this is great...Montreal is beautiful today. sitting in a row with Quinsin and HOward at the computer terminals. (damn...you should see our view right now..place des arts, big blue sky, jazz flags, pat metheny poster.....)

I heard some great music last night; Kartet from France. Old friends I met in Banff years ago. So fun to hang out with those guys again. I really noticed that my french really is improving. I was actually talking about art (must have been the beer!)

We got some tickets for a show tonight and I am hoping to get over to the musee contemporain to check out some walls.

Stayed in bed till noon today. (cant remember last time I did that!) Was checking out some of the live 8 coverage and wimbledon finals. (really great tennis today)

ok, gotta go get some email.

later,
timpy

I am having a great time on the road already. Right now I am hangin in Howard's room as they kicked me out of mine at checkout. We are waiting for a pickup. Howard is watching CNN which is a new experience for me already. Seriously though, I learn so much being around this guy. From simple stuff like (don't be cheap....! that is why I am wireless in the hotel room right now)

His passion for music rubs off too. I love listening to music with him. Even more interesting when it is stuff that he plays on. So many great stories.

We perform at four pm here in Ottawa today in Confedreation Park. Happy Canada Day!!

Cant be as hot as our gig in Toronto yesterday which was fun.

I hear the sun will be in our eyes.....NO!!! Oh well. Great to be on the road again seeing lots of old friends and making new ones.

later,

I will write again when we arrive in Montreal tonight.

tim

I always wish I had more time to write in my blog. this is a good one:

we are rehearsing today at my house for our upcoming hornband tour with Jazz Tuba Legend Howard Johnson. Ok....I have to confess, not everyone would know Howards work. Any serious jazz fans, record collectors, multi instrumentalists and especially tuba players. Yes, he is truly a legend in the Tuba world. It seems to me that not only has he been part of many many classic recording sessions, bands etc. but he has really put his own stamp (an perhaps singlehandedly ) changed the tuba forever.

anyways, we are rehearsing and we stop because we hear a tuba (not Howard) then we go outside and there is a guy playing tuba in the back corner of the park...inches away from my back yard. It freaked us out. (i have never seen a tuba player in the park before....what are the odds?) Anyways, we start talking to him, he doesn't see Howard yet and he sort of gives us glib answers about who he is, what he's doing....tells Howard that his tuba is expensive....band goes back inside and I tell the guy who that was. He ran to my front door faster than I could get back inside (half the distance!) turns out he is a legit tuba player for the winnipeg Symphony. Really nice guy.

what are the chances. This stuff always happens to me, honestly...ask me about the construction guys today...


tim
p.s. we are doing an interview on Jazz Fm on wednesday morning. around 9am. 91.1 FM in toronto or www.jazz.fm

I am looking forward to playing some of the older pieces from the hornband repertoire with Howard this week. Particularly a tune called Fungus which was written in honour of Charles Mingus. It will be very exciting to have a Mingus alumni like Howard energizing that tune for us. Tuba for sure!

We are performing at the Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival (free concert) june 30, noon-2pm at nathan phillips square.

July 1 at the Ottawa Jazz Fest at Confederation park, (free concert that happens to be a really great triple bill)

Montreal Jazz Festival July 3, 9pm at Musee Contemporain (a great place to hear music and check out the permanent collection of avant garde Quebec painters!)

stay tuned for details on the European dates in July.