Today at the coffeehouse, I ran into Erik Kleven, Sacramento's master of the electric bass. I hadn't seen him since January. He told me that he's going to Indiana soon for a five-day stand with a Patsy Cline tribute show. We had a nice talk about pure vs. tempered intervals (he likes to play a pure major tenth on the bass a la Jaco Pastorius.) He's wearing a T shirt from a traditional jazz band he used to play in; the buffalo was drawn by Robert Armstrong (cartoonist, friend of Robert Crumb, member of the Cheap Suit Serenaders, and coiner of the phrase "couch potato".)

Pianos don't belong outside... but almost all of the Jubilee pianos are outside. We try to tune them anyway. 

The tuners for the Jazz Festival keep the service record by writing it down on the piano itself, old school. The records go back to when Jim Hopperstadt used to do it. He also played bass for bands in the Festival. I remember him at Piano Technicians Guild meetings... he was always ready with a boring, self-serving story only somewhat related to the issue at hand. 

I left my PDA (the one with my schedule, contacts, games, and tuning software) in a bathroom at the Radisson Hotel. I didn't realize that it was missing until four hours later. I called security at the hotel but no one answered. I drove back to the hotel and found it just where I'd left it. The restroom is particularly remote --- it's in a hallway on the way to a stage at the end of a ballroom. It doubles as a dressing room for performers. I wondered if anyone had used the bathroom at all while I'd been gone. 

What really gets a vegetarian salivating?

The natives of Espresso Metroland have their own patois. This note, roughly translated, means "the cash register's display is differently abled." 

The communications center at the Jazz Jubilee, which has a nice balcony overlooking a tiny, mosquito-infested lagoon. They have a large collection of pagers which no one is using, because they all have cell phones. 

The Sacramento Jazz Jubilee has only one ironclad rule: no drinks on the pianos. 

I've never seen this before --- a two-story garage door. It's like the stage door for an opera house. 

Peering through the blinds of the poolhouse bathroom at the staff below preparing a few desserts. 

Reading the Economist between songs.

Setting up the band for a black-tie birthday party. The couple were celebrating a combined age of 155 years. 

I drove 45 minutes to this customer's house and she stood me up. So if you see this house, throw an egg at it. (The problem is: this being a California tract, every other house on the block looks exactly like it.) 

My lunch at Starbuck's --- Cobb salad and tall latte. I'm reading This Book Will Change Your Life --- a collection of 365 anarchic suggestions, one for each day of the year.

On Sunday I played tennis with Hal. Usually I drive him, but this time we rode over to the courts in his 1952 Chevrolet van. He's made extensive modifications, including the map light and in-glove-compartment radio shown.
Hal teaches school and so has summers off. Last year he went off to Colorado for ten days to write an (excellent) short story; this year he will take five weeks in Munich to write.

Show of Simon Evans at Jack Hanley Gallery

When I was in San Francisco last I went to the Museum of Modern Art and saw some wonderful works by Simon Evans.
Here are some photos from a recent gallery show.

Christine, the new salesperson at Larrick Piano, was passing out Russian chocolates (she is Russian). It has very sweet nougat in the center. 

This is a Kurzweil K2500R, the workhorse of Broadway pits. I got it last fall after all the problems with Scarlet Pimpernel, but I haven't used it in a show yet. It will get its maiden voyage in Beauty and the Beast. Notice the name JEANNIE at the top; I gave it Jennifer's childhood name.

Waiting in line to get into the live broadcast of the Al Franken radio show at the Crest Theater. The line eventually was two blocks long. 

During a break in the show, I took this picture of Jennifer in front of the stage. Behind the table is Katherine Lanpher(Al's sidekick), Phil Angelides, and Al.

This customer had a large collection of fishing rods behind the piano. 

Giovanni's Pizza on Folsom... the best New York style pizza in Sacramento. 

Members of the John Skinner band. From left, Dave Witkowski (from Philadelphia!), Tom Lopes, and Kathryn Skinner. 

I played a backyard wedding with the John Skinner second band last night. These people had their own putting green. 

Cafe Melange, in Curtis Park, also makes superb looking lattes. That's part of Steve in the picture. 

Steve playing one of his five new piano pieces. Although they are difficult to play (and listen to), the titles are easy to love: "The Universe Fixes Itself," "Eep Beep," "Notes Must Be Free," "Trompe l'Oreille," and one other.