Je Suis Arrivé à La Rochelle

[excusez-moi! - the following post was written last night but could not be published for lack of wifi access]

Hello world! I wanted to blog sooner but my schedule has exploded. After arriving yesterday afternoon in La Rochelle, I settled for a moment in my host’s lovely home before running off to dinner at a restaurant with several fellow musicians. Today, after waking up at 9:00am, I quickly tore through a lovely breakfast before warming up and running to participate in a New Orleans style street performance. Immediately after, we departed for a sound check prior to a concert in La Rochelle’s suburbs. Though I write, I must wake up in four hours to begin a new day of learning tunes, making friends and performing.

René Bigot, the festival director, and my gracious host while in La Rochelle has a wonderful house, complete with a pool and beautiful garden. The welcome from the people of La Rochelle has been warm and I have made several friends along the way. Special shout outs (did I actually just write ‘shout outs’? – there has to be a better word but I can’t summon it) go to Robert Mendoche, a trumpeter and bassist with a sharp wit; Michael Lardeux, a web designer, graphic artist and photographer who has generously donated his time to create a beautiful website (http://larochelledixiejazz.fr); Aurélien Guyot, a violiniste skilled both in traditional and modern jazz; Phillppe Guignier, a guitarist in the mold of Django Reinhardt; Jérôme Nicolas, a clarinetist whose gorgeous sound makes me want to start playing clarinet again, and Didier Court, a talented guitarist, banjoist, bandleader and sometimes singer.

For now, maybe I can compensate for my lack of cogent writing with some video from the road. Enjoy the thoughtful commentary on American politics from a like-minded French woman with whom I road the train from Paris.