Sarah's Blog

Photos from Gator Bert's 85th Birthday Party poster

I just posted about 15 photos from this birthday party. We were a hand-picked, all-star band and a very good time was had by both the attendees and the band. Photos both on my blog website and also on Facebook.

New car photos

New car, hopefully last class tonight for the term

Signed a lease on a new car last week and I now have a red Toyota Corolla LE for the next three years. Well done, Colonial Toyota for giving me a great deal and, well done Toyota in general, for switching almost entirely onto a no-haggle basis. No more haggling with car salesman, feeling certain that you've been ripped off both on the new car and on the trade-in price for the old car.

Heading to school later today for my last class of the term. Hopefully, all my students will turn up to take their exam. Hopefully, they will all pass. And, hopefully, the ones who still owed me exams and retakes will have taken their exams and will have passed as well. I have to go back on Friday for the MT3 final practical and to have one-on-one chats with the students but that doesn't seem to count as having to be at school. PLUS Jodie and I are going to go to Viva Zapata's afterwards to catch up. I'll stick to a salad and water and will jealously watch Jodie having a margarita!

Looking forward to heading down to Florida in a couple of weeks to play at an 85th birthday party and then off to the UK in September for a couple of weeks' of gigs.

Hope everybody is managing not to melt this Summer!

Sarah's at Bill's Seafood again on Saturday March 5th

Will be back at Bill's Seafood in Westbrook, CT on March 5th from 7:30pm to around 9:30pm.

Giglist is on http://sarahtsax.typepad.com/sarahs_blog/giglist.html

Hope to see you there.

Snow, snow, snow ......

Yet more snow. I realize fully that, for those of my friends who live in Scandanavia and those who are more used to this than I am, the amount of snow that we've had in Connecticut is unremarkable but I am getting really, really tired of the disruptions. Classes have been repeatedly cancelled and I am dreading the probability that there will be no break for me between this term and the next.

It's all very pretty but so inconvenient. I'm holding onto the fact that every day that passes brings us closer to the end of Winter! :-)

Slight change to tour dates

The 100 Club has, apparently, got a reprieve and the date in my UK tour this year that was listed as being at the Winning Post is now back at the 100 Club.

The full list of gigs is on my giglist page on this blog:

http://sarahtsax.typepad.com/sarahs_blog/giglist.html

Sarah's 2011 UK Tour dates posted

I've posted the dates of my UK tour this year on the giglist page on my blog. A link is included on my website, incidentally.

http://sarahtsax.typepad.com/sarahs_blog/giglist.html

Hope to see you one of them!

Happy New Year - 2011

Happy New Year to everyone!

Despite CCMT school term ending mid-December, teaching starts up this coming week and I feel like I've had hardly any break! Looking forward to a busy term with 2 groups that are new to me and one group that's the same. I've had this section for 2.5 terms so far and hope that I'll have them for one more term after this one coming up. Looking forward to working with Simon Eng again, who will be 'shadowing' (used to be called teacher-training) me for my Wednesday evening class. And I'm looking forward to teaching with my co-teacher, Jim Miccio, again. Should be a good term.

Hopefully, massage business will not revert to the terrible level it was at the beginning of 2010, when I think the idea of the financial recession just made people scared to come out. I'll do what I can and we'll see what happens! :)

No matter what, I will go on, with a happy attitude and with my best foot forward. Doing my best to be at my best for all of my friends, family, students, CCMT-ites and everyone who crosses my path. Here's to a great year!

RIP Johnny Parker

Incredibly sad to report that the news has just reached me that Johnny Parker has passed away. For those of you not fortunate enough to have heard John play, I can't tell you what a treat you missed. For those who don't know, John was a wonderful pianist who was supremely inventive - taking a tune and putting into a different style (blues into ragtime for example) and, the time when we got to record together I can vividly remember wondering how in the heck we were going to do something with the tune About A Quarter to Nine - John kicked it off with a piano intro and it became a boogie. He was so inspirational to play with and certainly brought out the best in me.
I was, coincidentally, listening to some tracks to try to figure out a setlist and, in there, was one of the sides from the cd that he and I made together. I remember thinking what a pleasure and honour it was to play with him and also wondering how he was doing. A couple of hours later, I heard that he had passed away.
Johnny had been in bad health for a couple of decades and so the younger members of the jazz scene in the UK have probably never heard him play. All I can say is that you truly missed something really special... And I feel truly grateful that I did manage to hear him and, what's more, play with him for one glorious afternoon's recording session and on a Sunday afternoon in a pub near Old Street.
RIP dearest John. May you enjoy the reunions with old pals and not another frustration with your health.

Post workout blog

Monica was great. Triceps & chest. Shoulder was crapping out early which was really irritating. Triceps starting to get a little sore.
Was looking forward to working out with Adam tomorrow but my home phone has been playing up and tomorrow is only time they can come. Dammit! With any luck they will come early enough that I can get a later appointment with Adam. We shall see.