From Russia with Love

Danny: Monday 6/24/13 NYC;
It's hard to believe that in just less than 24 hrs , we will be leaving for Russia on our fourth tour as musical ambassadors for the Dept. of State. We've been blessed to have gone to so many countries around the globe, bringing many genres of American music to people that don't always have access to this type of live music.
We've been to South East Asia, the Middle East, back to Malaysia and now Russia.
When I was a small child growing up here in NYC during the 60's, I could have never imagined that one day I'd be travelling to Russia . The Cold War was all over the news, I was so scared at night that every time a plane flew overhead, I thought it was going to drop the big one. I lived by the airport so I lost a lot of sleep;) I had never met anyone from Russia until I was at Mannes College of Music, a conservatory on NYC's Upper West side. Even then it seemed so amazing to me that I was able to meet a Russian student. It was even more amazing that he was such a great Jazz pianist! I ended up meeting and playing with a community of Russian Jazz musicians and we often spoke about how they came to learn about Jazz.
The first Jazz orchestra was founded in Moscow Russia in 1922 by poet, translator, dancer and theatre worker Valentin Parnakh and was titled “The RSFSR First Eccentric Orchestra Jazz Band -
See more at: http://russia-ic.com/culture_art/music/720/?mobify=0#.UcB--WS9Kc0
As modern Jazz and Bebop developed, the western cultural idea of Jazz was frowned upon in Russia.
Recordings of American Jazz artists were often rare and traded among the Russian players. Charlie Parker solos were memorized and passed on sometimes by transcription and even memorized aurally.
Cultural wars were heating up and America was accused of being in a cultural Stone Age. How could we compete with the Bolshoi Ballet for example? Also press about racial tensions and inequality here in the States was tarnishing our image on the world stage. In the late 1950's, Adam Clayton Powell, the US representative from Harlem suggested that instead of just sending Symphonic music abroad, we should send out what he called "Real Americana", since Jazz bands were often racially mixed and showed real freedom of expression. He asked his good friend Dizzy Gillespie to put together a band for a cultural diplomacy tour. Dizzy in kind, put together an 18 piece band that toured Southern Europe, The Middle East and South Asia. See more at; http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/arts/music/29kapl.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Thus the Jazz Diplomacy concept was born and has continued almost seamlessly over the years. The groups have become more diverse in musical scope, embracing many American roots and roots influenced styles. Also the groups are not as well known as Dizzy and Louis Armstrong, but the impact of the program is still strong.

The RSFSR First Eccentric Orchestra Jazz Band from Russia

Dizzy charming the snakes in Pakistan

Satchmo getting down and dignified

The JRB being diplomatic with the US Ambassador in Manilla on Thanksgiving

The JRB with the students of the Chinese international school in Malaysia

A typical day on the road might include going to a local school to do a workshop, a media event at a local radio station and then an evening concert at a community performing arts center. Between all the driving and looking for great local cuisine, there isn't much time for much else.
Over the past few years, I've been lucky to teach two very talented Russian percussion students at Mannes and I'm looking forward to seeing them in Moscow next week. I'm exited about learning even more about their culture and seeing where they live. It's amazing that what I feared in childhood has come full circle and become a blessing of friendship and discovery.
I'm looking forward to sharing the next two weeks you through pictures and stories. I hope that the music brings us all a little bit closer.

The Ballad of Turtle Island

When we do a cultural tour for the State Dept. or an American Embassy, the schedule is packed full of events and the days are long. So when we are not performing or traveling, we are usually in search of food or rest.
We have a saying in the road. Eat when you can, sleep when you can....
because you probably won't have another chance.
That's why when we have a chance to go to a place like Turtle Island, we abandon our rest time and we seek adventure.

Turtle Islands National Park (Taman Negara Pulau Penyu) is located within the Turtle Islands, which lie in the Sulu Sea[1] some 40 kilometers north of Sandakan in Sabah, east Malaysia.[2] It consists of 3 islands - Selingaan, Bakkungan Kechil and Gulisaan (often spelt with -an instead of the traditional -aan), including the surrounding coral reefs and ocean. The Park is noted for its green turtles and hawksbill turtles which lay their eggs on the beaches of the islands. The Park covers an area of 17.4 km². The name Turtle Islands, however, refers to 10 islands, 3 of which are part of Turtle Islands National Park of Malaysia, and 7 which belongs to the Municipality of Turtle Islands, Tawi-Tawi, Philippines.

On 1 August 1966, the first turtle hatchery in Malaysia was established on Selingan, funded entirely by the Sabah state government. Turtle hatcheries on the remaining two islands followed shortly after. In 1972, Selingan, Bakkungan Kechil and Gulisan were designated as a Game and Bird Sanctuary. In 1977, this status was upgraded to that of a Marine Park. Permanent park staff monitor the turtles, protect the hacheries and tag the turtles for research purposes.

