Opening Night!

Tonight we performed at Jones Beach, opening night for the tour! Overall it went pretty well. Of course as we do the show, and nail down a basic set list, it'll only get better. But tonight Stevie pushed me musically! He's quite enamored of two challenging jazz pieces, Spain by Chic Corea, and Giant Steps by John Coltrane. Of course, the band knows these tunes, but Stevie, with that unbelievable ear and musical prowess, enjoys playing them in various other keys. About 2 weeks ago, Stevie decided to start performing Spain in Eb minor (as opposed to the original E minor) so that he could do a more direct segue to and from any number of his tunes in Eb Major or minor. No problem. So, the band learned Spain in Eb minor, performing only the B and C sections of the tune.

Two days ago, Stevie added the A section of the tune. No problem. The band added the A section in Eb minor to the repertoire. Then all of a sudden tonight, during the concert, Stevie asked me to play the rubato introduction to the tune…in front of the crowd…unrehearsed and unannounced…in Eb minor. YIKES!!!!!

Well, thankfully I had been listening to the tune this morning as I got dressed. Something told me that I should listen to it (I'm so grateful for that small voice that speaks to me so often!) today, and thank God I did! Despite not being fully certain of the melody to the introduction (which I'd never played before), I forged ahead with confidence. Though I did make some melodic errors, I managed to get through it for the most part unscathed. But I must say that I'm proud of myself for going for it! Trust me though…tomorrow night I will be ready! I have already been listening to the intro as I've been preparing for sleep and will do some serious shedding on the tune in the morning…in Eb minor! I am extremely grateful for the way that this experience is expanding me as a musician. The musical challenge and adventure are unparalleled and simply beautiful. I am so excited about where this will take me! Wow…

Rehearsals in New York

The rehearsals for the show went really well. We were called to work everyday, rehearsing sometimes 8-10 hours per day. Usually, the band went through a list of songs selected by bassist Nate Watts, and Stevie came in later. The band sounds incredible!

Bass & Music Director: Nate Watts
Drums: Stanley Randolph
Guitars: Errol Cooney and Kyle Bolden
Percussion: Munyungo Jackson and Fausto Cuevas
Keys: Roman Johnson and ME (I'm singing too)!
Vocals: Keith John and Aisha Morris
Horns: Ryan Kilgore and Dwight Adams

After 11 days in Manhattan, we're heading to Wantaugh, where Jones Beach is located. During my stay in Times Square, I only had a small amount of free time (we were in rehearsal everyday with only 1 day off), yet managed to have a little bit of fun! I went dancing with friends, I had the chance to see my friend Eisa Davis in the musical Passing Strange (which won 1 of its 5 Tony nominations, Best Book of a Musical) during Tony week, I went to dinner with Eisa and meet members of the cast, and met my goal to play some of the exquisite pianos at Steinway Hall!

DANCING: One of the band members suggested that a group of us go to SOB's to hear the band "Ocho Y Mas". Several of us took a couple of taxi's to the club and had a great time! The band is awesome! Check out their myspace page and see them perform if you get the chance. I hadn't danced Salsa in ages, and I am very glad that I went.

PASSING STRANGE: "Eisa Davis" is one of my lifelong friends. I've literally known her since she was a little girl, and she's always been an amazing and inspiring person. Her latest creative venture is playing the role of Mother in "Passing Strange", a musical about the journey of a young black bohemian to find "the real". I saw the musical in Berkeley in 2006, and even then, I loved it. I was moved by the songs, the clever book, the performances of the actors and band. I was hoping they'd win Best Musical, but even though they didn't, I highly recommend you see it! You will be moved emotionally and physically (it's impossible to sit still when the band gets going!).
STEINWAY HALL: One of my favorite activities when I visit any city is to find a local piano store and go play a grand piano, visualizing the day when I'll own one for myself. There are a few wonderful piano stores in Manhattan, but on this trip I only had time to visit one, so I chose the most famous, Steinway Hall. Even walking to Steinway Hall is inspiring: right down the street is Carnegie Hall…what pianist doesn't dream of performing in Carnegie Hall? As is the case every time I visit, the staff at Steinway Hall were gracious and allowed me to spend as much time as I wanted playing the grand piano of my choice. Unfortunately, I only had about 40 minutes this time, but it was 40 minutes of heaven as I wandered through a series of musical meanders, playing piece by composers from Chopin to Bach to Chic Corea to Herbie Hancock to Stevie Wonder, on a beautiful Steinway D….ah… On the way back to my hotel, I ran into the immensely talented Tony Lindsay. Tony is the lead singer for Santana and they were in town briefly on the way to their European Tour. It's so awesome to see legendary acts like Santana and Stevie Wonder still out there performing and bringing musical joy to the world DECADES into their careers!

