Officially a Jazz Singer

I DID IT!!!!!I DID IT!!!!!I DID IT!!!!!I DID IT!!!!!I DID IT!!!!!I DID IT!!!!!I DID IT!!!!!I DID IT!!!!!I DID IT!!!!!I DID IT!!!!!I DID IT!!!!!I DID IT!!!!!I DID IT!!!!!I DID IT!!!!!I DID IT!!!!!I DID IT!!!!!I DID IT!!!!!I DID IT!!!!!I DID IT!!!!!I DID IT!!!!!I DID IT!!!!!I DID IT!!!!!I DID IT!!!!!I DID IT!!!!!I DID IT!!!!!I DID IT!!!!!I DID IT!!!!!I DID IT!!!!!I DID IT!!!!!I DID IT!!!!!

I am sooooo relieved & so happy! But let me start from the begining.
3 weeks ago my booking agent called me up. A potential client had seen me perform and wanted to book 'Lady Grey' for the 21 of December with a Jazz Combo. Now booking The Lady Grey act is no problem, but I didn't have a Jazz Combo. Still, my agent confidently told the client that it would be no problem to book Lady Grey with Jazz Combo for the 21st of December if she was was not committed elsewere. So Carola (my booking agent) calls me up and asks me if I'm free the 21st (I was) then ever so carefully adds that I've been booked with a Jazz Combo. We both new I didn't a Jazz Combo, and after a streched silence in which I wondered how on earth was I going to get a Jazz Combo together in 3 weeks to play at this gig (at that time I thought it would be a gig of an hour.... little did I know...), I let her know we'd arrange it some how.
So I started calling all the people I wanted to work with, that liked Jazz and would enjoy the gig, but EVERYONE was busy, no one could make it. Then I got nervous. this meant I had to go up a notch... I had a few people I could call, but these were astablished guys. I knew I could call them if I'd do my own thing, but for a cover gig I wasn't sure. I started with the easiest aproachable person, Richard Heijerman. His a drummer I worked with in the Blues Brothers. He plays a lot and is very good, but still easy going. I called him, and he was all for it. Then I let him know who else I intended to call. See the threshold wasn't only the fact that I looked up to these people, but that they had to know Jazz. A few people in a jazz setting would turn it in to rock or soul and loose the Jazzy feeling I needed to create. I had a bass player in mind the only one I know that plays a Doublebass, turns out Rich plays with him all the time, so I called him. He loved the idea! He also recomended a piano guy he loved playing with who loves Jazz, so my Combo was together. After that I had to break the news to them that it was 3x40 minutes and not just an hour, but they didn't mind (too much).
Seeing as 3x40 is a lot of songs, I wanted to make it as easy for them as possible, so I made a list of every Jazz song I had on CD and sent it to them saying: "I can sing this, let me know of these songs what you can play, and we'll take it from there. Turns out they knew about 33 songs on my list, so they were set. I sent them the songs on a CD as an extra refrence and added al the sheets that I had too. Then the learning began. By the time I had every thing aranged, I had 4 days to learn 33 songs. Fortunately I'd selected songs that I always liked the sound of, or always wanted to be able to sing. About 7 I'd sung before but that left me 25. My hubby was an angel during these days. He must have heared my rehearsing CD a gazillion times, but he never complained. (He did at some point start drilling in the wall, but it wasn't out of frustration)
On the day itself I still had 4 songs to go, so I was working on them in the car. When I got there I felt nervous, but confident. I'd learned all the songs, so now I just hoped I wouldn't get a blackout on stage.
The guys were very supportive. I'd never met musicians that easy-going, and yet professional at the same time. The made me feel so relaxed, and they were SO GOOD!!!!
As a result, the show was teriffic. I sang so freely that I suprised myself, I even scatted on some of the songs. It was a great success all round. The piano guy (Guus) even told me he'd recognized Ella in my singing!!!!!! That blew me, cause I LOVE the way Ella sings. I think I've never sung better Jazz in my life. So I now officially regard myself a Jazz Singer. And it feels sooooo goood!!!!!!

Happy Joy Joy Moments...

1) It's official, I need not have an operation (no 6 weeks doing nothing with heavy belly pains)
2) It's official, We have the key to our new home. We started moving yesterday (Little things)... It looks really cozy already...
3) It's official, My Hubby's a reader... Terry Goodkind tickled his fancy, so now he's reading his first fantasy series... If it's good, I'll start it in English too, so we can chat about it before going to bed.
4) It's official, 'The Secret' has grabbed and changed more lives within my family than just my own.... I'm not the sole believer in the 'Law of attraction'.
5) It's official, my little brother will be the opening act of GOLDEN EARING!!!!!!! on the 15th of december. Unfortunately I have a gig myself that day, and can not be there to make pictures and support him, but I'm Sooooooooooooooooooooo proud!!!

:)

The Year Zero

I'm reading this dutch book called 'De Maya-profetieen' by Wiek Lenssen.
He made a 'film' called 'The Year Zero' and this book explains all that happened before, during and after.

