Love Is All Around!
I had an absolutely beautiful Valentine’s Day gig, playing (and singing) with the fantastic Larry Corban on guitar.
We were giving lovers/diners a treat (in addition to their amazing gourmet meal) at Jessica’s Cafe in Plainfield, NJ. I know the food was amazing, because the delightful owner Armen served us up a three-course feast at the end of the gig.
If music be the food of love, play on, but don’t forget to feed the band well!
What was so awesome about playing with Larry was his ability to lay down an interesting groove, but vary it in response to how I was playing and singing the melody or improvising over it. Anyone who has heard him play live knows he can shred… but this was meant to be romantic music to accompany candlelit fine dining, not a jazz club gig for jazz fans. Any concerns I had were absolutely unfounded. As we chatted and laughed between tunes, we also expressed mutual admiration for what the other was playing. It was really the first time we had played an entire gig together, and I can’t wait to play with him again! And yes, I did turn him loose to let him rip a roaring solo now and then!
For those of you who have been wondering what else I have been up to, I am still managing a home reno while writing new songs, sorting my belongings (out with the old!), shopping for a grand piano for my PA house, playing various and sundry orchestral gigs, (NJ Festival Orchestra 3/18/2023 in Springfield, NJ, for instance) and starting to send out booking emails for DIANE PERRY gigs.
Actually, I DO have a DIANE PERRY gig next week, but not open for the public, at Castle Village in NYC Tuesday, the 21st of March. My beautiful accompanist Ted Brancato is going to enjoy his birthday with his wife, so I am playing with another wonderful musician, Dave Braham for this one.
It’s been interesting, after three years with almost no gigs of my own music, to suddenly be looking through charts again, putting a set list together, and checking my equipment deciding what to haul to the gig and what to leave out. Boy, I am out of PRACTICE!!! But excited!
For now, back to practicing the music for tomorrow’s orchestra concert, featuring John Williams’ music from Raider’s of the Lost Ark, Star Wars, Jaws, and ET, Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries, Jarre’s Lawrence of Arabia and Dr. Zhivago, and more... all on ONE REHEARSAL, just hours before the performance! Yikes. I better get back to it.
Missing you all, and hoping to see, play, and sing for you again soon!
DP
