I've been mostly confined to the Garritan booth so far and seen almost no performances at this damn thing, nor have I made the rounds doing the Big Schmooze. However, my booth buddies Gary Garritan and Chuck Israels are excellent company, and Robin Eubanks (whose podcast you should subscribe to) and Kenny Werner both came by to say hello today. Gary also presented 2006 Gil Evans Fellowship winner Sherisse Rogers with a complimentary copy of the Garritan Jazz and Big Band sample library.
I did manage to see John Hollenbeck with Big Band Graz last night at Tonic, and again this afternoon at The Madness. Both performances were outstanding -- the level of preparation, commitment, enthusiasm, and all-around ass-kickery the Austrians brought to Hollenbeck's music -- performed without a conductor(!) -- was immensely satisfying and inspiring.
Also, before the final tune, Hollenbeck abruptly broke off his crowd-pleasing deadpan patter and went over and whispered something in Theo Bleckmann's ear. John returned to the mic and announced that Theo had agreed to be the best man at his wedding.
Forced myself to stick around through some less-than-inspired performances later in the evening in order to watch Brookmeyer receive his NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship. The video bios of each recipient were nicely done, though. It was good to see Freddie Hubbard up there as well -- the man was obviously deeply moved both by the fellowship and the tremendous reception he received in the hall.
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