our luggage and seats 4 with lots of room--all for no extra charge. After dealing with AT&T for that past few weeks, I just really couldn't tolerate any more crap!!

So after getting the guys and checking into our hotel fro 1/2 hour, we were back on the road again to issaquah to go to Bake's Place and set up for the gig that night. What we didn't know, and to our surprise, Bake's Place is located within a gated retirement community!! It is actually a completely lovely room for jazz and particularly vocalists. Craig and Laura Baker, the owners, are wonderful people and fantastic hosts. They took particularly good care of us and made us feel very welcome within the walls of their establishment. It actually feels like a very high end house concert. The sound was great and I think we played very well that night. People are served a very nice dinner while we perform our music for them. Although the turn out was not what we had hoped for, the people that came seemed to be very happy with the music. We definitely gained a few new fans while there. The best part is that Craig wants me to come back in the fall for a two night stint at Bake's Place. That would be fantastic and I hope we can work it out so it can happen.

When we left the club it was snowing like crazy. I asked Murray to drive because I was too scared to drive in that kind of weather. It was pretty tough getting back to the hotel, but we made it in one piece. I think everyone was pleased with the evening, especially after stopping at David's Diner for a quick snack, a little alcoholic imbibing and Murray at the jukebox finding incredibly obscure music to play. It's been fun hanging out with the guys.

Day two tomorrow...

Off to Washington

2008-03-28T08:00:00.001-07:00

Today's the big day! Murray, Paul, Peter and I all fly up to Seattle to perform tonight at Bake's Place. I'm getting really excited about playing in Washington this weekend. The only bummer is that SNOW is in the forecast for the weekend!! I can't believe it. Rain I was ready for, but snow? When I saw that it was going to be so cold I had to repack my suitcase with my winter clothing. Oh well, hopefully the rental car has a really good heating system!

I have been battling my allergies all week and have been trying to get my voice into the condition it needs to be in order to do my best work. It's been kind of scary not being sure if I would be able to sing this weekend, especially after all the planning that has gone into making this happen. I'm happy to say that, although I am still somewhat congested, my voice is feeling much better and I am confident I will be able to perform to the level I want.

These are the situations that really make me realize how precarious a singing career can be. If I don't have a voice I can't sing and then I can't make a living. I have become incredibly vigilant this week about taking care of my voice, exercising, eating healthy, no coffee (that hurts!!) and no dairy. It seems to be working and so I will definitely continue this routine through the weekend and then try and be better from here on out.

If you're in the areas where we'll be this weekend (Issaquah on Friday and Bellingham on Sunday) please come by and say hello!

Can I Get Some Bragging Rights Here? !! :)

2008-03-24T08:01:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning and checked my e-mails to see what had happened in the world overnight. In my inbox was an e-mail from Wayne Wallace showing me that my new CD, Azucar de Amor, is currently ranked at 300 on the barnesandnoble.com site. What this means is that of all of the latin jazz CDs for sale on barnesandnoble.com, mine is currently ranked as the second most sold CD!! Right after Kenny G's new CD. Man this feels good!! :) After working so hard to make a musical mark in this world, even these little victories are huge for me. It just helps to reinforce why I continue along this path and that maybe it's not such a crazy dream after all!

This week I will preparing for my trip to Washington State to perform on Friday at Bake's Place in Issaquah and then Sunday at the Jazz Project in Bellingham. I'm pretty sure everything is in order at this point, logistically speaking. Now all i have to do is get my allergies under control so I can sing to my very best ability. Although it is a huge expense, I'm really glad I'm taking the trio with me: Murray Low: piano, Peter Barshay: bass and Paul van Wageningen: drums. Having them on the gigs will relax me even more and allow me to do the kind of job I want to do instead of worrying about whether they'll be able to play my charts. It is going to be a very exciting and fun weekend. If you're in WAS state. PLEASE come to one of the gigs and introduce yourself. :)

Internet Connection

2008-03-17T07:47:00.000-07:00

It's been quite a while since posting here due to the fact that I didn't have internet connection in my house for two weeks. I have come to really appreciate being "connected"!! I have been trying to catch up on all of the things I was unable to do while the internet was down and am still in the process of updating my new website (www,katparra.com) and readying myself for the Pacific Northwest tour that takes place the last weekend in March.

My new CD, Azucar de Amor, officially hits the stores tomorrow, March 18th. I've been joking that it is the CD that keeps getting launched!! First it hit the radio airwaves to great response all around the world, then it landed on iTunes and now it will be available everywhere!! This is all very exciting. Billboard has already done a review of the CD, Jazz Improv magazine interviewed me for their next national edition, jazzreview.com is interviewing me, I was interviewed by Chicago Public Radio that will air in April and more exciting things keep coming down the pipeline. I am ecstatic about how well the CD is being received. Of course I am very proud of the music, the musicians who played on it and my performance, but one never knows how the rest of the world will respond to something as personal as your own music. I lay my heart and soul out before the world and hope they will honor and respect the work I do, and, as it turns out, that is exactly what is happening! :) So I have no complaints whatsoever, just a ton of gratitude.

Many important concerts are coming up. First Washington State where I"ll be a part of the Songbird Series at Bake's Place in Issaquah on the 28th and then The Jazz Project in Bellingham on March 30th. I'm really looking forward to performing in Washington for the first time. Then we come back and have a dance party at the Stage Dor in Sausalito on April 4th. That should also be a ton of fun as I am able to add Masaru on saxes and flutes and Michael Spiro on percussion. As april moves forward I'll be doing more CD release-type concerts with the culmination of the BIG CD release concert on April 27th with many of the stellar musicians that recorded on the CD. That will be an amazing day.

Living it up in Chicago

2008-02-23T07:31:00.000-08:00

Kate Smith (my radio promoter) has been an incredible host and support since I arrived in Chicago on Wednesday. She has the patience of a saint and has been driving me around to interviews, gigs and rehearsals. I can't thank her enough for how great she has been to both Murray and me.

Yesterday was a truly amazing fun-filled and packed day of performing. Murray flew in on Thursday night and Friday we did two performances; one at the Cultural Center and the other at Katerina's. Both shows were a HUGE success! The concert at the Cultural Center was packed with people who really enjoyed the 45 minutes we performed. We actually met Steve Hashimoto on bass and Luis Rosario on drums right before we were to perform our first gig with them. I had sent charts and CDs for them to go over long before we arrived in Chicago, and I knew they were both very talented musicians so I wasn't too worried about how things would go. We performed more straight-ahead latin jazz music and they were fantastic!! At the end of the concert we got a standing ovation--VERY nice!! :)

After our first concert we made our way to the neighborhood where Katerina's is located. I took everyone out to lunch before we were to go in to an intense rehearsal to prepare for the evening's gig. We ended up rehearsing for three hours and still weren't able to get to all the material. Some songs had to be cut from the set list and others we were just going to wing it. By the time we were done rehearsing I was completely exhausted. Kate came and picked Murray and I up so we could go back to her place and get in a quick nap. Our gig didn't start until 10pm last night so it gave us some down time in order to recharge our batteries. 8:45 we're back in the car heading back to Katerina's to perform. BTW: Katerina is a wonderful person and incredibly open and friendly. It was fantastic performing at her club. We had another fantastic turn out and people seemed to really respond well to the music. Both Steve and Luis rose to the occasion and played amazing. Murray, too, was fantastic in both his playing and his musical directing.

It's 2am and Kate wants to take us to the Green Mill, the hottest jazz spot in Chicago. Sure, why not!! We're all pretty wired from such a successful evening and it sounded like fun. So off we went to the Green Mill where Barry, the Baritone sax player was leading a group of fantastic musicians. When we arrived the place was packed. We found a table right at the front of the stage and planted ourselves. Pretzels and lemon drop martinis make a great combination, by the way!! :) Thanks to Kate's infinite connections in Chicago, Murray and I were invited to sit in with the band. We played Au Privave and Besame Mucho and had a blast playing with these guys. By the time they were done playing (3:30am!!) I was pretty well spent. We arrived back to Kate's place around 4:30am and we all collapsed into a comatose heap in our respective beds, happy and content that the day had gone so incredibly well.

This has been a great introduction to the Chicago scene and I hope to be able to return here often to perform in the future. Thank you to the Chicago people for being such warm and friendly people.

Fun Recording Session

2008-02-17T09:48:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I spent a good part of the day in the recording studio. Wayne is putting together a demo of the musical "Imperialism" and he wanted singers to perform the music in order to shop the musical around. The music and lyrics are fantastic and it was really fun learning the parts. This style of music, although latin based, is quite a departure from the kind of music I usually perform so it was a great challenge. Performing music that has to be sung as written is actually more of a challenge for me than "interpreting" the music as I do when I perform my own music. So for this reason I had to spend a good amount of time learning the songs before stepping into the studio. All the work paid off in the end as the recording went smoothly and it was relaxed and fun. Along with Wayne Wallace and Gary Mankin, there were three other singers present to represent the different characters of the play. (I seemed to represent the peasant woman more than anything!! Hmmmmm) Bryan Dyer, a fantastic vocal and musical talent, David Chaidez, also a fantastic singer and musician, and my label-mate Alexa Weber Morales, who has a beautiful clarion voice. Wayne was nice enough to let me record all of my music first so I could leave a little earlier than everyone else.

This was a good thing as I wanted to attend the memorial of an ex-coworker. Barbara Walters (no, not that one!) was a graphic designer with whom I worked at Cisco. She was a very kind and talented woman. She passed away just shy of her 60th birthday of lung cancer. Her family had a lovely memorial at the Golden Gate Yacht Club in San Francisco and I'm glad I was able to get there to pay my respects. This was a woman who lived her life in the way she wanted and didn't sacrifice her integrity along the way. She is a great inspiration to me to make sure that I too live my life to its fullest and not take it for granted.

I leave Wednesday for Chicago. Yesterday before the recording session I did a quick interview with Rodolfo Sanchez of WHPK radio in Chicago. When I arrive in Chicago I'll be doing two interviews that same day: one for chicago Public Radio and one at WIIT radio at 6pm. All of these interviews will hopefully help to generate the kind of buzz I want to get people to come out and hear me at both the Cultural Center at noon and Katerina's at 10pm--both on Feb. 22. I'm really getting excited about going to Chicago. I'm just hoping my vocal cords don't freeze!!

Azucar de Amor is CHARTBOUND!!

2008-02-14T07:15:00.000-08:00

Kate Smith is such a great radio promoter as well as friend. She is a hard worker and truly cares about her clients and their success. Since the CD has been sent out to all the radio stations she has been tirelessly working to get them to give Azucar de Amor a lot of airplay. Now that's not to say that those who already are familiar with my music weren't willing. The response from the DJs has been overwhelmingly positive and I'm tingling all over with excitement!! BUT, the fact that so many DJs are playing the CD has gotten it attention by the JazzWeek charting folks. This is HUGE for me!! This puts me into a whole new category and I'm crossing my fingers that the CD--and me, of course!--get on the JazzWeek Charts. There are two charts: JazzWeek World and then the JazzzWeek chart. Right now I am chartbound for the jazz chart. It will be interesting to see if the CD also is able to chart on the World chart. Either way, I'm having a FUN ride with this new CD. AND the cool thing is that Birds in Flight is also getting renewed attention.

So much is going on right now and I need to prepare for my impending trip to Chicago. I leave for the windy/freezing/COLD beautiful city next Wed. When I arrive I will be doing an interview with Chicago Public Radio, then later that same day I'll be interviewing with WIIT radio on El Caobo's show. I also have a telephone interview with WHPK--Rodolfo Sanchez's show--on Sat. Feb 16th. This interview will be taking place during a recording session I will be doing with Wayne all day. I'm just going to sneak off into my car for a half-hour and talk to Rodolfo on my cell. I hope the connection is good!!

I'm really getting excited about my trip to Chicago. I can't wait to meet the musicians Murray and I will be playing with. It's going to be a roller coaster ride since we'll meet for the first time at our first gig at the Cultural Center. We'll then get to have a REAL rehearsal and then go and play the gig at Katerina's. I'm actually feeling calm about all of this since I know that the guys I hired--Steve Hashimoto on bass and Luis Rosario on drums--are excellent musicians and come highly recommended. Life is an incredible adventure and I am loving every minute of it!

