Pleasant Surprise

Today a wonderful saxophone/woodwind player invited me to sit in with his trio in Central Park. We had a gig several months ago together. It was when I sang for Sweet Georgia Brown's Birthday. His name is Adrian Cunningham. He is very good at his craft. I recommend you see him whenever you get the chance. He is also an excellent composer. Ladies and men who happen to like other men. ...He is also very easy on the eyes. Now that never hurt anyone, did it. :)

It was a lot of fun. It was a specific NY moment. It was a perfect day today, because I sang for people and with musicians that I respect. It would be great if every day could be that way. I would like to sing everyday truly.

Gratitude

I am grateful for my true friends. I am grateful for being able to swim in the ocean. I am grateful for having a place to get away to. I am grateful for my family. I am grateful for all of the possibilities that I can see and that I can not even imagine. I am grateful for a 6th sense which I unfortunately have not been taking full advantage of. I am grateful for people that point out what actually is when I'd sometimes rather bury my head into the sand or under the covers. I am grateful for the good people that help me walk forward. I am grateful for those people I call the balance. The balance people are there when you have had a horrible day or painful experience and out of the blue, the balance people do a good deed,usually unexpected, and get you through. I don't know what you believe in, but I do believe that someone is watching out for you at times. Making sure you know that someone does care.

There are some strange things that go on in this world. There are some really strange,cold,callous people. Being a good person, I think it is harder for me to understand them even more sometimes, but I am aware that those forces are a part of life as well as much as I wish they were not. I sometimes wonder WHY and HOW( How can they, why would they) way too much. I know things just are the way they are sometimes, but what purpose do the cruel really serve? Can't we just send them out to space or something? They can be exhausting at times.

This photograph was taken by Nathan Fitch.

Jamming

I sang with Steve Marshall's band last night. He is always a lot of fun. We did not get a chance to do all of the songs we rehearsed, but it is always good to stay active. The audience seemed into it. We are all a WIP. There was also another band from Brooklyn I believe called All Mobbed Up. They really put on a great show. They had this beautiful woman named Brooklyn Baby Doll that looked like a pin up girl/burlesque. She was absolutely gorgeous and danced through their entire set. I really got a kick out of watching everyone perform from the side lines. I always learn a lot.

We all do our own thing. Here is a pic for you. Its Joy Ryder, ?, Joey Kelly from All Mobbed Up, and Chuck Hancock, a great sax player.

Well, today I am going away to the beach to see a friend. Thank God. Out with the old, in with the new.

Love,

Aline

What matters

Those that are not real fall to the wayside. Focus on the love of those that are always there. The fake can not accept the real. One match can light even the darkest room. This is to all of my fans who are always there. Lots of Love.

I am in still in love with music. Don't ever get that twisted.

We had a really fun jam tonight on the roof. I can't believe the neighbors did not call the cops. Steve Marshall was the ring leader.I had so many belly laughs. I love improvising with the guys. That is probably the most fun for me. We were cracking each other up. We were doing parodies of songs with serious gutter humor. It was awesome.

Never am I as happy as when I am singing. It is when I feel at one with the universe. Music is so pure. It is more honest than any lover could be. I am so at peace when I am singing. If you are singing from your heart, people can relate to it. I love it so much.More than life itself.

Sometimes what seems like a setback is an opportunity, a stepping stone for something much,much greater. When a woman gives birth, her body stretches and if she is not on anesthesia, she feel a great deal of pain as she is giving birth to her baby, but when it is born, it is so beautiful. It was created by her. It was born with her pushes, through pain and perseverance, because she and her body know that it has to be born.

A new leaf has turned.
The dead one has blown away
If there should turn out to be a dust devil,I'll deal with it then

A friend invited me to a house party It should be lots of fun.We'll probably jam. Shooting the breeze is the best though in NYC,looking out over the city.

Any hoooo!!!!!!!!!!!!

Any hoo!!!!!

I am still writing and writing. I need to clear my head and what better way to do that than to go to the beach. Let's give mother nature a big round of applause, because she is fine(in the Black sense of the word) My friend invited me to his beach house. I can not wait. Ahhhhhhhhhhh. There should be some good surf too. It will not be the same as California, but it will be awesome.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you. You know what they say, "the big guy upstairs may not come when you want him to, but he always comes on time" I am always down for a retreat.

The unexpected can be very,very painful, but it can also set you straight, maybe in the direction you did not think you were supposed to go in. just turn you around a bit. Well, someone I really care about a lot totally threw me for a loop. It reminds me of one of those scary movies where you think your friends are with you and you turn around and they just vanish. Maybe they were not even there to begin with. Maybe it was a figment of your imagination in the scary house. Just like that, they vanished.There was no sound at all. Just doors slamming.

I was driving and almost crashed into the side of the road, but it just sent my car down another path. I thought we were fine. I was having fun,but I guess it was not meant to be. So, I am still driving. Just got banged up a bit. My friends are here. My music is here. I will try to pay more attentions to the signs this time even if I would rather ignore them.

Forward March 1,2,3,4

I sat in with my friend Jim Satten this past Wednesday. Although,I usually dont sing jazz on a regular basis, I sang a couple of standards. I used to only sing jazz when I was much younger. Everyone told me it suited my voice. Singing jazz puts you in another place, another scene. Jim is doing a jazz organ trio thing now. He has decided to reinvent his style. That is the cool thing, if you really want to , you can set your path to something else on any given day.Sometimes, your path gets changed for you.

It is always good to be surrounded by good people that happen to be musicians. We support each other. It is always a work out for me. Drama has been going on lately and I know it just makes the soul reservoir deeper. There are people and things that I will never understand and I believe I am supposed to accept that and let them go as painful as that may be sometimes. Lovers come and Go. Check out Bonnie Raitt's track, "Lovers Will"

True Friends and family are the rock. One way to work through this is writing and writing, because it is in these moments that people usually most relate to the material.

My fans keep asking when the next gig will be. There are some things I need to get sorted before I can clearly manage what I feel will need to be done. In the mean time, I am always meeting new musicians and people that support music. That is what keeps me going. My fans are loyal. The base needs to grow. I don't think it or I can ever grow enough.

I thank God or whoever you believe in for people like Jim, always looking out and for being honest.

No regrets

If you have ever loved someone, don't ever regret it. If anything you have added some more love to the world and that in itself is an impact. Love is never lost. That person may not even be aware of it at the time, but believe your love will make a difference.


On another note,I have been speaking to some of my musician friends. I love that we support each other when we can. That is very important. We all know that we have to stay busy and we keep each other going. I miss Europe a lot when it comes to relationships.

The crazy people in my life always give me the best material. I became sidetracked by a flame, but I will use that flame and keep fanning my creative fire. One door closes and another always opens. It's okay to keep walking through to the next one.

Lovers Will This is one of my favorite songs.