Hello Good People, I'm writing today from Thessaloniki, Greece. We have a day off and I’ve lassoed my photos and thought I’d check in with my California brethren and share some images of the tour. I think we’re leading into our second week and already we’ve danced through Europe with a whole lot more music and travel ahead. Basel, Switzerland was cool and Romania included a new glimpse of planet earth that I’ve never seen before. The music has been exceptional and Dianne is bringing the house down every night. Her voice is so warm and soulful and she leads us through these improvisational jams that travel to new places every night. What a joy to be in the loop with her and the band! And let me tell you about the band, jeez these guys hit! Peter Martin on piano, every night perfection; Greg Hutchison plays with such a groove and inventiveness and on bass Darryl Hall supplying the low end support and spirit. What a gift to be playing with this group.

I miss my family and the SoCal flow and too, the surf. I’ve heard there’s been waves and exceptional summer weather. We were cold in the new snow of Switzerland and now in Greece it’s warm just like home. We’re right on the water and I was thinking of diving in but it looks a little too polluted to be safe. No one else is swimming and we’re getting those gasoline rainbows on the water that look cool but hint at the water’s questionable condition. I’ll save the ocean adventures for when I return.

With a few of the airport layovers mixed in with a long bus ride I’ve been able to write a new tune. It doesn’t have a name yet but it’s inspired by the compositional style of Billy Childs who has done many of Dianne’s arrangements. I can’t wait to try the new song out in real-time…

If you want to see some photos of the tour up to this point, click the photo of Dianne below and you’ll be transported to a photo page at The Sky.