We also do workshops in schools in the U.S., so don’t hesitate to be in touch!

This weekend, we were invited to play as part of the Ecuador Jazz Festival at Quito’s Teatro Sucre, a gorgeous old theater (circa 1880) that was recently refurbished.

Jesse and I played an opening set (with Samuel, Katie, and Matt), and then joined the big band from USFQ under the direction of Jay Byron. Special guest: Jeff Galindo from Boston!

We arrived in “Centro Historico” a bit early to walk around and catch the sights.

I particularly liked this store, which sells both donuts and shoes. Yes! All of my dreams come true.

In Quito, the bus stops are enclosed structures; you pay at a turnstile and then wait for the bus inside:

And scaffolding seems to have come from another century (and not the last one, either):

Hey, if you’re gonna stick out, make the best of it, right?

We leave the homestead, our modern pantsuited hostess greeting her traditionally-dressed grandmother.

We hail a cab, which costs about $2.50, and never has seatbelts, and head out into the smoggy morning, competing with trucks and cars and people and dogs and motorcycles for space on the avenue. Men, women, and children compete to sell the rush hour drivers newspapers, cell phone accessories, and many other trinkets.

Restaurants are nestled between auto part stores, and women sell fresh juice from carts shielded from the Ecuadorian sun by faded umbrellas.

Power lines lean every which way. This morning I saw a utility worker leaning his ladder up against a mesh of wires, apparently planning to use them to steady his climb.

We pass signs we find funny (though I’m sure our “Espanol to the Gringo” sounds pretty funny to them!).

And every day I wonder if the giraffe rug will be out for show:

We twist and climb, driving past buses and up towards satellite-topped mountains.

And finally we arrive, about 25 minutes later, at “El Brass,” buzzing at the locked door to be let al dentro. Here’s the view from the roof…

Friday I gave a master class at the University of Quito, San Francisco. Professor Jay Byron invited trombone and trumpet players, and some other students showed up as well – singers, bass players, guitarists, and drummers.

We listened to some music and then practiced improvising alone and in pairs….

…and finally as a group:

Later we headed over to “The Cactus” for a set of my music and then a jam session with the students. Lots of fun! Thanks to visiting faculty Matt Witek, Katie Thiroux, and Samuel, who played during the master class and the Cactus session.

We drove out through Lord Of The Rings-style scenery, jaws agape. Quito is at about 9,000 feet above sea level, but we climbed and climbed further into these stunning mountains to the East, passing slow-moving trucks and wayward cows (that’s Jesse chasing one below…).

We continue to notice that Ecuadorians use every centimeter of available space on hillsides… and adding to the portfolio today were vegetable fields at 45 degree angles reaching high above us. Wow!

After a relaxing morning in the hot springs, we stopped at a “sport fishing” restaurant (called Sierra Del Virgen or something similar) to catch fish for our lunch. I caught the first one, but Jesse won 4 fish to my 3. Apparently there is a tradition to kiss your first catch… eew!

Waiting for our catch to be cooked and warming our wet heads by the fireplace, I started to notice the music playing in the restaurant. Here’s the set list:

• I’ll Be Loving You Forever (New Kids On The Block)
• ??? (Milli Vanilli)
• I’ll Never Stop Loving You (Michael Jackson)

  (Did you know that there is a futbol player here called Michael Jackson Quinonez?!)

• You’re My Inspiration (Peter Cetera, right?)
• Forever and Ever (???)
• I’ll Make Love to You (Boyz II Men)
• I Just Called to Say I Love You (Stevie Wonder)
• Summer Breeze (Cat Stevens)
• Torn Between Two Lovers (???)
• We’re in Heaven (Bryan Adams, right?)
• Tell it to me one more time (???)
• You’ve Got a Friend (Carole King)
• Lemon Tree (Fool’s Garden)
• We Are the World (1980s version)

What year is it?!



