This week was an unusual one for me because I played four nights in a row, at the same venue, with the same jazz quintet, Scott plays Bop plays Scott. That is unusual in Iceland. We were premiering music by drummer Scott McLemore and I was playing both Wurlitzer electric piano and an acoustic piano. We had a great time playing and were pleasantly surprised by the attendance every night and most delighted with the review in the Morning Paper. Scott can not only play drums, write music and cook great food, he also a very creative designer and he designed his own poster. I love it! Don't you?

Today I'm reaping the emotional satisfaction of the project but also paying for the late night hangs and early wake up calls conducted by my 2 and 4 year old. It is great to look back and see how everyone contributed to make the project work, in spite of it's extremely low financial benefits, and how humorous ideas popped up when solving problems and making do with what we had. For instance, we rehearsed at Oskar's (the saxophonist) place. He had a grand piano but no bench so I used his son's Trip Trap (which was designed by Peter Opsvik, the father of bassist Eivind Opsvik who plays on my next record… what a small world). I should send him the picture and ask to be the next Trip Trap Poster Baby. You can see more pictures from the rehearsals on Scott's page on Facebook and of course while there hit the "like" button.

There was no grand piano at the venue, just an upright so I had to take the front top cover off the piano to hear it but then I needed a place to put the sheet music. The place was actually being renovated so I dug around in the debris and found a Bacardi Breezer poster that was the perfect size. It just barely held the sheet music but also rose above the microphones which we were using to record the piano. Then of course we had to joke about me becoming a Bacardi Breezer Performing Artist (as in Steinway Recording Artist). I also brought my roll of toilet paper and my amplifier to use as a monitor. You can see an explanation of that in a previous post Why a Pianist Brings a Roll of Toilet Paper to a Gig.

Speaking of financial vs emotional benefits all the band members got Vivani chocolate as an appreciation for playing. Oh my, it is…… pure sensual pleasure. Try the one with chili and also the one with mango bits. Yum!

We will be performing again on May 27 at an event hosted by gogoyoko.com That is THE place to get Icelandic music. Go there now!