Mikes Music Emporium

It wasn't my intention at all to do  concert on the day of the UEFA Euro 2024 but it turned out that way. With the championship match between Spain and England,  al ot of people were cancelling, but then again there were   people who decided that they wanted to hear the concert and i felt really touched by their choice and really went all out to perform and entertain. In the end there were 14 music lovers who listened to me and Bosco Prada ( who is becoming a regular at these concerts)  play an hour of music . Highlighted was a new theme that i wrote with Juan David  Duque who plays an wood flute called “Gaita”  it plays  6 notes  but is very  expressive .  So  based on one  of one Juans  melodies.,  new song called “Alameda Apodoca. was b orn. Other highlights were 2 new Beatle arrangements of “Till There Was You and We Can Work It Out ”  which became an over the top up tempo Merengue esque workout!!!  There was an air of Alegria throughout the concert.   Thanks to all who came and enjoyed the evening.. Very much appreciated as always.     

I had just gotten back from my trip abroad and that combined with current world events (The  Israel  Hamas War) really left me in a despondent mood. But never the less decided to do a concert and realized that I have been doing this for 4 years now and put the word out of an Annicersary Concert with the Trio of Javi Bermudez( bass) and Bosco Prada (bongos ) a . nd the host on piano.  As the date approached there didnt appear to be much interest and thoughts of cancelling the concert creeped in .But luckily i didn't Every one of these concerts is a test of faith . And to my surprise we had a lovely attendance of 24 music lovers. I didn't know half the people who came but I'm glad they did. It was a really good atmosphere and everyone played their best Thanks again to all who came.   

This was a very special event . First of all it wasnt at my home. Second of all I wasn't playing piano and third of all it was in the midst of Semana Santa  and  the forcast was for rain. Well it was a miracle that it didnt rain, people came and the music and the enviorment was a lot of fun .Me on the synth  and  Bosco Prada on bongos and panderetta had a lot of fun playing our songs  and everyone seemed to enjoy . And i even got two wonder singers Santi and Lilu  from the audience to do an impromtu performance of Skylark and NatureBoy . We started with Lady Be Good and ended with Lean On Me.  And where was this secret spot ? Well all i can tell you it was a small place near the cale Mina that was transformed into  a concert hall. I reallly hope to do this again . I'm always looking for secet spots!!!

There was a lot of anticipation for this concert. Everyone in Cadiz that knows jazz and flamenco knows of Carmelo. He plays and makes his own instruments and has dedicated himself to the Bansuri flute. A beautiful sounding instrument, but  a difficult instrument  to play modern music on  . i wrote a repetoire of jazz classics , originals, and we even played the of Lorca and De Falla and Carmelo played it beautifully. We started with an uptempo  version of  It  Might As Well Be Spring and ended with a Boogaloo version of Comin Home Baby. With myself on piano , Bosco Prado bongos. and audience of 24 people  a good time was had by all followed with a wine tasting with wines provided by Embotellarte. Click here to here the first song of the evening.

The first concert of 2024 was in February , before Valentines Day and before the CARNAVAL DE CADIZ which IS  the big event and fiesta here. January was hectic and so once again at the last minute  I made phone calls and organized this event . I was so happy when Juan Sainz agreed to play here not only is he sort of a legend here and I love playing with him because he adds a bit of philosphy to anything he plays . Something extra!! But werarely get the chance to play and there isn't a lot of room here so armed with a cymbal and snare  I got to be part of a wonderful trio and perform my arrangements as well.   And I cant forget to mention the wonder electric bass of Javier Bermudez who has been helping me make this music come to life  over the years. The set was full of suprises and music came alive . The audience responded favorably and it was a great way to start the , year a bit late but great!!!! You can see a clip of our  first song Alice in Wonderland here: 

Well I want to write this down while it is still fresh in my mind. But first some background. Last December I had a performance event with images and in fact we did two concerts with it . I was so fascinated with the idea that I wanted to make it into a regular performing group called the Sound and Image Trio where we doing basic doing improvised cinema .

