Jazz Live

Today we got a fun treat. My Japanese teacher has a friend who plays piano for a jazz band. The band was playing at a local restaurant, so she invited us to go with her and one of her friends. How could we pass up a live jazz concert??

The restaurant was a small place - it held about 20 customers and the band and not much else. It also served gourmet curry. It came to the table in a little earthen pot still bubbling away. We arrived early, so we got our dinner first. This turned out to be lucky as later orders didn't come out for over an hour.

Everyone at the concert had reserved their seats ahead of time. The concert lasted two hours and then everyone paid an agreed on $20/person to the band. After that anyone could take the stage. It may have been possible to request backup from the jazz band - I wasn't clear on that. We left before the audience took the stage.

The jazz band was really fun. The pianist and bass player were great. The singer was also good, though she had some moments that were better than others. She definitely had good presence on stage. I tried to take a picture but my iphone couldn't handle the dim lighting. I really should bring my normal, and more reliable camera for times like these.

My favorite part was when, during the last song, the bartender broke out egg-shakers to go along with the clapping and everyone joined in the music.

All in all, it was a great night out. Good food, good music, good company!