domenica 19 aprile 2026

Coffee needed.

And you know what that means.

Ah well, I've already visited that room three times during a long cold night.

I did 2 1/2 hours of practice yesterday. 2 hours on the violin. I'm thinking of going to an open mic night next Thursday. If I do, I'll probably play The Orange Blossom Special and The Accordion Lady, with Sweet Georgia Brown as a backup. I'm being very careful with the hands and elbow. Fortunately they seem to be holding out.

Ah, it's nice to be sitting by my heater!

I'm also enjoying my coffee.

I won't be playing A Night in Tunisia at the open mic night (if I go) because I don't think that Bebop would go down well there. It'll probably be full of folkies and Bluegrass fans. The OBS is a piece that I've worked on for many, many years and I keep making little 'improvements' to it. It's a fun piece to play.

Well, that's my lot for this morning.

Ciao tutti.

For Robert.

Check out 'A Night in Tunisia' HERE.

sabato 18 aprile 2026

Party Time!

We're attending a 1st. birthday party this morning. The birthday boy is a good friend of mine. His older brother is a good friend of mine too.

It's pissing down in the Nui. Really pissing down! Never mind, the party will be inside.

My hands are feeling a bit better this morning, though my right elbow is still very sore. I'll go very easy on the practice today. Maybe it will be more 'head practice'?

I've added Robert's blog back into our LINKS list. I see he's building rosary beads now. Why doesn't he just use his ten fingers?

Peter will probably be off to see (listen to) the Mozart Requiem this evening. He certainly knows how to have fun! Well, I can't actually be certain about that.

Robert must be getting sick of Haydn's cello concertos because he's talking about having a go at A Night in Tunisia. That could be interesting. I wonder if he'll record it?

I'm presently having a coffee. Yes, yes, I know!

Today's party starts at 10am. It's all built around when little ones need to sleep. There will just be family there - from mummy's side and daddy's side. It'll be nice to catch up with the people from mummy's side.

Back to work next week. Well, I only work for two days and those are both short days. I can handle that, as can my bell.

The weather is not improving. Robert might need waterproof rosary beads today. Peter might need to wear long trousers this evening.

I do hope he tidies himself up a bit.

Actually, I'm very keen to do some improvising work over the last chords (sort of like a coda) of 'A Night in Tunisia'.

There are some interesting chords there. The 'melody' that goes over them
is interesting too.

I might have a bash at that before going to the party. Don't worry, I'll be careful.

Ciao tutti e stai attento.

venerdì 17 aprile 2026

A Night in Tunisia.

Wow! What a cold morning. I'm certainly not in Tunisia!

I started reworking A Night in Tunisia yesterday. It's a tune I've played for quite a while, but I want to take it to the next level. There are some tricky little bits that will certainly add to it. Unfortunately, I have a sore left arm elbow (I've had it for a while) and some of my left hand fingers are a little stiff. I'll have to be careful, but practice must go on.