I didn't have the chance to visit my old stomping grounds in Harlem, or to visit the memorial to the World Trade Towers. I suppose I'll just have to visit the Big Apple again one day…

Photos from the trip:

Jogging through Central Park with Keith John, singer with Stevie Wonder


At my keyboard in the rehearsal studio

London Press Conference

We arrived in London after a loooong direct flight from California (11 hours), and were all excited about performing for the British press. The crowd was beautifully enthusiastic, and gave all of us travel weary musicians the energy to perform Stevie's music with joy and love (as if that's ever a challenge! lol). We all had a great time and are looking forward to doing the European tour.

After the press conference, we had a couple of free hours, so a few of us were given a guided tour by a local friend of one of the musicians. It was brief, but lovely.




I even had the chance to visit the Queen's grocery store, which is quite unlike any grocery store I've ever seen! lol





There are several videos of the press conference on youtube. The quality isn't the best, but you can even see me a little bit! : >

Here are a few:



Stevie Wonder at the Hard Rock Cafe 1

Stevie Wonder at the Hard Rock Cafe 1

Stevie Wonder at the Hard Rock Cafe 1

The BBC interview

Enjoy!

June Performances

Hello friends,

As most of you probably know, Stevie Wonder will be touring again this summer and fall, and I'll be onstage playing keys and singing again! If you haven't seen him in concert, I highly encourage you to buy a ticket (if they're still available) and come to a show! He's an amazing performer and I know you're have a great time : >

Also, the Color Splash episode that featured my music room makeover is airing one more time! The episode will be airing again June 9. I hope you get a chance to watch the TV show and to come to a live performance! : >


June 2008

Sun, Jun 9

3:30pm
RE-BROADCAST: Victoria's music room gets a makeover on HGTV's "Color Splash" Episode HCLRS-313

In June of 2007, my home was selected for a room makeover by celebrity designer David Bromstad. Shortly after, I was hired to tour with Stevie Wonder, so that fact was incorporated into the show. David did a brilliant job with my music room, as you'll see if you watch the show!

Wed, Jun 18

7:30pm
Stevie Wonder

2008 Tour

Nikon at Jones Beach Theater

Ocean Pkwy Wantagh, NY 11793 | 516.785.1600 | map

Thu, Jun 19

7:30pm
Stevie Wonder

2008 Tour

Mohegan Sun Arena

1 Mohegan Sun Blvd. Uncasville, CT 06382 | 888.226.7711 | map

Sat, Jun 21

8pm
Stevie Wonder

2008 Tour

Trump Taj Mahal

1000 Boardwalk (At Virginia Ave.) Atlantic City, NJ 08401 | 609.449.5150 | map

Sun, Jun 22

8pm
Stevie Wonder

2008 Tour

Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts

885 S Main Street Mansfield, MA 02048 | 508.339.2333 | map

Tue, Jun 24

7:30pmStevie Wonder

2008 Tour

DTE Energy Music Theatre

Sashabaw RD Clarkston, MI 48346 | 248.377.0100 | map

Thu, Jun 26

7pm
Stevie Wonder

Summerfest

Marcus Amphitheater

200 N. Harbor Drive Milwaukee, WI 53202 | 414.273.2680 | map

Sat, Jun 28

Stevie Wonder

Taste of Chicago

Grant Park

337 E. Randolph St. Chicago, IL 60601 | 312.742.7648 | map

Naomi's Healing Journey

Hello friends,

As many of you know, my 5 year old niece Naomi has been receiving chemotherapy treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) since April 28, 2006. ALL is the most common form of childhood cancer, but Naomi is anything but a common child. This petite, yet strong willed, little girl has endured 2 years of regular chemotherapy, blood tests, blood transfusions, spinal taps, toxic medications, hair loss, physical bloating, bracing pain, and a number of other cancer treatment side effects, with grace and patience beyond her years.