Launching Azucar de Amor

2008-02-06T08:02:00.000-08:00

The CD has been shipped out to around 400 radio stations across the globe and already DJs are playing Azucar de Amor on their radio shows. This is VERY exciting for me as my latest musical project is "birthed" to the world. The response has been incredibly positive and enthusiastic. I am very proud of what was achieved on this CD. There are a lot of magical moments and the talent pool is so immense that even I get overwhelmed listening to it at times!!

On Monday Murray Low and I went and did an interview at KUSP in Santa Cruz. They have a new policy that if you go there for an interview you have to perform live. So Murray was kind enough to accompany me to the radio station and play the piano while I sang a few songs. It was fun!! I've never performed live on the radio before and wasn't sure how well it would go over. But I think it went very well and the audience seemed to enjoy it based on the amount of calls that came in when a pair of free tickets were being offered!

After driving to Santa Cruz to do this interview, I then made my way up to rehearse in Oakland at Paul van Wageningen's house. It was very nice of him to open his house to all of us: me, Murray, Peter Barshay, Masaru Koga and Michaelle Goerlitz. We had a great rehearsal and I feel very confident that the concert at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center tomorrow night will be really fun and exciting. I am so blessed and honored to be able to play with these amazing musicians and I think their talents and chemistry has a way of emanating out to the audience and enthralling them. At least, that is my hope for tomorrow night--and every concert I perform.

Whirlwinds Swirling Around!

2008-01-30T08:22:00.000-08:00

It's been way too long since I posted anything here and I'm sorry for that. The last few weeks have been extremely busy and then I got a really bad cold which laid me out flat for a week. I'm finally starting to feel myself again and the whirlwinds continue to swirl around me. But it's all good stuff. My new CD, Azucar de Amor will be shipped to radio stations around the world this Friday, Feb. 1st. I can't wait until radio stations start playing the music and seeing the response the music gets. So far the response has been spectacular and I hope to continue in this vein for many months, if not years, to come!

I did an interview last night on KKUP with Afrikahn Jamal Davis. I kind of piggybacked on Rick Vandivier's interview. He was promoting his new stellar solo guitar CD and I was slated to come in right after him. It was a great segue for me to come in while he was still there because he also performs on both my CDs. It was a fun interview, with Afrikahn playing some tracks from Azucar de Amor. What was also great was the DJ after Afrikahn--Cristina Boyd, a peruvian woman--wanted me to stay for a bit longer so she could interview me too!! So I stayed for her latin american music show and she interviewed me in Spanish. So I got a double interview last night and the music from Azucar de Amor was very well represented!! This was mainly to talk about my upcoming concert at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center on Feb. 7th, but it was also to present the new CD to a new audience.

Speaking of Rick Vandivier!! I went to the Little Fox the other night to their Sunday Night Jazz Series produced by BeasWa Productions. BeasWa is a collaboration between my good friend Wendy Waller and Matt Beasley--my artist rep. They have joined together to create a jazz music series for Redwood City and beyond. Rick played many songs from his new CD, which is quite beautiful. Wendy Waller also performed an amazing set and Nate Pruitt brought the house down with his energy and fire. It was a great night of music and I would recommend to anyone to go out and support these kinds of events. We need to keep live music going in the Bay Area and it gets more and more difficult as time goes by.

So on that note, I hope to see you at the Kuumbwa on Feb. 7 for "Cookin' at the Kuumbwa" This will be a pre-release CD concert where the CD will be for sale for the very first time. I will also be giving away posters for free with the purchase of any CD. Hope to see you there!!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-12T09:33:00.000-08:00

So many things have been going on. I feel as though I've been caught up in a tornado and I'm being swept around into many different places. Last Sunday I returned from one of the more relaxing vacations I've ever taken. I went to a spa with my mother and sister for a weeklong indulgence. It was heaven. We were in the mountains outside of Guadalajara, Mexico at a natural hot springs. It was rustic, beautiful and best of all, relaxing. I had the best time hanging out with both my sister and mom. It's not often that we can all get together at the same time for an extended period. There was lots of hiking, swimming, yoga, massages and some very serious Scrabble playing at night. I definitely want to return there again.

When I returned home everything seemed to hit the fan. The press release for the new CD needed to be finalized and a grant proposal needed to be completed by a Jan. 11 deadline. And on top of that, teaching, rehearsals and gigs. Needless to say, I was extremely busy all week and now today I can finally stop and come up for some air before it all begins again. Maybe I can even finally clean up the chaos that is my house.

I played two gigs yesterday; One lunchtime concert at Stanford hospital and then the other at the Hedley Club Lounge in the De Anza Hotel. Both gigs went very well. It was fun getting to play with Murray, Peter and Paul after not having seen them for a month. Since it is my birthday tomorrow, I decided to play a trivia game with my audience last night. I asked two questions about myself and whoever got the closest answer won a free Azucar de Amor CD. The first question was how old I will be tomorrow! Now, what woman in her right mind would have people guessing her age? :) But I never said I was in my right mind! I got some pretty funny--and flattering--responses to that one. And no, I'm not going to tell you how old I will be tomorrow--you'll just need to figure it out for yourself! The other question was where I was born. No one could figure that one out either. Nevertheless, I gave out two of the new CDs that have not yet been released. Hopefully the two people that received the CD will let me know what they think of the music. I'm extremely excited about this CD and it is already generating a buzz and excitement. I can't wait until it is available online, in stores and at my gigs.

Now comes the preparations for the release of the CD--concerts, promotion, radio. The next few months are going to fun, busy and exciting.

Happy Holidays! and more about Brazil...

2007-12-26T15:36:00.000-08:00

I hope you have had a nice holiday so far. It's incredible to think that the year is almost over. It is also incredible for me to believe that it has now been a little over a year since I left Cisco Systems and I am still standing tall and proud to be away from corporate America!! That's not to say I am not thankful for having had the opportunity to work for such a large company and all that it taught me, but living my dream is certainly preferable to sitting in a cubicle all day. :) And if I had remained with those golden handcuffs around my wrists, I probably would not have been able to go to Brazil and have such an amazing experience. So I will continue--and finish--my account of my trip here, today.

After leaving Porto Alegre, we arrived on Dec. 3 in Sao Paolo, Brazil. As we were flying in to the city, both Murray and I were struck by the immensity of its existence. I had read it was the largest city in South America but nothing could prepare me for the overwhelming miles upon miles of high rises that lay before us. We had also heard stories of crimes, brutal and daring even during the daylight hours. Needless to say we were both a bit wary and nervous about spending three days here.

We took a cab into the city, not wanting to worry about where we were going and how we were going to get there. As we entered the city we could see a thick dark haze that enveloped the city--SMOG, terrible, terrible smog. This wasn't adding anything positive to our introduction to this city. We arrived to our hotel and were relieved to find it in a very nice part of the city and a definite upgrade from the other hotels in which we had stayed. We decided to take a walk up to Avenida Paulista--the main thoroughfare of the city--and get acquainted with our new digs. Once we were out and about the fear subsided greatly and we realized that this was just a big city--really not so bad as we had originally heard and thought. As the days wore on I think Sao Paolo started to charm its way into at least my heart. Would I want to live there? No, probably not, but I would be happy to return there--especially if I were to perform there.

We had no gigs booked in Sao Paolo which we later learned was due to some serious miscommunications from the promoter in Porto Alegre's side. The promoters in Sao Paolo--Maira and Mona--never received my CD nor my press kit. For this reason they were not able to "sell" us to any of the venues that book acts such as ours. Big bummer, but after getting over the frustration of realizing this had happened, I was able to move forward. We had dinner with both Maira and Mona--lovely people--and I think we made a very good connection with the two of them. My hope is that there will be future projects in which we will be able to work with them. They mentioned some festivals and I made it clear that I am more than willing to return to Brazil to perform.

While in Sao Paolo we also had the good fortune of meeting Carlos Suarez and his wife Katia. They became fantastic hosts to us and helped us maneuver our way through the chaos. We ended up meeting them for lunch one day and hanging out with them all afternoon. We then spent our last night with them at the Brahma Bar listening to live samba that was incredible to see and hear. The music was lively and fantastic and the audience was equally entertaining to watch as they rose in their drunken reveries to dance and sing along with the musicians! So much fun.

All in all, the trip to Brazil was incredibly rewarding and fun. I feel that we were given a more "brazilian" experience as opposed to the general tourist experience that we would have normally had. We were very fortunate in meeting great people, hosted by wonderful people like Celmer and his friends, performing with talented musicians and connecting with some great contacts that I hope will last a lifetime.

LONG blog this time, but I wanted to finish my trip to Brazil as I am headed now to Mexico for some R&R with my mom and sister for a week. I feel so spoiled!! :)
Happy New Year to everyone. 2008 is going to prove to be a most fortunate year!

JC Celmer and Brazil, continued...

2007-12-17T15:15:00.001-08:00

I have been remiss in not mentioning JC Celmer's name and for that I am sorry. If it weren't for JC receiving my CD, Birds in Flight, from Kate Smith (my radio promoter) I would have not gone to Brazil to perform. JC has a radio show in la cidade de Rio Grande that supports jazz music. Jazz isn't the most popular music in Rio Grande, but JC has taken it upon himself to keep the music alive in hopes of gaining a stronger following for people like me. For the past three years he has single-handedly brought musicians from all over the world to his part of the world in order to expose more people to the different sounds that jazz encompasses. He is doing a great service to not only the people of Rio Grande, but also to independent musicians such as myself. So, thank you JC, for understanding the beauty jazz music has to offer in its many forms.

I also want to record here what a fantastic host JC was along with his friends, in particular, Clara and Dr. Laura Ayres. They were all incredibly warm-hearted during our stay in Rio Grande that allowed us to experience a truly Brazilian experience.

So, on to Porto Alegre!! We awoke the day after our concert in Rio Grande and drove for 5 hours northward to the city of Porto Alegre. We arrived by 3pm, in time to get set up and do a sound check before the 6pm concert. It turns out we were to perform in the vault of Santander Bank!! This is a Spanish bank that is a strong supporter of the arts and have converted a part of their vault into a performance space. It is a beautiful space and we later found out a prestigious concert, but the sound was very difficult to control as we were surrounded by glass and high ceilings. No matter, we were able to find a happy medium and had another fantastic concert in Porto Alegre. One woman even approached me and told me I made her cry--the ultimate compliment for me. It's nice to know that I have touched at least one person in the audience. :)

After the concert we went out to dinner with the drummer, Eduardo, and his girlfriend, Amanda. Everyone else loaded up in the car and drove the 5 hours back to Rio Grande! Eduardo, Amanda, Murray and I all had a wonderful dinner at the cultural center in Porto Alegre. This is a beautiful city and I hope to return there someday soon in order to explore it a little more. We only had the next morning before we were to fly to Sao Paolo to continue in our journey. We had no gigs booked in Sao Paolo and so were going to have to be there for 3 full days on our own. We were a little nervous about going there since so many people were warning us of how dangerous and crime-ridden it is, but we came to find out that it is just another large city. I think both Murray an I are seasoned enough travelers to know how to behave in a large city in order to assure we don't get attacked.

The next blog will talk more about our adventures in Sao Paolo -- the largest city in South America and by far the largest city I have ever seen,

Brazil, Brasil

2007-12-10T13:57:00.000-08:00

We did it!! Murray Low and I made it to Brazil and had an amazing time both performing and learning more about the culture and the wonderful people of this incredibly diverse country. After 36 hours of traveling to get to la cidade de Rio Grande do Sul, we rested for the night and then commenced on an all day media tour starting with a television interview, then after lunch, a radio interview and then an interview with the local paper, Agora. Rio Grande is a somewhat small port town of 180,000 people. It is very quaint and mellow in comparison to Sao Paolo! We were able to do a little sight-seeing while there and get a sense of the city. It is a wonderful combination of old and new with horse-drawn carts riding alongside new cars. It reminded me a lot of Ovalle, where I lived in Chile.

