between Kansas City and Boston

We’ve hitched a lift to Boston with Steve Karbank in his Beechjet 400A, and it’s a very civilised way to travel. Our crew, Gray and Rhonda, have provided coffee and donuts, and Steve popped into the local Swiss bakery on the way here, so it feels more like a relaxed breakfast in a friend’s living room. Our lobby call at the hotel was 30 minutes before takeoff, and Steve simply drove right up to the plane on the tarmac. No security queue then.

Anyway … time to backtrack a bit.

On Sunday we headed over to Steve’s to say hello, and then got ourselves settled into the White Recital Hall at UMKC.

In the course of the day my melodica got ideas above its station and got friendly with a couple of classy pianos. The musical unions were certainly successful (I was playing melodica and piano simultaneously in the Saint Malo set) but I don’t think any other offspring will ensue.

Then it was back to Steve and Janette’s for a really fun house concert to an unexpectedly enthusiastic audience – as you can see, the Fazioli wore socks even though I didn’t. 

Incidentally, Janette has disproved my contention that nice people never drive Range Rovers: maybe in North America my rules don’t apply.  Steve was generous with the contents of his wine cellar and his champagne collection – the mushroomy thump of the Pol Roger ’90 would have knocked my socks off if I’d been wearing any, but Chris preferred the spectacular floral bouquet of the Taittinger ’96.  Eventually we made it outside to the sound of the locusts in the trees.  I have a couple of souvenir mosquito bites from exploring the garden.

Then yesterday we were installed back at UMKC for a morning rehearsal, and a good masterclass session with some students on Vivaldi, Telemann and Haydn.

We’d been wary of giving the class on the afternoon of the concert, in case we were too tired afterwards, but in fact making some musical connections with people on the day of the gig was a real help, and business and conversation were brisk at the CD table afterwards.

Chris hosted the room party back at the hotel, with Steve and Jim Mobberley joining us to savour the delights of the least wanted music while drinking beer and eating our green room leftovers …

bedtime
I came back to the hotel to get my concert gear before the gig tonight and was the only person wearing a bright red jacket not to be walking in the direction of the baseball stadium round the corner to get to the Red Sox game. When we walked back again after the concert we could hear the roars of the crowd.