It’s been a whirlwind of activities over these past ten days with four inspiring concerts around Germany. Before the memories start to fade let me capture some of the moments and memories:
Our first concert was at the Justizministerium Wiesbaden for a Matinee on Sunday, October 12. Our group – Manuel Fischer-Dieskau on cello, Guy Frisch, percussion, Andre Nendza, bass, and Dieter Schumacher, drums – rehearsed on Saturday to get back in the swing of David Baker’s challenging charts. The series is usually strictly classical but the audience was delighted to receive an invitation into the jazz world and learn about Indiana’s rich jazz history in between the classical selections. They didn’t mind staying for a bit longer too and of course we topped the day with a delicious lunch at one of the Wiesbaden restaurants. Here is a taste of the rehearsal and here is the newspaper’s review.
The second concert was at Altes Pfandhaus in Cologne as part of the Indianapolis/ Cologne sister city exchange hosted by Amerikahaus. We did a similar program as in Wiesbaden except without the percussion/ cello piece Singers of Songs and a bit more jazz since Guy couldn’t join us. The concert was completely sold out and the venue has a fantastic sound. The audience sat in a circle around the band and responded enthusiastically. They especially loved all the stories about Indiana Avenue and it was great to see Louisville’s own John Goldsby in the audience – video coming soon!
Our third event was at the Stauffenberg Castle in Albstadt with Guy Frisch back on the line-up. Albstadt is at the southern end of Germany and most musicians had never been there. We had to introduce them to the Swabian dialect and conventions. This was also my home game with many family members and friends attending including my siblings Birgit and Winfried and my mother-in-law. The piano there is exquisite and an absolute delight to play. We also had a 
wonderful time afterwards hanging at the “Brush Stroke”, an artsy cafe around the corner. Pictures are here! And here is a review.
And the final concert was Peter’s feature of his fusion jazz arrangements for the opening concert of the Jazz & Classic Days in Tuebingen. We were guests with the Wueste Welle Big Band. This time I turned the reigns over to Peter for his big day. The arrangements are fantastic and the audience loved to hear all the Pink Floyd quotes and a vocal arrangement of Police’s Message in a Bottle. It was fun to dig out the old BeebleBrox music – one of these days we do need a reunion!
Thanks to everyone who made these events possible. There is certainly a major difference in arts funding and concert etiquette between the continents. All systems have their pros and cons but it sure is a privilege to be able to experience and participate in both. And it sure was a privilege to provide this special tribute to our mentor David Baker!