That same evening we met and rehearsed for 4 hours with the musicians who would be performing with us. Murray had done a great job practicing his portuguese in order to communicate with the musicians. The rehearsal went well. We learned a lot about how to approach my music with musicians unfamiliar with the afro-cuban style. Under the circumstances of only rehearsing one time before the two concerts we were to give, they did a fantastic job. Marco Porfirio: flute and sax, Gilberto Oliveira: bass and Eduardo Escalier: drums/percussion all rose to the challenge of playing my difficult arrangements! They were all very easy to work with and fun to perform music with.

The next evening, after having experienced the famous Churrascaria (barbeque) and la Praia Cassino (the local beach on the Atlantic Ocean), we arrived to a beautiful old theater--el Teatro Municipal de Rio Grande. After doing a relatively easy soundcheck, the concert began with two instrumental songs and then I came onstage. The concert went very well. The music was very well received and we had a fantastic time performing in front of this very receptive audience. After the concert--and an encore of Murray and I performing a duo version of "Imagine", we went and signed many, many CDs. It was so nice to get to meet the people who had come to see us. Everyone was exuberant in their praises and my cheeks were cramped from smiling so much!! It was a very good feeling to know that my music is appreciated in other countries besides my own. I was definitely on cloud nine all evening and well into the next day as we drove to Porto Alegre to perform our next concert the next evening. I will report on that concert in the next blog. Until then, just know that we had a fantastic trip and I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to have gone and performed in Brazil!

May the Adventure Begin!

2007-11-27T12:06:00.000-08:00

I left my house at 7am this morning so I could make sure I would get to the Brazilian Embassy by no later than 9am. By arriving at 9am I was eligible to forego waiting in line and picking up mine and Murray's visas right away. It took me 1 1/2 hours to get up to San Francisco (I truly feel sorry for those people that do this commute every working day--it is hell!!) When I arrived on the 9th floor of 300 Montgomery Street I was greeted by a very large number of people already camped out in the hallways waiting for the embassy to open. "Get in line" they all told me very clearly! By the time the embassy finally opened at 9:10 the entire elevator lobby as well as an entire hallway were jam packed with people wanting to go to Brazil. Wow! I'm sure the tourist industry there will be very pleased about this.

As soon as the doors opened I was allowed to go and stand in the line to pick up visas. It took less than 5 minutes to get all the papers we need for the trip. What a relief. I was praying that nothing had gone wrong or that they had lost one of our passports. So now it is completely real and we will be boarding our flight to Brazil tomorrow. It will be a hellacious long two days of traveling, but the end result will be arriving in Rio Grande at around 11pm Nov. 29 and preparing for our two confirmed concerts. We will do a television interview on Friday morning and then rehearse in the afternoon with the brazilian musicians. I am really looking forward to the opportunity of working with musicians from a different country. We will definitely see how the universal language of music fares in this new environment. :)

It is so exciting to get this opportunity to travel to a different country to perform, meet new people, perform in front of a new audience and experience the brazilian lifestyle, if only for a few days. I will make notes along the way and take lots of pictures that I will post upon my return. I'm sure there will be many stories to tell and maybe even some new songs that are inspired by this adventure. Ciao.

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-22T08:48:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!!

Today is not only Thanksgiving day but also my mom's birthday, which makes it doubly special. It's already her favorite holiday, but when her birthday falls on the same day it makes it that much more special for everyone involved. There will be around 16 people gathered around her table today to share in good food, good people and lots of love. It's a good holiday where everyone contributes to the meal and there are no presents involved! We can just appreciate and enjoy each other's company. I'm looking forward to being with everyone. I am particularly happy because Danilo flew in from New York yesterday. Although his flight in Dallas was cancelled, he was able to jump on another flight headed for San Francisco that got him in only one hour later than his original flight. I was so relieved that he didn't have to sit in the Dallas airport for hours wondering if and when he would get onto another flight. I hope his trip home goes a bit smoother than this one did. And I hope that Murray and I don't have any difficulties with the airlines during our long, long trip down to Brazil.

I had to put one of my cats to sleep yesterday. All three of us--Pat, Danilo and I--went down to the vet's office and held her while they euthanized her. it was quick and seemingly painless for her but nevertheless it was really sad and she will be greatly missed. Her name was Tigra and we had had her for almost 14 years. She was such a great and cuddly cat but then she developed cancer that added to an already arthritic body. She was getting worse and I knew her quality of life had diminished so much that it was time to say goodbye. Danilo asked for me to wait until he returned home so he could be present. It was sad and Pat and I both cried, but she had a good and loving life and I know she is in a better place now.

I'm hoping while Danilo is here all three of us can record a song together. Both of my boys are such creative and talented songwriters and I love the idea of collaborating with the two of them. I'm just hoping we can come up with something that we can all agree on. It's like too many cooks in the kitchen; you might create a hodgepodge of chaos or a beautiful masterpiece, depending on the willingness of everyone to open up and allow the magic to happen.

Under the Wire

2007-11-15T07:41:00.000-08:00

I spent a good portion of my day yesterday in San Francisco at the Brazilian Embassy. I really (stupidly) didn't expect there to be as many people as there were. But it turned out it was good it was so crowded because I sat down in a chair next to a man who had been there the day before. He became my angel, along with another woman who was returning from the previous day. It became clear very quickly from talking to this man, Roy, that I didn't have everything I needed to get the application processed. I needed a money order for the visas (mine and Murray Low's) as they don't accept checks or credit cards. Since the numbers being called were inching up ever so slowly, Roy convinced me to go to the post office a few blocks away in order to get the money orders and not delay the visas. So off I went and quickly rushed to the post office and rushed back so as not to lose my place in line. When I returned to the embassy only a few more numbers had been called and I was at least 15 numbers away from having my papers reviewed. I asked Roy if he would show me the paper with the list of things needed to process the visa. The woman sitting next to him asked me if I had printed out my itinerary and the receipt of the flights. YIKES!!! I'd missed getting that together, too. So, still having plenty of time before my number would be called, off I went again to find a Kinko's that was supposedly close by. Unfortunately I turned the wrong way on the street and ended up walking up a big hill to Chinatown. THAT was my exercise for the day!!

I finally found the Kinko's, got my itinerary printed out and again rushed back to the embassy. Because of my two angels I finally had everything in order to be able to process the visas. (I had also found out that our visas wouldn't be ready until Nov. 27th--the day before we leave for Brazil) So finally, after 3 hours of waiting, my number is called. I get up there feeling good that I have everything in order and that this will all be a breeze from here on out. NOPE!! The person checking my papers determines that Murray's photo is unacceptable since it was just a copy of his passport photo and that he needed an original photo. Well, Murray lives in Santa Cruz--an hour and a half from San Francisco. It's 11:30 and the office closes at 1. If Murray couldn't process his papers that same day, then his visa wouldn't be ready until after our flight was airborn on the 28th. I panicked. I called Murray while sitting at the desk with this woman and luckily was able to finally get through to him. He hauled it up to San Francisco (luckily he was in the south bay which is only one hour away). I met him at 10 minutes to 1 to get his passport photo taken. By 1:05 we were heading back to the embassy, praying it would still be open.

The woman who had helped me had made a concession and told me I could just come back to the window instead of waiting in line again for another 3 hours. We got there just in time before they closed the doors on any newcomers. The woman processed Murray's papers and now we will be able to pick up our visas on Nov. 27th so we will still be able to make our flight on the 28th.

Moral of the story? Don't wait so long to apply for the visa!!

Poster for Brazil!

2007-11-13T18:28:00.000-08:00

Insomnia

2007-11-11T07:53:00.000-08:00

My head is swirling with all of the things that are currently going on in my crazy life right now. It's all good and exciting stuff but my mind just won't shut off and so I awake in the middle of the night and think about all the things I have to do and then I can't go back to sleep! My upcoming trip to Brazil is definitely looming over me. JC Celmer, the DJ and promoter that has invited Murray Low and me to perform there, just sent me the poster that is being used to promote the concert in Rio Grande. I've posted it on my www.myspace.com/katparra site since I can't figure out how to post it here! :) It is REAL!! and I'm now thinking about all the things I have to accomplish before I can get on the plane on Nov. 28. We will be there for a week only--I wish I could stay longer--but during that week we have 3 confirmed gigs with another possibility of performing in Sao Paolo. We're waiting to hear about that one. It's going to be so amazing and exciting getting to perform in front of an entirely new audience--AND a little frightening, I must admit. But I'm SO up for the challenge and the adventure. I'm confident it will be a great tour and a wonderful introduction to performance on an international level.

I'm also madly trying to get the design for the new CD completed before I leave for Brazil. The first go-round with the designers didn't overwhelm me with excitement and so now they are working on a newer, better concept. I want the packaging to be just as stellar as the music. I've raised the bar really high on this one and I'm sure I'm driving the designers loco, loco, loco, BUT it's important to me to present an entire product--both music and design--in the best light possible. I'm sure they all hate the fact that I am a graphic designer as well and that I art direct too much on this project. It's so hard to let go of the control of this when it's my baby--my second baby! I'm trying, though, to be open and appreciative of all the hard work they are putting in to helping me on this. I wish I could dsign the CD for myself, but I'd never be satisfied and would tweak it until I become so old I wouldn't care anymore. LOL

These next couple of weeks are going ot be a whirlwind--teaching, getting everything together for the trip, gigs, Thanksgiving, my mom's birthday, my friend Tiziana flying in from Austin next weekend, my son Danilo flying in from NYC for the Thanksgiving weekend, and on and on. I can't wait for Danilo to come home so I can spend some good quality time with both of my boys together. I'm really looking forward to that. Relationships are so important and just telephone and e-mail gets old after awhile. It will be good to be able to put my arms around my children and be able to look in their eyes when we have our conversations. I'm so proud of who they are as people. :)

Live Music

2007-11-04T09:23:00.000-08:00

Last night I went to see John Worley and WorlView 4.0 perform at Senzala Restaurant in Sunnyvale. They were really spectacular--tight and in sync with each other's playing. It is obvious they have played together for quite some time and they undertand each other well enough to try out new and different ideas. John even presented a song they had never performed before--an original he wrote called Tantrum Therapy. It is a GREAT song--full of humor and freedom to express oneself. The band stepped up and really took the song on as their own and it sounded as though they had been playing it for years. Senzala Restaurant, run by Wagner and Lydia Bueno from Sao Paolo, Brazil, is a great space for music. The biggest problem is that it is not in an area where a lot of people tend to go at night unless they already know about it. I know they have a big lunch crowd due to all of the companies surrounding them. It would be great if they featured live music during the lunchtime crowd. It might be a nice change from everyone's daily routine.

The other fun and exciting thing about last night was meeting Juan Flores "Jazz Latino" from KTSU in Houston, TX. Juan has been a huge supporter of Birds in Flight. He came out to the Bay Area to see Eddie Palmieri and had been hoping to see me live as well. The woman he was visiting found that John was performing and since he plays with both Murray Low and Paul van Wageningen (as do I) she thought it would be a good compromise for him. So there they were at Senzala and I showed up. It was so sweet how excited he was to meet me. And what a very nice man he is. It's always fun to meet the DJs who have been playing my music. That way I can thank them personally for all the support they have given me and my music. We had our picture taken together and if I could just figure out how to post pictures to the main portion of my blog, I'd post it!! I'm such a techno-phobe. :)

Beautiful, Strong Women

2007-10-29T07:56:00.000-07:00

I spent the weekend at a workshop in Santa Cruz run by Cynthis Tsai. The workshop was about empowering women to find their inner core and to go out into the world and live authentically. Okay, so maybe this sounds a bit woo, woo, but it turned out to be quite an inspiring and powerful weekend. Cynthia did a great job of presenting her material--she was engaging, real and interesting to listen to. And it was a great group of strong, intelligent, yet sensitive women. It is always interesting for me to go into a new environment not knowing anyone only to discover that I have so much in common with so many of them. I met some amazing women this weekend who showed me I am not alone in my quest for love, understanding and respect. I thrive off of interactions such as these--they inspire me to stay on my path and continue the growth I have been experiencing over these past few years.

