On the Gypsy/Jazz scene, Adrien Moignard was still dominating the ‘new’ generation of players, whilst Bireli Lagrene released his first CD for three years, in a fantastic trio with Jean-Luc Ponty and Stanley Clarke.
Meanwhile, I had belatedly discovered the Brian Setzer Orchestra, and was enjoying his mix of Rock ‘n’ Roll and Big Band Swing.
In the world of Classical music, Valentina Lisitsa was still inspiring awe via her YouTube channel, as I continued to collect more CDs, including familiar favourites like Wagner and Bruckner, and delving into other composers like Shostakovich, and Richard Strauss.
On the band front; playing in both Swingologie and Swing Gitan certainly brought in more gigs, particularly with Swing Gitan who were in ascension getting all kinds of gigs. Although I now also had a full time day job to cope with as well, since Jane and I had decided to save up to relocate to Australia permanently.
During this period, John Coulson and I started backing our old friend Matt Palmer on some trio gigs at the Pelican Club, and I was doing duo gigs with either Richard Smith, Elliott Lewis, Matt Palmer, and even the occasional solo guitar gig.
Swingologie were rebooked again for the Jazz in the Library gigs, and Swing Gitan was now boosted by addition of John Coulson on double bass, after Rob Coates decided to pursue his original career as a guitarist, and joining Maniere Des Bohemiens.
Wayne's random blog 