Monday's Piano Lesson went very well. Paquito and I met for the second time since I have been in Miami, and we went over the following Cuban musical styles: Bolero, Son, Guaracha (a derivation of Son), and Cha-cha-chá. We played a duet of Quizás at the end of the lesson (which I recorded) and we also went over montunos and other technical aspects of Cuban music. It was unbelievable to be able to take a lesson with Paquito again, and I will look forward to listening back to the recordings of our lessons in order to pick up as much as I possibly can from our meetings. Paquito is such a nice man, and was very humbled and honored by my wanting to study and meet with him. In fact he called me on Tuesday (today), just to say that it was a pleasure meeting me and he hopes that we will keep in touch. During our lesson, I told him I would send him a CD of my band's upcoming performance at Chris' Jazz Café on August 11th (we'll be doing Cuban music). He told me over the phone today that "I better keep my promise!!!" because he wants to hear my band. He told me how great of a player I am and that I should keep up the good work. This is another prime example of the Cuban people; friendly, caring, and helpful. He told me to call him anytime with questions or just to say hello. This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship! (Not to quote Casablanca or anything.....haha).
It's 5PM right now on Tuesday. I'm making some dinner, and then Joel is coming over and we are going to go see the Phillies-Marlins game tonight! Luckily I'm in town when the Phillies are in Miami! Hopefully we'll have a good game with Halladay pitching!
My Dad is flying down tomorrow (Wednesday), we'll spend the day together, and then we'll start the drive on Thursday.
Hope to see many of you when I return!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010
Day 24-South Beach & The Ritz Carlton
Today I decided to sleep late and then head down to South Beach to read a book on the beach and relax. The day did not go exactly as I would have intended it, and I ended up walking around South Beach for about an hour, without sitting down to read. I had to drive around for a long time to find a spot to park (it is Saturday after all), and then I didn't know where I was going, so long story short...I only walked around and got used to my surroundings. Plus, there was a $20 fee for an umbrella/chair and I didn't think it was worth it. I only had a thin hotel towel, so sitting on that was not the best option. I spent a few hours in South Beach and then came back to my hotel. I made dinner, relaxed for a bit, and then headed over to the Ritz Carlton on Key Biscayne to hear the Cuban band one more time before I head back to Philadelphia. This particular evening was much more crowded than Thursday night (for obvious reasons), and I was lucky to find a seat. I stayed for the entire evening (all 4 hours), and found it quite funny to watch some of the hotel guests throughout the night. By 10PM, many people were dancing to the music and very involved with the band (they complained and yelled when the band stopped for a break). Some of the guests were getting drunker and drunker and seeing them dance at 8PM versus 11PM was VERY different and VERY funny. Luckily, I sat next to some very nice people from Tampa, FL who were on vacation. They told me about the strong Cuban population in Tampa and Ybor City (part of Tampa), and advised me that I should check that "scene" out at some point. Overall, I had a very enjoyable time listening to the music and "people-watching." I heard a lot of my favorite Cuban "standards" and I started to form some conclusions about the different Cuban musical styles and the different roles of some of the instruments in these particular styles. Yes...I've heard this group a few time before...and yes...it was a somewhat noisy venue where they were playing...but immersing myself in this music in all different settings and at EVERY opportunity has allowed me to start to understand it at a very different level than when I arrived in Miami at the beginning of July. Of course, I still have a long way to go, but I'm on my way!
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