Maybe taking these workshops is a form of mid-life crisis!! I find there are a lot of women my age who are in seek mode, trying to make sense of who they are in a creative world and how to express that authentically. It is definitely pushing me into the idea of running some Expressive Arts workshops to help these women tap into their deepest creativity. I need to stop talking about it and DO it. I have a strong sense that these workshops would be very well received--especially after what I experienced this weekend.

Azucar de Amor, my next CD, is being shipped off to Disc Makers today to start the manufacturing process. The photos are beautiful, the music, I must say, is exciting and vibrant, and it is time to release this project to the world! By the time I am back from Brazil in early December, the CDs should be ready. I can't wait!!

Patois Artist Showcase

2007-10-22T07:30:00.000-07:00

Last night Wayne Wallace, Alexa Weber Morales and I all performed in the Patois Artist Showcase. This was kind of a coming out party for Wayne's new record label in which all three of us are signed and a part of. We all used the same core group of musicians: Murray Low: piano, Masaru Koga: flute/soprano sax, David Belove: bass, Michael Spiro: percussion and Paul van Wageningen: drums. Okay, so just that is smokin' in and of itself. But then to have this group of musicians all playing on one stage and then to be a part of that line-up is pretty phenomenal and thrilling. Alexa went first and did a great job presenting her material. She has a beautiful and clarion voice that is both captivating and sensual. And then I did my set and it felt good!! The band was smoking hot and I felt in really good voice. I had so much fun performing the songs off of both Birds in Flight and my upcoming CD, Azucar de Amor. And if that wasn't enough, Wayne did his set and it was of course stellar. He's got such a raw and powerful command of his trombone that one can't help but be drawn deep into the soul of the music he presents. And Masaru played a solo on his soprano sax that had the audience going completely wild. It was as if he gathered all the spirits into his body and then let them all speak their mind!! It was truly amazing and had me on the edge of my seat! What a fun and inspiring night. I always feel so honored to have the opportunity to perform with these guys. They definitely lift me to higher levels each time I get on stage with them. It's so nice to be able to trust the musicians so much that you can feel comfortable trying new things, knowing that they will be there to support you every step of the way.

So not only are the tickets booked for the trip to Brazil, but I just found out that I am booked for a gig in Chicago in February. I'm so excited to get to go to Chicago. I've never been before and to get to perform in such an amazing jazz hub is truly a thrill. Murray will be traveling with me on both of these trips. Now I've got to find a bass player and a drummer for the Chicago gig(s). This is the kind of "problem" I don't mind having!! The other cool thing is that Kate Smith, my radio promoter, is in Chicago and so we'll have a place to stay when we go there.

Life is good. I think I'm still on a high from last night--and I hope it continues throughout the day!

Moving Forward

2007-10-15T07:31:00.000-07:00

The gig on Saturday at the Peninsula Jewish Community Center in Foster City was a really nice event. We performed in the lobby of the center, which created a bit of a challenge for sound due to high ceilings and lots of glass. Nevertheless, the audience really seemed to enjoy the music and some responded in spontaneous bursts of dancing. It was a predominantly older crowd with a smattering of young people. I like the fact that my music can appeal to a wide range of people of all ages and ethnic backgrounds. I had worried that some folks would feel ostracized by the fact they might not be able to understand the different languages in which I sing. But the message thankfully comes through, despite the lack of language comprehension. For this I am grateful and feel my goal is being met in this instance. And besides, I try my best to tell the stories the songs are attempting to convey. I'm sure this helps....

I received the nicest e-mail from Gary Mankin this morning about my new CD, Azucar de Amor. I hope he doesn't mind my quoting some of it here, but I was so touched by his words I am compelled to share them with everyone:
"kat, i am REALLY PROUD of this cd. i think it is great on LOTS of levels. i hope you appreciate how good it is, and that you are as proud as i am. it's a great record. now all you have to do is release it to the world and let them beat a breathless path to your door. thanks for letting me be a part of it." Gary Mankin

It is I who am truly thankful and honored to be able to work with such talents as Gary and Wayne Wallace and Murray Low and all of the other amazing musicians in the SF Bay Area. They inspire me to reach for new levels all the time. I am encouraged and motivated to constantly grow as both a musician and as a person by being able to work with such amazing talents.

Back to Reality

2007-10-08T08:03:00.000-07:00

Wow! I'm just back from doing the Leukemia Society Team-in-Training hike in Kauai and what an amazing weekend!! The hike was awesome, breathtaking, transcendental, etc. There really are no words to describe the kind of beauty Kauai holds--and rightfully so. It is the kind of experience that just needs to be appreciated with a deep sense of calm and quiet in order to "hear" the essence of the beauty the island holds. I am always amazed and in awe of how the locals live, breathe and respect their land and sea. We had a fantastic guide--Tano--who was very knowledgable about the flora and fauna and had many wonderfully entertaining stories to tell during the 10 mile hike along the Na Pail coast. We had a fantastic group (11 in all) and the hike was just at the level I was hoping it would be--not too difficult but challenging enough. I even tattooed my butt with a fall in the mud of the famous red dirt of Kauai!!

It is always such a treat to me to travel far distances and encounter people with whom I can deeply connect. It goes to show that this world really is not so big after all. I love engaging new people in conversation and finding out about their lives only to realize we share a common thread of hope and passion and enthusiasm for life. When I meet people that spark me like that I am infused with a kind of energy that is equal to nothing else. The only problem is when I meet people like that I want to remain and enjoy the kindred connection longer.

But alas!! There is the responsibilty of life and work and paying the bills!! Damn. Sometimes I just want to be reckless and irresponsible and say to hell with everything. But not this time. I considered extending my stay for a bit longer, but knew that my students are waiting for me and I have a gig tomorrow night. But one of these days, I just want to pack up my things and go off for at least a month and just be impulsive and carefree. :)

Photo Shoot

2007-10-01T07:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went out to a beautiful, yet very windy, spot to shoot the photos that will go on the CD. Michelle Longosz (www.michellelongosz.com) is the woman I chose to take my photos and I think she did a great job. She made me feel really comfortable and got me laughing and relaxed with little effort. The location was perfect and the day bright and sunny. I think/hope/pray the photos will be perfect for the CD cover and other promo materials I need. I think they will be pretty wild since my hair was blowing all over the place along with my dress (which actually blew up over my head a couple of times!!)

I have much more respect for what models--and photographers--need to go through to get good images. First I went to the Mac Cosmetics store to have my makeup done. That took more than an hour to achieve, but Jesús (my saviour!!) did a fantastic job and made me look amazing. Then it was quickly changing into my new fabulous dress and driving over to the photo location. Then, after getting into my high heels, Michelle had me standing on a hill overlooking the landscape. Now this all sounds nice except that I am in heels standing on a pretty steep incline of soft soil where my heels are sinking in and I am on the brink of falling everytime the wind blows!! She had me standing on this hill for so long that my feet started getting numb. And then the wind turned cold and my hair is blowing all over my face and goosebumps are forming on my arms and Michelle's arms are getting tired from so much shooting. Whew! But it was fun and I'm pretty confident she got some amazing shots. I'm crossing my fingers now. :)

On Thursday I leave for Kauai, Hawaii to go and do the endurance hike I've been training for for 3 months. I'm definitely ready. We did a nine hour hike a couple of weeks ago and I survived just fine. Tonight I'll find out if I get to hike the Na Pail Coast or not. I'll be really disappointed if I don't get to hike it. That's a big reason why I got involved in this hike to begin with. Of course then it evolved into how much I was helping people in need through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I'm really proud of myself for having reached my goal of raising $4800. I really questioned whether I would be able to achieve that, but I did. Yeah!! I only get to be in Hawaii for 4 days because of my crazy schedule, but 4 days is better than no days at all. It will be fun and hopefully somewhat relaxing. I'll do a post with pictures after I return.

De Anza Hotel Tonight

2007-09-28T07:29:00.000-07:00

It feels like it's been so long since I performed live and I am really looking forward to tonight. I also haven't played at the De Anza Hotel for awhile and it will be very nice to return to such a wonderful spot. The ambience is plush and cozy and the audience tends to be very receptive and warm. I also am looking forward to playing with Murray, Peter and David Flores. It should be an electrifying evening with lots of explorations of sound and rhythm.

I've been stressing all week about the photo shoot I'll be doing this coming Sunday for the CD cover. I get so uncomfortable in front of the camera and I can't seem to figure out how to relax and just act natural. My firend Gea and I went shopping the other night for the perfect dress for the shoot and I think we found it! It's sexy, elegant and screams, "Look at me!" :) I also finally found someone to do my makeup that day and so feel a bit more relieved about some of the aspects of this shoot. I found the perfect location setting for the cover of Azucar de Amor. But the photographer will only do one location so I have to create a more intimate setting at this spot by bringing a chair and lots of fresh flowers in order to create the right kind of feel for the rest of the CD. I'm sure it will go just fine, but honestly, I'll be glad when it's done.

I went up to Ken Lee's house on Wednesday (full moon) to master the CD. It's almost complete. I think there needs to be a couple of tweaks to the mastering but I'm going to wait until Wayne and Gary Mankin listen to it before I contact Ken with changes. All in all, though, I think the CD is really good! The more I listen the more proud I become of what was accomplished by everyone involved. There are some spectacular arrangements by both Wayne and Murray Low that give the CD that special something I was hoping for.

Lots of stuff going on right now but it's all really good stuff and I am feeling very excited about all the concerts coming up and especially BRAZIL!!

Mixing Complete!

2007-09-18T07:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday marked the final tweaks to my new CD, Azucar de Amor. I honestly don't want to listen to it again until I go and get it mastered next week (But I know I will!). I want to let it go now and let it be the body of work it is. I could be tweaking until kingdom come and never be completely satisfied, so I will leave it the way it is. And honestly, I feel it's a really good CD; I chose an interesting and engaging/exciting repertoire of pieces and I am proud of the way each song is presented. I think my insecurities lie in the fact that this is the second CD and I get concerned about how it will be received. If I could just separate myself enough from what everyone else might think and consider how I feel about the CD, then I know I have produced a CD of which I can be truly proud. Does that mean to hell with everyone else? No, not necessarily, but I do need to stay strong and stand up for the music that was created. There is always the possibility that it won't be well received, but then again, it might be a huge hit. One just never knows and can never predict how people will react to new art. So, I will state here with truth and complete conviction that Azucar de Amor encompasses another piece of my soul, just as Birds in Flight does, and I am proud exposing this aspect of myself to the world!

Now I have to come up woth the artwork for the CD. This is proving to be a bit more of a challenge. I have a strong idea of how I want to present myself and now I need to convince the photographer to go in that same direction. We do our photo shoot a week from next Sunday and I'm looking forward to how those images can be used for the CD, and other promo materials.

Okay, time to get ready to go and teach. Week 2 of teaching and I am excited and thrilled at this new challenge of working with these very intelligent and creative children.

Happy Jewish New Year!

2007-09-12T07:12:00.001-07:00

Things have become extremely busy, but all good stuff so I dare not complain!! The fundraising for the Leukemia Society is going much better than I expected and I only need a couple more hundred dollars to reach my goal of $4800. This has been quite a challenge for me to raise this kind of money. Thanks to the guys and their generous donation of playing for free, we played a house concert/fundraising event that brought in a bunch of money for LLS. I am so touched that my musicians would donate their time like that. Such good guys, as well as incredibly talented musicians.

I'm also in the middle of the mixdown of Azucar de Amor and I think it's going pretty well. It's hard to get enough distance from the music to know if its really good or not. But then there are those moments where I hear one of the songs on the CD and I think to myself, "yes, that's exactly how I wanted this song to sound!" I am proud of the efforts put forth with this next CD. I had to finally realize that making a CD is like raising a child; at some point you just have to let it go and allow it to find its own way. That's how I have to think of these songs -- I think they are ready to go out into the world and stand on their own at this point!

