to Poland and back

So, this past week I was in Katowice, Poland as a SIM faculty member. SIM stands for School for Improvised Music http://www.schoolforimprov.org/, it's run by my friend Ralph Alessi, who was also there. Also also there was Ravi Coltrane, Brad Shepik, Mark Helias, and Jim Black. Except for Ralph, these are all musicians I had played with only a little bit [Ravi] or not at all [the rest] before this past week; including Ralph, these are all some seriously amazing musicians of whom I've been a fan for a long time. So, the week was a total blast. We played two concerts, each of which featured 6 tunes, one by each group member. And there were of course some jam session moments which were also hilarious and fun. I averaged at most 5 hours a night of sleep, and we taught a good deal of the day every day as well, so it was exhausting when coupled with the transatlantic flights and connections and so forth. Then, to top it all off, a nice old lady inadvertently stole my bag back after I arrived in NYC. She did bring it back to Aer Lingus, who are shipping it to me today.

Yes, I had pierogies, which were delicious. Plus, Polish vodka - Zubrowka!

So, now I'm back and recovered. Pictures were taken, not by me, but as soon as I can coax any out of the ether I'll post some.

allrighty. I'll be getting to some new stuff soon, to begin the cycle of new postings.

Mad Dog! Mad Dog! http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink10324.html

-mm