We took an hour boat ride from Sandakan Bay to Turtle island which is a shared resource between Malaysia and the Philippines. We had a police escort boat shadow us the whole way there and back. Johnny called it our Boatercade. Scott, Chew, Shavia, Jeffery, Josie and the guys in the band all were on board our little but fast boat. With so many US Emabssy and Municipal council members on board, I could understand the extra security precautions as we headed into the waters that are known for pirate activity.

When we arrived, they had set out a nice brunch of fruit and sandwiches and insisted we sit down and relax before heading upstairs to watch a movie about the plight of the Green turtles. The movie explained life of the turtle and the steps being taken to ensure greater chances for their survival. The turtles return after 15 years to the island when they are mature enough to find a mate.

We looked at all the things in the exhibit before heading outside to view the hatchery where the eggs are protected from predators until they hatch after 45-60 days. The female turtles come to shore and deposit between 40-100 eggs in a self dug sand pit. The island staff dig up the eggs and place them in rows of protected sand pits, where a temperature difference of 4 degrees can determine an all male or all female hatch.

We knew we were being given special treatment when they brought out that days hatchlings for us to see.
They would be released after dark to further ensure their survival and protection from the heat and the island's predictors such as birds, big lizards and rats. Each hatchling has a 1 in 10,000 chance in surviving and if they do survive, they can live up to 100 years.

Once released, the hatchlings instinctively head for the water and begin their perilous journey of survival.

We then had a few hours to go snorkeling off the beautiful island beach where we spotted all sorts of coral wonders below the surface.

Our hosts treated us to some fresh coconuts and I was marveling in all the island beauty and how great it was that we all had this time together.

I was speaking to one of the workers on the small island of about 1400 acres and I was telling him how amazingly beautiful it was and he said that he didn't notice the beauty anymore. We both agreed that often its easier to stay present when you first see something, before their is a mental labeling or judgement. But, eventually the mind sneaks back in and wants more than what is...
I said that I thought he lived in paradise and that i would love to live on an island like this one. He had lived and worked on Turtle island for 7 years and wondered why someone from NYC would ever want to live on this island. In the end we agreed that acceptence of where ever you are and of whatever unfolds in this moment, is paradise.
We thanked our Island hosts, said our goodbyes to Turtle Island and headed off in our boat to make the journey back to Sandakan. I pondered our trip home to NYC and wondered what might be next. I thought about the little turtles that would be heading to the shore later that evening to begin their journey into the unknown and though even though their odds were slim, we still could learn a lesson from their short lives. It's ok to let go of the need to know what happens next. The journey you are on is just as important as where you are going.

The Maple Syrup Rag

Last night we played the 6th annual KK Jazz Festival in Malaysia.
Kota Kinabalu Jazz Festival is an annual fund raising jazz extravaganza organized by the Rotary Club of Kota Kinabalu (RCKK) with the support of the Society of Performing Arts Kota Kinabalu Sabah (SPArKS). Money raised from the Kota Kinabalu Jazz Festival is used to fund deserving community projects by the Rotary Club Kota Kinabalu .

The Kota Kinabalu Jazz Festival 2012 was held on the 15th & 16th June 2012 at the Covered Tennis Court, Sutera Harbour Marina, Golf & Country Club.

We were so happy to share the stage with so many great artists and we made so many new friends, as well as reuniting with our hosts.

Roger Wang really did an amazing job organizing the festival, booking the acts and designing the space. I told him that even though it was a huge outdoor covered space, it still felt intimate, like a club. The lighting really transformed the place. The audience was so receptive and interactive. They got to see acts on 2 different stages and mingle around tables or sit in concert style seating.
Here's Roger, the artistic director and world class guitarist and composer;

Roger came up on stage with us and jammed on Jailhouse rock and got in a guitar duel with Joe. Then after our show, Joe got to join Roger and his trio in the center stage. We played for 40 minutes and Johnny really got the crowd going with his usual antics and had them singing along on so many songs. Brian sounded great on his upright and it's always a great thrill for audiences over here to see a double bass. Before Johhny and I sang the Sam Cooke duet Bring it on Home to me, he invited me up front to do a little overtone/throat singing for the crowd and it sounded really cool in that giant space.

We had to get up for a 5AM to catch a flight to Sandakan where we gave a workshop today and play a concert tonight. We went out to breakfast first at this cool stilted house on the bay.
The seafood breakfast was just amazing of course;)

On the way out we saw some cute newborn kittens and fruit vendor stand with the most beautiful mangos and papayas

We went to the hotel and got an hour or two to rest before we had to leave for the workshop.

We met Josie, our wonderful friend and liaison and headed to the cultural center where the workshop and concerts are being held. We had a great time interacting with the students and audience. It was a special treat for us to get to meet and play with Chew's son Raymond. Chew is our US Embassy liaison who works with Scott Roland, a great force in bringing us over here to Malaysia. We had met them and Josie when we were here in November 2010.
Johnny even got Josie to come up and conduct the band, she did a great job.

Joe and Josie talking about an important cultural matter; he didn't get a chance to bring her the maple pankake syrup that he had promised to bring her from the states, really;)

We are all so happy to see everyone again and are looking forward to the concert tonight and of course dinner after with a our friends;)