The other exciting thing is that I started teaching at a new school yesterday. The children are very creative and full of energy. I'm definitely going to have to lay down some laws in order to keep them from walking all over me, but I feel that I will have a lot of opportunities to explore teaching methods that I wasn't able to do last year. I am encouraged--encouraged!!!--to be creative and experimental with the students. Yipppeee!! I'm really excited about teaching music this year and I really hope it goes well.

So, now I need to go and work out before going back up to San Francisco to continue the mixing of the CD. I've got to get/stay in shape for the 9 hour hike that will be happening at the end of this month.

Levi's Plaza This Wednesday

2007-09-03T07:44:00.000-07:00

This Wednesday my latin/world jazz group will be performing at Levi's Plaza in San Francisco from 12-1:30pm. This will be a fun lunchtime concert that will feature Murray Low on piano, Masaru Koga on flute/sax, Peter Barshay on bass and Paul van Wageningen on drums--and of course me on vocals and some hand percussion. This is part of the SJJazz Summerfest series and it's quite an honor to have been chosen as part of this lineup. I'm really looking forward to performing and continuing to hone the new songs that have been added to our repertoire. The guys did a great job presenting the new songs at the San Jose Jazz Fest and I can only imagine it will just get better and better. I am so blessed to get to play with these amazingly talented musicians. We all work really well together and have a good time playing together. There are always nice surprises that add even more depth and vitality to the music.

This week I will also be in the studio beginning the mixdown of the songs that will go on the next CD. I am glad to finally get to put the finishing touches on the music. I feel really good about the songs and how they have turned out and I can't wait to see what kind of magic will occur during the mixing. Wayne always comes up with fantastic ideas on how to really bring out the sounds that have been recorded.

Life, from here on out, is going to get insanely busy for me. I have taken on two teaching jobs that will require a good amount of my time. I am really looking forward to both jobs and think I can bring a lot of new and creative ideas to the classroom. I am so happy I will finally be in an environment where I can experiment with some of my ideas. The elementary school where I will be teaching music to 3-5 grades encourages creativity both from the teachers as well as the children. This is so exciting to me and has opened up the floodgates of possibilities. The other teaching gig will be working with preschoolers and their parents, teaching them music in Spanish. It will be fun to introduce these little ones to music and games in Spanish.

Although life will be crazy busy, I am happy I will be working again. I think it will help me focus more on my music and be more disciplined with composing and practicing. At least that is my hope!!

Many Different Hats

2007-08-23T07:48:00.001-07:00

As I dig deeper into this world of a full-time musician I realize that I must wear many hats in order to survive--and thrive--in this business. It's not enough to be a performer anymore and apparently you aren't as respected if that is all you do! Honestly, if I meet people who can survive solely on their performance money, I'm incredibly impressed! But the general consensus--or so I've been told--is that you need to be more than just a performer. Teaching, lecturing, composing are all avenues that need to be covered in order to be truly accepted and respected. I'm not really sure if I believe this 100%, but I do know there is some truth to it. AND, it is important to find other means of income when and if performance dates become lean and the bills still need to be paid. :) But not only is this important to latch onto, but you also need to be a good business person, know marketing, have a good vision towards the future to make sure you remain a viable force in the music business. It's a lot of things to have to think about, but also just as essential if you are to remain in this business.

We, as in the Patois Record label and I, are in the process of creating a good business plan to prepare for the launch of my next CD. There have been some good ideas thrown around so far and I'm pretty excited about the prospect of having a label backing me up while this next CD is "born". There is so much to think about and so much preparation before the CD actually hits the stores--it's amazing to me how much actually goes into the creation of the music. Not only does it have to be recorded, mixed, mastered and designed, but then a whole marketing plan must be put into place if it is to be successful. Although it sounds daunting at times, it is also very exciting and I look forward to the coming months as the gestation process continues and the whole package takes shape and grows into what I hope will be a truly spectacular event!

Surviving in this World

2007-08-20T06:59:00.000-07:00

How can one survive in this world doing what they love to do? It appears there are plenty of people who are capable of such a feat and I SO want to be one of them. Am I surviving as a full-time musician? Yes and no. If it weren't for my savings I would have never made it this far. So I am scrambling to find other avenues of an income source. I know I will make it because of my tenacity and perseverance, but it gets scary sometimes. I don't/won't end up back in a cubicle, but I'm also not yet ready to go and work at Starbucks to make ends meet!

I love to teach and am currently looking for a new teaching gig that will supplement my income and also allow me to give back to children what was given to me. I have a strong sense of "duty" to contribute to society. But I want my contribution to be a creative one, one that will open new doors for children and help guide them on a more positive path.

I went to see a Gymnastics competition the other night with my mom. There were a ton of kids there who obviously were aspiring gymnasts. It was great to see so many families out with their children. But there were two young girls behind me, neither more than 10 years old who were looking for all of the mistakes of the gymnasts instead of appreciating the hard work and dedication each was giving to their sport. It occurred to me that even at a very young age, our children are learning to view things in a negative light rather than a positive one. How did it happen that we have become such a cynical society? I am just as guilty--everyone is--but I am making it a point to change my way of thinking by approaching things in a more positive light, trying to see the good in things rather than gravitating straight to the negative. This is part of what I want to give to the children I will be teaching.

Fantastic Weekend!

2007-08-13T08:57:00.000-07:00

What a fantastic weekend! I had so much fun performing three days in a row and with such amazing talents with me on stage and all around me at the San Jose Jazz Festival. I am blessed and honored to have been a part of such an inspiring weekend. Yesterday's performance definitely topped all the others for me. Mainly because I was able to work with a fuller band and we were able to better represent the new music with a horn section (Wayne Wallace and Masaru Koga). The crowd was energetic and attentive and seemed to really enjoy what we were presenting to them. My voice was in great form and my energy level fed off of the audience's energy. In other words: it was FUN, FUN, FUN!! And what a great turnout of people! There were some folks that came who I haven't seen in years. What a treat that was. I even got to meet the inspiration behind "Quitate La Queta"--a new song I wrote that will be going on the next CD. Queta was in the audience when we presented the song's world premiere! I think she was pleased. :)

Another highlight for me this weekend was doing some serious hanging with Ray Vega. Although we never really got a chance to perform together on stage (he did, however, come and sit in with us during Wayne's big band show), we had some good quality time to talk about life and music. He is becoming a good frined to me and a great source of inspiration and encouragement. He brings a lot of positive energy to the table and won't tolerate bullshit; I think that's what I appreciate most about him--he cuts right through the crap in order to get to the heart of things. He motivates me to stay on my path and not look back.

Another thing that was a great message to me this weekend was how the Sephardic music was received by the audiences. People seem to really love what we are doing with the music and that makes me feel really good. I know what we are developing is special and I am glad that people are responding so positively to it. It's also good to know that the path I have chosen for my music is the right path for me. I realize that, although long in arriving, I have been given this vision and I need to see it through. It doesn't hurt, however, that I am having a blast in the process! I am so happy I had the guts to leave Cisco in order to follow this dream. I don't remember a time when I have felt so centered and happy.

San Jose Jazz Festival Weekend

2007-08-11T08:40:00.000-07:00

The weekend was officially launched last night for me at the Agenda Restaurant and Lounge. I had such a fun gig with the guys. Wayne Wallace also came and sat in on a few songs which added a whole new dimension to the music. We had a fantastic turnout of people--thank you to all of you who came to hear the band! We even tried out some of the new songs that will be on the next CD and I'm really pleased with how they are translating into a live performance situation. I was a little worried that we wouldn't really be able to pull off the most intricately complicated arrangements without a full band with horn section, but it actually works out just fine and I'm thrilled that I will be able to perform them on stage. People seemed to really respond to the new material--and it feels really good to be able to add more exciting and vibrant music to my repertoire. I'm now even more excited to play with a fuller group on Sunday (4pm, Silicon Valley Stage).

The only bummer last night was that Ray Vega wasn't able to make it to the gig. He was going to come and sit in but his luggage was lost on his flight and he had to go back to the airport to pick it up once it was found. Needless to say, that took most of the evening for him so he couldn't make it down to the club. Bummer for me, but even more a bummer for him. What a drag to be on a plane for hours and hours only to finally arrive to find your luggage is nowhere to be found. I'm sure he wasn't a happy camper last night. I'll go to his masters class today at 1pm at the Improv to say hello and see what he's got going on for the weekend. Hopefully he can drop by the silicon Valley Stage before he heads over to finish out the jazz fest on the Main Stage on Sunday.

This is going to be a really fun weekend. I'm looking forward to exploring all the different stages at the festival and then performing with Wayne Wallace's big band tonight on the latin stage. I will definitely have to pace myself in order to maintain some semblance of energy for all I've got going on!

Music Education

2007-08-08T08:39:00.001-07:00

I've spent the entire summer without much of an income and so am/was looking forward to returning to my music teaching duties at the elementary school in Redwood City where I taught last year. But then I come to find that the school district has knocked the arts down to an even lower peg than it was before--and believe me we were on a pretty low peg last year. Their thought is that if the children receive their music lessons twice a week for 9 weeks then that will be sufficient music education for them for the entire year!! 9 weeks, as opposed to the 28 weeks we were contracted for last year!! How is it possible that the administration of these school districts are still SO in the dark that they can't recognize the essential value of the arts in a child's life, as well as, education? There have been scientific studies proving the validity and strength of the arts, not only in helping to develop an appreciation for the arts, but in helping to develop cognitive thinking, discipline, mathematical skills, etc., etc. But it's because teachers are having to teach their students solely on the goal of good test scores that the arts are being relegated to the back burner. What is this saying about our society and the value we put on education? Will these children really get a well-rounded education that will inspire them to continue to develop their skills in college? And where will the new artists come from if we are not allowing our children to get a taste of the beauty of creativity in the schools? Will it just be the wealthy that are exposed to the arts since the poorer schools do not have the funds to support them? Yes, I am passionate about this and it boils my blood to think that test scores have become more important than the actual learning experience for our children. Even the teacher's creativity is being sucked out of them because of the pressure of delivering better test scores.

Taken from Making the Case for Music Education (http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr123.shtml)
"Early this decade, Gordon Shaw (University of California-Irvine) and Frances Rauscher (University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh) incited discussion of the connection between music and learning when they revealed the results of their work with college students. The researchers found that listening to 10 minutes of a Mozart piano sonata improved students' abilities to perform some spatial-reasoning tasks (for example, to see patterns in objects or numbers). While the benefits faded quickly after the music was stopped, that research opened the door to a follow-up study with preschool children.

In the follow-up study, 78 preschoolers were given tests designed to measure spatial abilities. Then a fourth of those students then were given a 12-15 minute private piano lesson each week for six months. At the end of that period, the tests were administered again. The results confirmed the impact of music instruction on students' spatial-reasoning skills. On one test that required students to assemble a puzzle of a camel, the students who received piano instruction show significantly more improvement than the other children did.

In another study, published by Martin Gardiner (currently at Brown University's Center for the Study of Human Development) in the May 1996 issue of the journal Nature, groups of first graders were given music instruction that emphasized sequential skill development and musical games involving rhythm and pitch. After six months, the students scored significantly better in math than students in groups that received traditional music instruction. (Reading scores for the two groups didn't show marked differences.) Follow-up studies with different groups of students showed similar results."

Techno-Phobe

2007-07-31T07:47:00.000-07:00

I am trying really hard to be a better part of this technology craze. I'm impressed at how easily some people find it to maneuver their way around cyberspace. Case in point is the blog thing. I've seen some really cool, hip, and happenin' blogs, filled with images and clickable items. I try, really I do!! but I can't seem to get any pictures loaded or find a way to hyperlink those images. I feel like a complete dweeb. And this is from a woman who worked in hi-tech for so many years. Now I realize just how much I was resisting it!! :) But no matter, isn't the whole idea of a blog to relay information through words? I can do that!!

The recording part of the CD is complete! And I can safely and thankfully say that I am VERY proud of the outcome. There were some great surprises with my voice in the studio and I think I will have a very nice product on my hands when it is finally released. Now comes the mixing portion of the CD which won't be until the first week of September. It's probably just as well since there is a lot of stuff happening this month and it will be good to get some aural distance from the music before going back into the studio. I'm excited, though, and hope the music is well-received once its released.