]]> http://elizabethjazz.com/hot-springs-and-1989/feed 0 http://elizabethjazz.com/chico-mundo http://elizabethjazz.com/chico-mundo#comments Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:56:50 +0000 elizabeth http://elizabethjazz.com/?p=314

In the states, we say it’s a small world. In Quito, it’s a chico mundo.

And indeed it is! It seems that everyone here knows everyone, at the very least. And most of the time they are also cousins.

Tuesday night, Jesse and I went to La Liebre, which is a former video store turned cafe where there is a jazz jam session. The players were great – Carlos (drums), Cayo (bass), and Ramiro (guitar) were generous and invited us up to join them for several songs. There were also great musicians of all ages – from high school to college music professors!

The shock for me was finding an old friend from New York – singer Cathy Elliott – in the bar! Apparently, she came to Quito to teach a few years ago and stayed! It was a chico mundo moment to see her so far from Queens College!



Wednesday night, we joined Cesar, Cristhian, and Stef to play as a brass quintet for an art exhibition in a fancy hotel in the historic district. We piled into a pickup truck with seven people and many instruments, and headed down there, driven by a dapper man with salt and pepper hair and glasses (see below). Later we found out that the woman who listened so attentively to our music was his wife, and a painter herself. And of course HER mother was the MC of the event, an incredibly warm and gracious petite woman with enormous sunglasses, speaking many languages and generally being glamorous. And that woman knows the director of the dance program Jesse’s girlfriend is interested in checking out when she arrives here… OF COURSE! Chico mundo.





Classes at “El Brass” are going well. Wednesday we had more private lessons with middle-school-aged young folks, and then groups of small children just learning music. They are so cute! One girl, Patricia, who is about 5 years old, could not stop giggling when we played a “musical chairs” type game. She loves music and being with other kids here. Many of these children, including her, are very very poor. It is a fantastic thing that they can come to the Fundacion to learn about music, and more importantly to gain confidence in themselves.







]]> http://elizabethjazz.com/chico-mundo/feed 0 http://elizabethjazz.com/my-first-days-in-ecuador http://elizabethjazz.com/my-first-days-in-ecuador#comments Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:21:08 +0000 elizabeth http://elizabethjazz.com/?p=291 I arrived in Quito Saturday evening after a long trip made much nicer by a kind woman from Spain and her daughter who helped me get on the flight. They want you at JFK 3 hours ahead of time! Oops… But I arrived safely and was happy to meet Jorge Pachacama, the director of Fundacion Brass Band del Ecuador, and Jesse Neuman, my compadre de New York.

Here Jesse shows off our digs:



Some very nice relatives of Jorge and Patricia took us on a day trip south of Quito… through the busy and colorful city…



…and on to some smaller towns with amazing views! The mountains are huge (and we are starting at 9,000 feet!).



Actually, EVERYTHING is huge… including the papayas (second shelf from top)!



I woke up to find this in the shower… instruments are well cared-for here and very clean!



And when I arrived at the school (“El Brass”), I found that I had a new (if only temporary name)… “hot,” no?



After our first day of teaching (see more photos here), the father of one of our students, Don Ramon, took Jesse and me out for delicious hamburgers, made with his secret recipe! Yum…



…and his young son, Martin, entertained us with his headlamp and marbles and animal noises…



We are tired but excited! The students here are wonderful, and I’m looking forward to working with more and more of them. Until soon…

]]> http://elizabethjazz.com/my-first-days-in-ecuador/feed 2 http://elizabethjazz.com/ecuador-able http://elizabethjazz.com/ecuador-able#comments Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:48:48 +0000 elizabeth http://elizabethjazz.com/?p=237

Next week I will be heading to Quito, Ecuador to teach and play music!

Jesse Neuman and I will be living with the incredible family that runs the Fundacion Brass Band del Ecuador, which is a school/community center that provides excellent quality musical instruction to children of depressed socioeconomic status. It is both a safe haven for children of working families and a challenging academic environment for aspiring musicians.

See more photos from our fundraiser and get more information about MUSICWORKS!

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