But for some reason or other , that didn't happen . What did happen is that instead of a VJ , I added bass ,and this year we have done 4 well attended house concerts and it has a really nice sound . But I am still fascinated with doing collaborations so for this concert I invited performance artist Caroline Klein from Argentina with us. She was invited to come to Cadiz and her exposition was in the ECCO (Cadiz Contempary Art Space) and during a dinner conversation I suggested to create music for her to skate and paint to , but then we took it to another level with her agreeing to it on top of the piano , both challenging (creating in a very limited space , satisfying and you can see our performance here      https://ln5.sync.com/dl/a16d68960/sbjrvn3z-5vruhak6-kuedmw3j-r7e9rhqn

Now back to the trio. We did a nice relaxed set which set the mood for all of this starting with Your Song by Elton John , Fool On the Hill, As Time Goes By, with the verse and in waltz time. My originals like Blue Tune , Canadian Skylight , and Morbid Desolation which we used for Carolina's performance which can be seen here:. And it woudn't have been possible with out a public to perform for. I thank the 24 who came and supported this event . Vey much appreciated. We ended with my gospel tinge theme Know Yourself . The aperitif featured 3 red wines from 3 different regions , cheese , dried fruits , olives and chips.

• It was a lovely Aug evening here in Cadiz at the height of the summer turist season , a lovely day for a concert. We began just as the sun was setting  and the air was cool. And I decided to have a Friday evening concert here . It was well attended with even more people than the Summer Soiree 2 concert with Carlos Villoslada and Piet Vierbest . Hard to believe .  Expectations were high and the concert  was with my piano, bongo, bass trio  continuing with the Beatle repetoire   and  my original songs . It all went well untill a patrol car from the local police came at the very end of the concert. To be honest I am still baffled by the fact that we bothered anyone to the point that they would phone the police.  And even more so that it was a Friday evenening where we played and finished  before most people even come back from the beac!!!!!, But so be it . The police were cordial and gave me a warning  and they even let me finish the concert and one was overheard saying “ Que arte tiene!” which i take as a complement . Even they liked what they heard. Hope to figure this mystery out while contiinuing to create quality piano music in an artistic setting .

The idea of the Summer Soirees started last year as an alternative small format alternative to the Cadiz Jazz Festival . In no way competing  with , just presenting different original musc  that deserves  to be heard.  And also a concert that I don't play in .  So when I heard that the Piet Verbist the Belge Bassist was coming to Cadiz  and not playing in the Festival I did everything to get him to play a solo bass concert. He declined but offered to play in duet with Carlos Villoslada  one of pioneers of the Flamenco Jazz music scene  and a brillant composer and virtuoso saxophonist . What I didn't know was that Carlos had recently decided to not play the tenor sax in public favoring the alto sax , so everyone who came got to hear something totally new from the both of them . It was also the concert with the most attendence  How we got over 30 people seated comfortably in the space  was nothing short of a miracle.  The concert was slightly over an hour of original material and was quite hypnotic as well.  I hope to post a clip of one of their songs soon .  Summer Soiree was a total success. Iappreciate all the support this concert received .

It was great to play with Bosco and Javi again .  We started 2023 playing together and the interplay between us  has really deepened since then . Also very important.  We had a wonderful audience to listen and bring  out the best of us!! Originally a  small concert for  about 16 people, became a wonderful concert for 24 people . And we there were seats for everyone. So what did we play? An interesting mashup of songs where an African groove evolves into All Blues and ends with Proud Mary. + 8 original  arrangements of Beatle songs including A Day In The Life,  and Norwegian Wood as a Buleria !!!And 2 tunes of mine . A boogaloo Clement's Lament , and the gospel tinged Know Yourself. We finished with a version of Penny Lane. And for aperitivo we all checked out a wonderful ecological white wine called Ukelele provided by Embotellarte.  Looking forward to Summer Soiree #2 where I get to listen to invited artists Piet Verbist and Carlos Villoslada play in duo . Sax  & Bass concert . Something different . Something special!!!!

Happy to say that the once a year one off with composer keyboardist Manu Sanchez was a wonderful experience for everyone . Things got off to a great start with an uptempo version of “It Could Happen To You ” followed  by quiet a few of my compositions like Soul Scents , Life -Like , My New Song, and a debut of  my composition “ Times Lost Embers” Also was versions of Tonight  from West Side Story , a reharmonized version of “ I'm Leaving On a Jet Plane . We finished the evening with the Beatles Something  as well as a tribute to the great composer and saxophonist Wayne Shorter and to Tina Turner. two artists whose influence will always be felt and whose presence will be sorely missed.  For Wayne we did “Footprints” and for Tina we finished wiht a 4 hand version of ” We Don't Need Another Hero"  Once again a very big thank you to all who came and inspired us to play the way we did . You are Fabulous!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDNlgp-8EAY