Tomorrow at 12:30pm I will perform at the Stanford Hospital atrium. I actually like doing this gig. It is in the lower level of the hospital right next to a beautiful garden and I have the opportunity to perform in front of a lot of people who wouldn't normally have the chance--or take the chance--to hear my music. I'll get to try out some of the new material from the new CD and I'll get to perform with Murray Low, Tom Bockhold and Paul VW. What more could I ask for? :) I'm also looking forward to performing live since it's been a few weeks since my last gig and I've got a lot more coming up this month. This will be the warm-up for the San Jose Jazz Festival.

In the Studio Again

2007-07-24T07:49:00.000-07:00

I'm back in the studio all week this week. I've got a ton of work that needs to get done but I'm confident, determined and motivated to accomplish everything I want to accomplish--and hopefully with the high quality I'm shooting for. Yesterday Orlando Torriente and David Chaidez, both great singers in their own rights, came in to record the coros. They did a fantastic job and added a new layer of richness to the music. I'm sure it will inspire me immensely when I record the lead vocals on those songs. Now the rest of the week will be devoted to my vocals. I am trying really hard to get my ego out of the way and open up my voice to the spirits. I know it sounds hokey, but when I am able to do this I achieve levels with my voice I didn't know were possible. I know I've got all of the tools, now I just need to stop thinking so much and let the music flow through me.

I'm feeling really good about this CD and I'll be even more excited when it is released early next year. It's a long time to wait, but I still have so much to do to get it ready to ship. I haven't even come up with a design concept yet. It's not like me to not have gotten all of that figured out by now. Probably because I know I've got time to play with ideas. This Friday I am going to teach a jazz vocal workshop with Doug Goodkin's Orff Training. I'm really excited and honored to be a part of this training. I think what I'm going to be teaching will be fun and educational all at the same time. I'm also hoping this leads to more vocal workshops since I love to teach in that kind of environment.

In Search of Perfection

2007-07-18T08:06:00.000-07:00

There's nothing like a good voice lesson to get my creative juices flowing again. I took a lesson with a very accomplished opera singer, Sharon Kaye, on Monday and she opened up my voice in new ways. I already feel stronger in my ranges and am excited and ready to go back into the studio on Monday to record. I might even re-record a few parts that have already been recorded since I realize I wasn't opening up in the way I had wanted. More time, more money, but the product I want! Do I want this recording to be perfect? NO. I want this recording to be REAL and a true representation of my voice and my soul. If it were perfect then the vulnerability wouldn't be there, the truth, the bare, honest truth, wouldn't exist. Yes, the technology is there to fix every tiny little mistake, and I can certainly appreciate that, but I want enough rawness to shine through in order to truly give the listener a sense of who I really am. I like the fact that my music retains an organic feel throughout. It makes it feel more authentic to me.

So the fundraising continues. I've raised almost $1000 of the $4800 necessary. I SO want to make this work but it is such a huge amount of money to raise. I'm thinking of putting on a house concert with all proceeds to go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I am going to see if one of my mom's friends will be kind enough to let me use their large house--as opposed to my tiny one--and hopefully get a lot of people to come. It will also depend upon whether my musicians would be willing to play for free for a couple of hours. I'm hoping they'll support me in this. We'll see.

Oh! and it looks like I'll be going and performing in Chicago in or around October!! That will be exciting!!! Stay tuned.

Onward and Upward!

2007-07-15T09:53:00.000-07:00

Last week was a good recording week. I was able to record some good stuff that I am very pleased about. There are still some struggles that I am contending with and have decided to put my ego aside long enough to go and take a voice lesson on Monday in order to find different ways to express my voice when I return to the studio on July 23rd. I've just found some challenges with my upper register that I want to correct and improve upon. I'm glad I have so many resources in this area I can tap into to help me out. I don't think there's any shame in taking lessons and trying to improve your instrument. I, for one, hope to learn and grow to my dying day. Of course as I get older my voice changes and I have to learn to adjust to its nuances and find ways to express myself on deeper levels. I'm actually looking forward to the lesson. It's always good to see how other singers approach their instrument.

It's been confirmed!! I am going to Brazil to perform in December. I am SO excited. This is definitely fulfilling one of my dreams of performing in South America. There are already two concerts that are guaranteed and possibly more in Rio and in Sao Paolo. I will be performing in Rio Grande do Sul and in Porto Alegre for sure. My pianist and musical director, Murray Low, will be traveling with me and we will use local musicians to complete the quartet. What a thrill this will be! I'm hoping we can go and see the Iguacu Falls while we're there as well. I am excited to have the opportunity to perform my music in front of a new audience. It will be interesting to see the response we get with my "style" of latin/world jazz. I'm pretty confident it will be well-received.

Day Two Complete

2007-07-11T07:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a very successful day in the studio. My voice was finally working the way I was hoping it would and my ego stepped aside long enough to let the music have its own voice. I am really happy with how the two songs that were recorded yesterday came out. 3 songs down, 7 more to go! Today will be the last day for a week and a half so anything that doesn't get done will have to wait. I'm alright with that since it will give me more time to caress ideas out of the music. Since the CD won't be officially released until March of next year, I have some time to make sure everything is just how I want it. I also have to start working on the design of the packaging. I'm really at a loss this time on how I want the artwork to be presented. Of course I have some thoughts, but nothing that has really grabbed me yet. But again, I've got time to develop and explore ideas.

Last night was the first official training for the Hike for Discovery team. it was at a track and we just did a lot of walking and stretching--easy enough. This weekend we'll be hiking for 3-4 hours. It's fun to go out and explore new hiking trails that I've never been on before. And the group of people are truly good and fun to be around. Joan got up and spoke about her disease last night and then talked about what her brother is going through with what the doctors are thinking is Multiple Myeloma. She started crying while talking and it completely broke my heart. It also made me feel even more dedicated to trying to raise the funds for this hike. Now I'm more determined than ever to make my goal of $4800. If you're reading this and you would like to help me reach my goal, please make a donation to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (http://www.active.com/donate/hfdsvmb/hfdkparra) This link will take you to my website where I will get credit for your donation. Thanks so much!

Back in the Studio

2007-07-10T08:05:00.000-07:00

I have now completed another day in the studio, but this time it's all about the vocals. Yesterday wasn't an entirely easy day. There are the struggles of wanting to perform at the top of my game and also being concerned with phrasing and intonation. Of course I want the performances to be perfect, but more importantly I want them to be real and honest in their presentation. I put a lot of pressure on myself because I really want this to be a quality recording and also a good representation of who I am both as a singer and as a human being. I think I am definitely on the right track. We recorded some nice stuff yesterday, despite all of the psychological games I play with myself!

So today I go back and do it again. Hopefully I can put myself into a more centered space and really deliver the music the way I hear it in my heart. I know these songs really well now and just need to relax and let them speak through me at this point. I know I can do this and I actually look forward to getting back into the studio today to continue this journey.

Fundraising

2007-07-06T08:44:00.000-07:00

I hate asking for money. Honestly, I hate asking for anything. I prefer to do things myself and it is always hard for me to depend on others. Do I need therapy? :) Maybe!! But having to ask everyone I know to help me by donating money to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is really difficult for me. What makes it easier is twofold: it is for a very good cause and it might someday help save my friend Joan's life--and many others for that matter. The idea that a cure could be found for these blood cancers/diseases is motivating enough for me to ask for donations. So I sent out more than 400 e-mails yesterday asking for donations. Now time will tell how many people are actaully willing to respond. I did get one response so far from one of the DJs that plays my music pretty regularly--Nick Marrero. He's going to make a donation, bless his heart. Thanks Nick!!

I have also thought about different ways to raise the money I need and have thought about going back to the restuarant I worked at all those years ago and ask them if they'll let me work a shift for free. All of the tips I would earn would go towards the money I need to amass--$4800!! Personally I think it's a brilliant idea! I could wear a button or a sign on my apron letting people know what I'm doing and why I"m there for the day. Will my old boss go for it? Possibly. Someone might want a day off!! I've also committed to donating $5 of every CD sold at my live gigs. But since I'm not performing until August 1, I need to find other creative ways to raise money.

On Monday I return to the studio to begin recording my vocal tracks. I have been exercising my voice all week and have tried hard not to over-practice the songs. I'm worried about getting burnt out on the songs and not being able to bring freshness and complete honesty to the music if I sing them too much. So I'm practicing vocalese and other new songs I want to add to my repertoire. Tomorrow I'll go up to Wayne's and go through the songs with him. He wants to hear how I'll be approaching the music so we can hopefully save time in the studio. I think my ideas are pretty well locked in and now the spontaneity of just singing with my heart will hopefully take over when I get in front of that microphone. I'm sure Wayne will have some ideas for me and I'll see how--and if--I can work them into how I want to approach the music. He always has good ideas, it's just matter of whether they resonate with me or not. I respect him above most others, but I still do have my own opinions and my own creativity that needs to be asserted when necessary!!

4th of July

2007-07-04T08:09:00.000-07:00

I could go on and on about the state of our political affairs in the US right now, but really what good would it do? Actions always speak louder than words and so I'm not going to sit here and complain about how frustrated I am as an american and how embarrassed I am about my government. What I need is to be part of a solution. I saw the movie Sicko last night and it depressed the hell out of me. How is it possible that we as a country have allowed our people to go so long without healthcare while other developed democracies offer universal healthcare? It's really shameful that we as a nation have not been able to come up with some kind of plan to aid all of our citizens. Honestly my first impulse after watching the movie was to leave the country. It's actually something I've toyed with for many years, but now it almost feels important to live outside of this country if I'm to live a healthy life! We deserve a quality of life that, unless you're wealthy or "gainfully" employed, is unavailable to the majority of folk. As a musician, a self-employed citizen of this country, I have no insurance unless I pay for it out of my own pocket. And even then, what I can afford is for catastrophic insurance, which means I pay a lot out of pocket in the hopes nothing terrible happens to me. It's frightening and causes undue stress that shouldn't have to be there. How can this be changed? What can I do to help change this?

Today I'm going on a walk with my friend Joan. She is the reason I am doing the hike with the Laukemia and Lymphoma Society. She told me yesterday that her brother was diagnosed two weeks ago with a blood cancer and that his prognosis is not good. I feel so sad for her and her family. She is now going to hike for her brother, while I hike for her. Now it feels more important than ever to raise the funds necessary to do this hike (http://www.active.com/donate/hfdsvmb/hfdkparra). The more money that can be raised the more research can be done to find cures for all of these diseases and cancers. Despite all of this sadness and frustration with the world, I continue to have hope. I refuse to let go of the hope that our world can improve, that we can improve as human beings. Underneath all of the terror, violence and greed we still have humanity--somewhere underneath it all. I guess I better start digging...

Last Gig Until August

2007-07-01T11:25:00.000-07:00

I had a really nice gig last night. We had a fantastic turn out of friends and family and even some new folks who saw the article in the Metro and decided to come down. I LOVE press!! :) One woman in particular--Stephanie--saw the article in the Metro and was intrigued by the fact that I perform Sephardic music in my repertoire. She came after our first set where the one Sephardic song of the night had already been played. Since she came down specifically to hear that part of my repertoire, I moved a few things around in the second set and included Esta Montanya d'Enfrente. It actually felt really good singing that song and since it will be going on the next CD it was great practice on how I will approach it when it comes time to record. I really love the way Murray Low has arranged this style of music. He has a really good feel for how to represent this music and he has a way of bringing out its true beauty with a few well-placed chords here and there.

Playing in a restaurant is always a challenge. People come to hear you perform--at least some people do--but they also come to share a meal together. It's hard to not want to talk to your group while the music is playing. It is a bit of a challenge to me to have half of the room completely ignoring me and the band while we perform. But then there are those magical moments when there's something we do with the music that makes everyone quiet down and stop to really listen to what we're doing. That happened a few times last night but most noticably while we were performing Esta Montanya. I know the people that came last night were "listening" to the music while they were in conversation with friends, but it is a definitely different vibe when playing in a concert situation where people are listening more carefully. I suppose all these instances are good for me to experience. The fact of the matter is I get to sing and share my music with the public. That is a gift in any form it might take and I appreciate the opportunities I have been getting and continue to get. The fact of the matter is: I LOVE to perform!!