I borrowed this book from a friend of mine (Mark) and wanted a copy for myself, and one for a friend (Bart). But while reading it I started to doubt if i wanted to pass this on to anyone.
So much seemed like such hogwash... Now I must say that all the hogwash was in relation to one character in the book. But as he dominates a great part of the book, it's hard to read past it. The writer however sounds a lot more sincere, and when he reflects on his own thoughts and not on the 'teachings' of his 'friend' he feels right. If this was a fiction book, I'd think from moment one that this 'friend' is 'the wolf in sheeps clothing' and not to be trusted... but it's not fiction... so I'm not sure how everything will unfold.
Now that I've read about 2/5 of the book I think it might be a keeper. The writer is reflecting on truth. He shares his thoughts about reality and how we see reality through our own eyes, making it our reality. He even broke it down to quantumphysics, (that's when I decided it was a keeper).
If you break down atoms to the smallest visible elements: the quarks, then you find that the way they act is totally dependent on the observer.
So each person creates what they see. This explains how I can see A, and proof of A in the world, while you clearly see B and proof of B in the world....
I've been playing with that thought for a while now, so finding it in this book, is a sign for me to keep on reading....
I'll let you know when I've finished it.

Something in the air...

Someone once told me that there are organizations that deliberately pollute our air...
I didn't know what to think of that statement at the time, and now still don't know.
It wouldn't surprise me, but it's the kind of thing you don't really what to think about.

It would make sense, a lot of money must be earned of people that are ill. All the medicines going around are making some people lots of money. I'm sure a very big part of the economy if not the complete economy as we know it now would crumble if we were all healthy people (both physically and mentally). So it's not in the best interest of 'those who govern' (infront of or behind the scenes) that we are healthy. I'm just speculating here. Why else are all 'healthy' products so much more expensive than fast food, or the regular quality-less food you find in your average supermarket.

I think that most of the time when the choice should be made between healthy vs. easy, easy is chosen. I just wonder how much (moral) we've lost in this ongoing process.
Now that more and more people want to go back to the healthy option, THAT is making lots of money, cause health is expensive, but those who want to be healthy again are willing to pay.

There's so much on the matter I haven't touched yet.
I always feel that way once I start thinking about our society...
It's a never ending thriller story, with sooo many secrets and scandals it would make crappy soaps look good.
There's no way I can find out everything, or even scratch the surface in a lifetime.
But now and then, when I feel a little uneasy in my skin, and people around me say the same thing, and my head feels a little heavy...
I wonder...

Remember me?

(After writing the title, I had to think of this song.... The chorus starts with 'Remember me' but it's impossible to understand the words that follow. I think it's a trance-ie song, where the words don't matter as much as the 'vibe')

Thursday I cousin calls me out of the blue, to see how I'm doing. (Last time I saw her was May 2006)
Friday, a mate of mine stayed over, that I hadn't seen in ages.
Saterday I saw old childhood friends I haven't seen in years.
Sunday I bump into one of the first guys I used to work for when I was sixteen, who turns out to play the trumpet and who I had a great chat with.
And today I bump into a 'lower-school' girlfriend in the supermarket, (Parveen!) who I haven't seen in the longest...
That's a lot of 'past related contacts' in one week!


PS: Ed's eye has gone from blue to purple... close to black...

The Short Version

Yesterday,

My Hubby was in a fight and now has a blue eye.

I visited the church of my youth for the last time, as it will be broken down one of these days.
I went back in time, cried my eyes out, re-connected so closely with the people that have know me all my younger years, that it became clear to me, that those people are my family.

Re-embraced my oldest friendship (with Jessie). Cried and talked about the loss of Joyce
(her twin sister; a girl that could imitate any riff Mariah Carey sang and on the same key; The first person I ever sang my own songs with; With whom I never really past the 'barbie-faze' even when we were older....; With whom I always sang 'One Sweet Day' everytime we were in a 'singing mood' (always)....; ironic, if you consider the lyrics...)
In fact, thinking about Joyce & Jessie took up the rest of my evening till I went to bed...

It really is a strange feeling to lose someone that you would still want to have so many talks with. To not know for sure if she was happy, living the life she did...
The should have-could have-would have's play in my mind everytime I think of her.
I'm not gonna let my friendship with Jessie slip away too... Life really is to short.
And beautiful people are too precious...

Chocolate heaven.....

I just made the BEST EVER chocolate cookies....
Yes seriously.... the best....

I also made roasted broccoli with rice....
Broccoli, tossed in cumin, coriander, 5 garlic cloves (crushed) and chili powder....
(no salt....)
In the oven... 22 minutes.
Then rice, made with a lot of olive oil, some salt and seasoning from Greece (hahahaha, ok or any other seasoning you use when making rice)

You're in heaven... I guarantee.
If it fails, come over and I'll make it for you....

(the recipe for the cookies I ain't givin' :D, but I'll make them for you on request...)