Yesterday I worked with  Bob Niederriter on the final gig of the season at Nelson Ledges.  We fortunately had the great Jon Eshelman playing B3 organ with us.  Despite the chilly temperatures, we heated things up on stage.  I love working with this trio as we always inspire each other and genuinely enjoy each others company.  This summer I was blessed to work with Bob at NL for some great sets including one with my brother Tony Monaco!  Yesterday, I also had a chance to try out my new kit from Inde Drums.  Josh Allen custom makes the drums out of Kalamazoo and uses some very interesting design elements and philosophies.  Still tweaking, but they are sounding good.

Hanging with my fellow photographers over at Campus Martius.

Got to meet my fellow drum buddy Ian Levine and heard Jim Alfredson with Alex Harding.

Back at the hotel with the great Pat Martino.

Always great to catch up with my friend and stellar percussionist Daniel Sadownick.

Wow, July was jam packed with many gigs.  I had a blast getting to showcase Derek DiCenzo and Clif Metcalf at the Bop Stop. My buddy Gerard Cox also invited me down to Columbus to feature my trio with Bob Niederriter and Jon Eshelman at his new music space, Filament.  We had a great time!  Our buddy Tony Monaco dropped by to catch a few numbers and sat in with us as well.  Then, the following week I had the pleasure of working with Bob and Tony at the Hollywood Casino in Columbus for a private event.  Another chance for me to hone my skills with some very talented cats!  

As the month of June gets underway, my schedule ramps up with lots of great events. I will be covering both the PIttsburgh and Tri-C jazz festivals for All About Jazz.  There are many Funkology shows in the works as well as gigs with Bob Niederriter and a few shows of my own. Visit my musician Facebook page for all the up to date information.  Hope to see you this summer!

Great times hanging out with Dave Holland (and my buddy George Case) and John McLaughlin after fantastic shows over a two week period at the Michigan Theater!

What a great Labor Day weekend it was attending the 38th Annual Detroit Jazz Festival.  In addition to my usual duties hauling cameras around from stage to stage, I had the pleasure this year to serve as an emcee.  I worked the Waterfront stage Saturday and Sunday and then the Pyramid on Monday.  What a blast!  Here I am with Jack DeJohnette after Billy Childs' set Saturday night.  Jack had come by to see drummer Ari Hoenig.  Ari asked to me take a picture of him with Jack and than he did the same for me.

It's been a summer packed with lots of great live music.  Check my posts over at All About Jazz for all the latest.  One of the best shows of the year happened over at Nighttown on July 1st.  Organist Ronnie Foster and his trio tore things up with power and panache.  Bravo, Ronnie!

As the summer gets ready to kick in, I will be very busy covering lots of great music around the area.  First, it is going to be my honor to be the official journalist covering the memorial concert for my dearest friend Skip Morris this coming Friday, June 9th in Detroit.  With a great line-up including Branford Marsalis, Joe Locke, Ralph Peterson, The Baylors, and many more, it promises to be a wonderful event.  Then it will be off to Pittsburgh for the Jazz Live Festival featuring a stellar line-up of which two offerings are really special to me- Hudson and Roy Ayers!  Cleveland's Tri-C Jazzfest then kicks off the following weekend before I take some time off for my annual vacation to the Smoky Mountains.  Keep posted for my coverage of all these great happenings!