The Agenda Lounge and Restaurant

2007-06-30T09:10:00.000-07:00

Tonight I'll be performing two sets at the Agenda Lounge and Restaurant from 7:30 to 9:45. I haven't played in a few weeks due to the recording and needing to concentrate on that, so it will be nice to be able to sing in public. I'm looking forward to playing with Murray Low,Tom Bockhold and Curt Moore. We're even going to try out a couple of the songs that will be on the new CD. We haven't had a chance to rehearse them, however, so it will be a true adventure to see how they go. Knowing these guys, I'm pretty confident that it will be just fine. The more difficult arrangements will have to wait until I can put together a rehearsal. I actually love the challenge of putting something in front of the musicians I play with and seeing how things turn out. They always sound great. Do I fall on my face sometimes? Of course!! But that is part of the risk I like to take. My philosophy is if you don't dare yourself to take chances--especially on stage--you will never grow as a musician and as a human being. Music is a constant series of adventures. I try and sing each song differently every time I perform it. That way it stays fresh for me and for my audience.

The month of July is completely free of gigs. Yuck!! That's probably due to the fact that I will be recording the vocals two weeks out of the month and Murray will be in Europe with the Stanford Jazz Orchestra for a couple of weeks. Of course I can do gigs without Murray, but I prefer it when he is on the gig. We just understand each other so well, he understands the music better than anyone and he's SO talented. Everytime we play together I learn something new. August, however, is shaping up to be one of my busiest gig months ever! I'm hoping this is the beginning of a steadier work schedule where I am playing at least 4 times a month. I know I need to learn patience when it comes to developing my career, but I really have none and am getting nervous about my financial situation. I want to be able to give this music career a good strong chance at fruition.

Today I go to the kick-off meeting for the Hike for Discovery program I have committed to. I'm looking forward to starting the training. I will be going on hikes every Saturday morning for the next three months--when I can--and preparing to be able to hike for up to 9 hours! This is going to be a great challenge for me and my somewhat out of shape body!

Quiet Solitude

2007-06-28T08:05:00.000-07:00

This week so far has been very calm and quiet. My older son went back to San Francisco after spending the week here helping to photograph the studio experience. And my younger son is living it up in New York City. I knew he would love it there. The energy of that city is infectious and for a twenty-two year old I'm sure it's completely irresistible. I'm so proud of how he has adapted himself to the environment so quickly. He's settled in well to his internship at vicetv.com and has also gotten an actual paying job at American Apparel. As he states, he's involved with all of the "hip" things going on right now! I would love to be able to go out and visit him and hope to do so--with a few gigs booked--soon.

I sent off three press kits to Porto Alegre, Brazil a couple of days ago and now I'm crossing my fingers, toes, legs, eyes and anything else that can be crossed in hopes that the gigs come through. What a thrill it would be to play in Brazil and get a sense of how my music is recieved in other parts of the world. Of course cost is always an issue but it's a problem I WANT to have.

Last night I attended an open house meeting for two grants that will be given out through both the San Francisco Arts Foundation and CCI. The SF grant, although I do not qualify for it due to the fact I don't actually live in SF, is a wonderful grant that attempts to blend community and social issues with the arts. It's what I most believe in when it comes to sharing the arts with children who need it the most. I'm going ot try and find someone in SF to partner with so I can develop a program that will take music and art out to the neighborhoods. It would be so awesome to get funding for this so I don't have to take the money out of my own pocket. I truly believe that the power of music could be an amazing healing tool in areas where family life is fragmented. We need to save our children and give them a sense of hope. Hope is what is diminishing so rapidly in our world. Without hope the world breeds terror, fear and violence. There's got to be a way to return to a world where we can look forward and not be frightened.

4 Days of Creativity

2007-06-23T10:57:00.000-07:00

The instrumental portions of the recording of Azucar de Amor are now complete. Whew!! I am amazed, relieved and thrilled that we were able to record 10 full songs in 4 days. Granted they were LONG days, but we did it and the result is overwhelmingly positive. Wayne himself said that he feels the CD was raised to a higher level musically than the last one--and I agree. There was some really amazing stuff/magic that happened this week in the studio.

Ray Vega was such a pleasure to work with. He is hilarious, full of entertaining stories, and most of all, a dedicated musician. Despite his clowning around, when it came time to get down to business he gave 150% of himself. His solos were inspired and beautiful and his session playing was also fantastic. We worlked him hard in the studio but he always remained calm and positive. I hope we get more chances to work together. I feel as though I made a new friend this week.

Jovino Santos Neto also was a true pleasure to work with. I picked him up from the airport on Thursday and, after having a nice breakfast together, we went to the studio and laid down the tracks he recorded on. He played on one of my originals and one jazz standard/bolero. What a beautiful sound he gets from the piano. He's lyrical and pensive and exciting all at the same time. I feel that the songs we recorded together will be very beautiful.

Now it's up to me to record the vocals. My job, should I choose to accept--and I do!--is to maintain the same level achieved by the instrumentals OR raise it even higher. My goal is to raise it even higher. I need to really center myself to allow the spirits to speak through me. I am hoping to get my ego out of the way so the true voice of each song can be honestly revealed. I'm going to have to do some serious meditating before going back into the studio in two weeks!!

Magic in the Air!

2007-06-20T08:34:00.000-07:00

Can you feel the magic? I can! It's happening all around me this week. Day two is completed in the studio and half of the CD is now recorded (if you don't count the vocals). Magic is what is happening in the studio this week. The musicians are rising to levels that I only dreamt could happen. They are all such dedicated people and so appreciative and supportive of the music. Chills keep running down my spine as I hear the music being played back to me.

Yesterday the Sephardic songs were recorded and I think they are going to be very special. The afro-peruvian song as well turned out spectacular, under the strict direction of David Pinto. It is impressive how seriously dedicated he is to the music and its sound. He came in all business yesterday and left with a big smile on his face. I think he is very pleased--as am I--with how the song came out. Now it's up to me to sing my heart out and deliver the message with as much soul as I can.

The other truly amazing thing that happened yesterday was an offer to go to play in Brazil. WOW!! I'm crossing my fingers it works out. What an amazing experience that would be. I would perform in Rio Grande do Sur and in Porto Alegre, with the possibilty of performing in Rio and Sao Paolo as well. What a dream come true that would be. I hope I haven't jinxed it by writing about it here!

Day One Complete!

2007-06-19T08:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first day of recording and it was a huge success. We recorded three songs, two of which are complete--except for the vocals. Everyone played fantastic and created some really cool sounds for the songs. The charts are challenging and somewhat difficult to play but these guys are all pros on the highest level and made it seem relatively smooth and easy. Were there any glitches and hiccups along the way? Of course!! We're human after all. But the dedication to the music and making it sound the best possible is what ultimately wins out. I am really pleased and excited with how things are progressing and I'm feeling like we have the beginnings of something really special here.

Today is day two of the studio recording. We will be recording the two sephardic songs that will be on the CD as well as the afro-peruvian landó. I can't even begin to tell you how touched I am at how David Pinto has taken my song and dedicated himself to making sure it is as authentic as it can be. He even went as far as recording it in a home studio to make sure that it would work fine when we recorded it today with Gary Mankin. For someone at his musical level to be so committed to helping me with my song makes me feel so blessed and lucky to be alive. The song has a strong message of following your heart even though you might not have a clue where it will lead you. Maybe it somehow touched David in its message. No matter, I think this song is going to be powerful in a very organic way. I can't wait to get to the studio today to see what kind of magic we can create!!

Countdown to Studio Time

2007-06-16T08:06:00.000-07:00

Two more days and the recording fun begins! I am actually really looking forward to getting back into the studio and working with the man with the golden ears, Gary Mankin. He is such an incredible sound engineer who takes his job very seriously and assures that the sound will be stellar on all the projects on which he works. I am truly blessed by all of the talent that surrounds me. They all inspire me to perform at a higher level--and hopefully I have a hand in inspiring them as well with my music.

An article came out the other day in the SJ Mercury News about how Ray Vega will be performing this coming Tuesday at Santana Row (http://www.mercurynews.com/search/ci_6137422?nclick_check=1). I was also quoted in the article because Ray will be here due to the fact that he will be recording with me next week. I was keeping it under wraps in order for it to be a surprise but now it's out in the open. I am thrilled beyond belief to be able to have Ray Vega playing on my new CD. Jovino Santos Neto will also be coming down to record and I am really excited about working with him as well. How cool is it to have two stellar recording artists performing on my CD? I am honored that they both agreed to attach their names to mine! And then in the midst of all of this, while trying to get everything and everyone organized another really exciting and lucky thing happened. Raul Ramirez, the percussionist who will be playing on an afro-peruvian landó song I wrote, just so happens to have David Pinto, Susana Baca's bassist and musical director, staying at his house for the month of June. So, David will be recording with me as well! How cool is that? It just can't get any cooler.

So now you can see why I am excited to get into the studio next week. It will be a week filled with amazing talents, sounds and innovations. These are the moments that reinforce my decision to leave corporate america and dedicate myself to my first love--music, music, music.

Closer and Closer

2007-06-13T08:21:00.000-07:00

Things are really coming together nicely for the recording. We did a rehearsal both Monday night and all afternoon yesterday. It is quite a feat to get all of these guys (15 people) in one room for a rehearsal. And the opinions!! Everyone has an opinion on how the music should be played. But they all have such knowledge and experience that it is hard not to take what they say into consideration. Ultimately, however, Wayne is the producer and this is my CD! I have to do what feels right for me and what works best for the music. I think the songs are going to sound amazing, given what I heard yesterday. And it is good to find that I am more than ready to go in and sing my heart out on these songs. I am very comfortable with the arrangements and how things are going to lay out in each of the songs. We weren't able to get to every song yesterday, but I don't think it will pose too much of a problem in the studio. We covered the most challenging tunes in the rehearsal and now it is up to the players to practice on their own. I am so incredibly blessed to be able to play with these guys. Not only are they phenomenal musicians, but good people as well. That makes the music so much more enjoyable.

I have been asked to be a part of a top-40 cover band!! They want me to cover the latin tunes when they do their shows. I'm in a bit of a quandary over this. It feels like I'm stepping back in time by signing on to this. But at the same time, it would allow me to make more money--and I'd be singing! So I'm thinking maybe I should try it out and see how it feels. It's just frustrating when all I really want to be doing is performing regularly with my own band, playing my repertoire. I guess I'm more spoiled than I originally thought! :)

Hike For Discovery

2007-06-11T07:27:00.000-07:00

I have a friend with a blood disease that borders on Leukemia. Without the treatment she has been getting and all of the test drugs being tried on her, she might not still be around. This woman is brilliant, strong, vibrant and determined to live a long and productive life. She has a thirteen year old daughter and a husband who completely adores her. So why do things like this happen to the best people? Something I will probably never be able to comprehend. But her tenacity and desire to make a difference in this world has inspired me to sign up for Hike for Discovery. It is a fundraising event (Team-In-Training) that is supported by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). I will be training for the next three months to ultimately hike on the Nepali Coast in Kuaui in October. It is a 10 mile rigorous hike. I will need to raise $4800 dollars in order to participate in this event, 75% of which will go to LLS for research. My thought is that I will donate $5 of each CD sale towards this event. So every CD sold at live shows will be contributing to helping to find a cure for these nasty diseases. I'm excited about tackling this challenge--after all, this is nothing compared to what my friend is experiencing. I've asked her to do the hike with me and she is waiting to see if her doctor will allow her to do so. Either way, however, I will do this hike and do it with her as my inspiration.

