Anastasiall's Monday July 9th, 2012

Departed from Rotterdam, South Holland, Netherlands on Jul 7, 2012 12:08pm CEST. Arrived at Bagnolet, Île-de-France, France on Jul 10, 2012 1:31am CEST.

I'm in! Is what I kept thinking after I walked in the door. Ahmad Jamal was the opening act for me, and the place was crowded. The drummer was in Weather Report a while back and used a variety of uncommon sounds. They did a version of Blue Moon that was unexpected and beautiful. Next I saw Yuri Honing Wired Paradise, which was a rougher rock kind of jazz by a Dutch group with a heavy bass. I stopped in to see Sean Kuti & Egypt 80, then Trijntje Oosterhuis (nice vocalist!) then the Heritage Blues Orchestra- all great. Finally I see, for the second time, my first ever sax inspiration, Joshua Redman in James Farm- that was awesome. His control over his smooth voice, and a groovy group to top. I wanted to stay forever, but I was off to see the talented Esperanza Spaliding! Wow, what a girl- preaching to the crowd about life and love with a crazy amazing set of lungs. After that show, I saw Dave Holland then James Morrison. I got there early, but too late; the venue to see Hugh Laurie was full already! Noooooo! Girls were yelling about their heart conditions and that they needed to see Dr. House! but wait- some are coming out and people are trying to jump the rope- they're letting people in! On the other side, of course, but I eventually made my way into the arena. There he was, on the far left if you see my pictures, playing piano and singing with a larger group than I thought. He was alright, so after 2 songs I left to see the AXIS sax quartet with J Redman, Mark Turner, Chris Cheek & Chris Potter. Of course they are way better, but I think they could've used just a little more practice haha but it was still amazing. Their blend, style and rhythm were so impressive. I also saw Dave Holland quartet and Eric Harland again (with Redman before), then Betty Wright, who was a huge hit with, "I wanna sex you up". Finally Christian Scott and Kurt Elling/Charlie Hunter Trio finished my night, until I walked by the Dixieland band on the way out. Great festival and totally worth it. I got to be a part of one of the world's most recognized jazz celebrations.