So Much Going On

2007-06-06T16:23:00.000-07:00

Well, my son Danilo will fly out next Tuesday to start a new life in NYC. I'm so excited for him and at the same time saddened at the fact that he will be so far away. This will undoubtedly give me more motivation to book some gigs on the east coast now! He will be doing an internship with vicetv.com and it sounds as though it will be a fantastic experience for him. I will be taking him to the San Francisco airport on Tuesday and then heading to Berkeley to do the first and only rehearsal before we start recording in the studio. I was thinking today that despite all of the mascara that will be running down my face from too many tears, having the opportunity to rehearse the songs for the recording will be fantastic therapy for me. It reminds me of when my ex and I split up and how much singing helped me get through such a difficult time. Music, singing, drumming are all such powerful tools in aiding us all to work through our "issues". I'm in the process of developing a music/expressive arts workshop that I want to take into juvenile hall or at-risk programs. I think that something like this could have a profound and positive impact on these lost children. They need love and support and a way to express their emotions without doing harm to either themselves or other people. I really want to find a way to reach these kids. But I'm also afraid they might eat me alive!! I've got to figure out how to do this and still feel safe.

Letting Go

2007-06-02T09:07:00.000-07:00

My son, Danilo, flew off to NYC yesterday. He is going there for an interview for an internship spot at an alternative news station. It is an awesome opportunity for him and I am excited that people on the east coast are going to get a chance to see how talented he is. The hard part for me is letting go. The idea of him moving so far away is definitely something I need to get my head around. Granted, since he moved up to San Francisco I really haven't seen a lot of him, but now I won't be able to just jump in my car to go and have dinner with him when I want. Nevertheless, I am impressed at his fearlessness and ability to constantly grow and experience new things. He is an inspiration to me, as is my other son. They both teach me so much about life and creativity. I am blessed to have two such wonderful people in my life--and they're my sons!!

I now have almost all of the charts ready for the studio gig. I just need one more for the book to be complete. It is becoming a reality. I can't believe that I am going back into the studio so soon after my last CD. I'm excited and feel really good about the songs that will be on this disc. It will be a higher energy experience than the last one, which will be good for the dancers out there. And having "names" on the CD will also help considerably. Not only will it help in getting me attention, but the inspiration with getting to perform with these guys raises the music to a whole new level. One more week and we're thrown into it--rehearsals, last minute changes, last minute coordinations, etc. I even got my mom and sister-in-law involved by helping to cater food on the studio days--NICE!! :)

Touring Poll and Career Day

2007-05-30T14:34:00.000-07:00

A touring poll has been set up on my myspace.com/katparra page to see where people would like to see me perform throughout the country. It will be fun to see the results. We're currently targeting Chicago and Seattle to start with and I hope to perform in both of those regions in the fall of this year. If I start to worry about how I will be able to manage all of this I drive myself crazy. So I am practicing trust in the Universe. I am trying to believe that if it is meant to happen--and I truly believe it is--then the opportunities will present themselves at the right time.

Tomorrow I go back to my old high school, Willow Glen High, and sit on a panel for career day. I am excited to have been asked to participate in their career day. I'm sure some of the kids' parents will hate me, but I am going to urge those kids to follow their dreams, because no matter what path it takes them down, they will be pursuing something that truly makes them passionate and happy and creative. Will it make them a lot of money? Who knows? But how would you ever know if you weren't willing to take the chance to find out! I am a true believer that if you hear a calling you should follow it. That's not to say that the calling might change over time but at least you are listening to your gut, your heart, whatever you want to call it. It took me so long to be able to have this chance of listening to my heart and I am so happy I was able to finally HEAR it--and heed it.

Sonoma wine and Jazz Festival

2007-05-28T06:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I performed at the Sonoma Wine and Jazz Festival. I had my regular guys back playing with me again--Murray Low on piano, Peter Barshay on bass, Melecio Magdaluyo on wind instruments and Paul van Wageningen on drums. The band, as always, played phenomenally well and made the day a complete blast for me. And my voice was in good form, which always makes me very happy! The crowd, and I mean CROWD, was very attentive and appreciative of what we were playing. I always wonder if my singing in foreign languages will be a deterrant to the average american crowd, but that hasn't seemed to be the case. People really seem to respond to the music--and my voice--without necessarily understanding what I'm saying. I'm not sure how the rest of the country will react to my styles of music--and languages--but people in the Bay Area seem to be open to different musics of the world and I totally appreciate that. I sold a bunch of CDs which will greatly help in the costs of studio time.

I also met Larry Vucovich yesterday. What a sweet man--and an amazingly talented pianist. He really seems to love what he's doing. The fact that he has been a full-time musician for over forty years and still obviously has a good time perfoming is quite an inspiration to me. I want to be singing and performing until the day I die. I can't imagine a better way to spend the rest of my days. I know that when I am performing I am at my happiest. And when I have an audience that is responding to my music I think I've reached some level of nirvana! Yesterday was one of those days.

Preparation

2007-05-24T07:54:00.000-07:00

I'm a few weeks away from going back into the studio to record my next CD, Azucar de Amor. There is so much that has to be organized and prepared for that at times it can become overwhelming. But the support that I have from the musicians that will be performing on this CD is incredible. I am so very blessed to be able to record with the creme de la creme of the Bay Area as well as some very well known latin jazz musicians that will be flying in from different parts of the country. I am confident this CD is going to be just as good, if not better, than Birds in Flight. I have been listening to the songs that I chose and hearing them in the order that I think will work best for the CD and it feels good, sounds good and I am getting excited. Wayne Wallace has been such a great source of inspiration and guidance through both of these projects. We work so well together and have created some really nice songs. It's always fun to have an idea, create lyrics and a melody and then take the song to a master like Wayne who will help shape it and mold it into a work of art. This is how three of my original songs were developed for this project.

Today I go down to the school where I teach 2-4 grades and say goodbye to the students for the summer. We did our end of year concert last night and they were fantastic. I am so proud of all of them. I am actually going to miss them! But it will be fun to return next year to see how they have all grown. It feels good to be able to contribute something to the community, helping to enrich the lives of children who would otherwise not be exposed to these sorts of things.

Staying Productive

2007-05-22T08:41:00.001-07:00

Working from home can be quite a challenge for me. It's hard at times to stay focussed and assure that I stay productive. I'm so used to having someone else telling me what needs to get done where my job is concerned. Now it's up to me to determine what takes priority each day and how to assure that those things get accomplished. I've started making lists for myself at the beginning of each day to help me determine what I need to do to feel as though I'm not wasting time. Sometimes that works and other days I wonder where all the time went. I also get worried that I'm not moving forward in a way that will earn me a decent living. The last thing I want is to have to go back into corporate america and sit in a cube, listening to people complain about how much they hate their jobs. That should be motivation enough to stay focussed on the goals I have set for myself!!

Last night I was interviewed by Frankye Kelly on her TV show, Jazz with Frankye. It will air in a couple of weeks on the Comcast channel--Sunday 12:30-1pm. It was fun meeting Frankye. She is a really nice and beautiful woman who features local artists on her show. Herman Bosset was kind enough to set up the interview for me. He is such a sweet man! So we talked about the CD and the music. Some of my live performances will be shown on the show as well. This was the first time I've been interviewed on TV. I've done a lot of radio interviews now and feel very comfortable with that. This was a bit of a different beast, being in front of 3 cameras and lots of light. I think it went well, though, and I'm looking forward to seeing the end result. Life is good. :)

Spirituality

2007-05-20T13:37:00.001-07:00

For me spirituality is a deeply personal experience that is between me and the Higher Power, whatever that may be. It is fascinating to me that as I get older I become more interested and curious about my Jewish heritage. Now that is not to say that I have become a religious zealot, but I have found a need to explore my roots and the culture of the Jewish people. This is what has drawn me, in part, to studying and performing Sephardic music. Not only is the music rich in tradition and history, but also rich in its melodic structure and blending of worlds. Maybe it can even be said--very loosely--that Sephardic music was the beginning of world music, since it combined styles of the Muslims and of the Jews and then later of the different countries where the Sephardim were displaced. The more I study Sephardic music and its origins, the more fascinated I become with the world as it was, the sharing of ideas, of music, of traditions. This is not to say that the "Golden Age" of Spain was all attar and roses, but it definitely shows worlds colliding together to create a body of rich artistry.

Music, Music, Music

2007-05-19T15:28:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a drum/percussion clinic led by both Michael Spiro and Phil Hawkins. Being a closet percussionist, I am constantly trying to find ways to improve my skills and who better to learn from than Michael Spiro? He is such an unsung hero in these parts, so knowledgable, so talented and so engaging in his teaching style. It makes me feel as though I need to take some really serious formal training to hone my skills as a hand percussionist. I know better than to think I can dedicate the time to playing congas (which I absolutely love), but I know I can take the time to improve my skills and knowledge with the instruments I can play on stage--maracas, guiro, clave--especially clave, etc. All of this would no doubt improve my singing as well, both rhythmically and stylistically. the thing I DO feel confident about is that I have excellent rhythm and this helps me in my improvisations. Now, along with the hand percussion, I want to improve my skills as a sonera. I want and need to learn to have the confidence to improvise in Spanish with my inspiraciones. I've been listening a lot lately to Maraca, Los Van Van, Cubanismo, Ray Barreto, etc and how their soneros just take over with pure and complete confidence. It's really not about my knowledge of the music so much as it is about feeling strong in my convictions with what I have to say, and being able to say it in rapid fire form! I know I have a lot of work ahead of me, but I've also already done a lot of work and the foundation has been well established to be built upon. I'll be the Sara Winchester of soneros!! Building my chops more and more with each day that passes.

Making a Connection

2007-05-18T08:24:00.000-07:00

This blogging thing has me baffled. How do you know if anyone is reading? If anyone is interested in what you have to say? My goal is to connect with people from all over the world and hear their stories. How are you coping as a single parent? An empty nester? Someone who has recently "launched" themselves into the kind of life they have always desired?

I am trying desperately to "launch" myself in a way where I can support myself both financially and emotionally. I try everyday to be productive, but I'm not always successful. I am easily distracted and sometimes have a hard time staying focused. What I want to do is develop a vocal masters class that I can take with me when I go on tour. It would be so wonderful to share what I have learned with other aspiring singers. My musical director Murray Low also has developed a really interesting masters class on the differences and similarities between jazz and latin jazz music. We have done the class together to demonstrate the different phrasings that are required to properly sing each style. It's fun and educational all at the same time.

If I could get a teaching gig like this at different locales across the country then I could book gigs in those same towns and finally have my opportunity to tour. That is my goal right now--get out on the road as soon as I possibly can. What is your goal?

Media Guide and Radio DJs

2007-05-17T08:20:00.000-07:00

So I was just sent the Media Guide report for the months of April and May and see that the DJs around the country are still supporting my music--months after my radio campaign has ended. This makes me feel so GOOD and honored that my music is somehow reaching people's hearts in a way I never expected. I had only hoped that people would be able to hear the passion, emotion and soul that I feel when I sing my music. Apparently that dream has come true!! :) Now it's time to take this show on the road. That's the biggest challenge right there--how to afford to tour. But somehow I've GOT to find a way to bring my music to the places that have been supporting me so much. It is another way that I can reach out to my fans--and of course make new ones. And the opportunity to perform in places around the country is so exciting to me. Having the chance to meet people face to face to thank them for their support would be another dream come true.

Wow!! I'm a Blogger Now!

2007-05-16T16:25:00.000-07:00

Hi there and welcome to my blog. I've been thinking about doing this for awhile but just never got around to it. Now it's time to see if anyone out there is interested in the things I have to say! I'm now a full-time musician who is also experiencing empty nest syndrome for the first time in my life. I successfully raised two amazing "men" on my own and now find myself living alone and trying to reinvent myself in the image I used to only dream about. Yes, I waited to pursue my passion of music until my children were old enough to make it on their own. So, I guess you might call me a late bloomer, but in my mind that allows me to bring that much more depth, emotion and experiences to my music, as well as my everday existence. I would like to know who else out there has taken their own personal "leap of faith" and who is considering this kind of risk in their life. Maybe we can all be a support to one another and find a way to virtually aid in each of our selected successes. I look forward to the beginning of some interesting conversations. Until next time...