We are all extremely grateful for the fact that Naomi is responding well to her cancer treatment (which ends in September 2008!) and is expected to live a normal, healthy life. Naomi's parents realize that they are blessed and want to use their experience as parents of a child with cancer to help other families in the same situation.

Naomi's family has decided to spend the summer of 2008 driving 10,000 miles across the USA in order to raise funds for the Leukemia Research Foundation. Lisa Thompson, a documentary filmmaker noted for her commitment to telling stories of social importance, with emphasis in the area of children's health, will be joining the family and documenting their journey. This fundraiser has the potential to make a huge impact by raising funds for Leukemia research. But it can not happen without YOUR HELP!

Please join Naomi's family in this worthy cause:

1) Visit Naomi's Leukemia Research Foundation web page

2) Make a contribution to the fundraiser TODAY!

3) Forward this information to your friends and family.

Let's help Naomi in her quest to find a cause and cure for Leukemia!

Blessings to you all!

Victoria
Music, art, education, prosperity, well-being, compassion, peace, joy and love!

New Orleans Jazz Fest

I played at the New Orleans Jazz Fest with Stevie Wonder on Friday, May 2, 2008. It was awesome! I arrived in New Orleans Thursday night, and stayed at the Sheraton downtown. I enjoyed my hotel room! I was up on the 31st floor, so I had a perfect opportunity to take some great photos of downtown New Orleans…except that I FORGOT to! Oops. I suppose I was more than a little exhausted. : <

After settling in a bit, I went to dinner with some of my bandmates at a restaurant called Deanie's and ordered Crawfish Etouffee. It was my first time having crawfish. It was a tasty dish. The crawfish reminded me of a combination of fresh water shrimp and lobster, but definitely not overly "fishy". After dinner, I went to bed early, because our lobby call for sound check was …drum roll… 7AM!!!

The next morning, I was in the lobby ready to go at 7AM! We went to the venue and did a sound check for about 2 hours and then returned to the hotel to have lunch, rest and dress for the show. Of course, I should have remembered to have taken a photo at that point, as it was broad daylight, albeit overcast…but noooooo, I forgot again : <

At 5:15pm, we took to the stage and I witnessed what must be the largest crowd I've ever seen. It was a veritable sea of people, stretching back for what looked like a mile and stretching almost as wide. I have no idea how many people were there, but some were saying it was over 100,000. I sure wish I had a photo of the crowd. Ok, maybe this experience will compel me to actually buy a new camera and remember to use it! It was certainly surreal to stand on stage before that kind of a crowd. Of course, in short order I had to block it all out and focus on playing my best for the boss! Stevie performed brilliantly, as always, and everyone immediately fell back into sync, though we hadn't played together in 5 months. Everyone in the band is so awesome. Just thinking about the blessing of the experience makes me smile. Wow…

After the show, I returned to the hotel to change into a more casual, yet still cute, outfit. When I returned to the lobby to wait for my band mates, I met Aaron Neville! He was walking in a determined manner towards the elevator, but took a moment to greet us all kindly. Gotta love southern hospitality!

I went to dinner at Mila Restaurant, where I ordered a mixed green salad, sweet potato pappardelle, and lobster en croute. Everything was delicious, but the pappardelle was amazing! I was enjoying it so much that several other people at the dinner ordered it and proclaimed it to be their favorite dish. After dinner, there was a private party held for Stevie and most of the band was there. Within minutes, a line formed of people who wanted to meet and take a photo with Stevie. I am continually impressed with how Stevie is so gracious and welcoming to his fans. I have never seen him be anything other than genuine and friendly to those seeking a moment with this musical icon. That can't be said of many other celebrities!

I flew home the next morning, grateful to be home safely, but oh so ready to take off again! As Bonnie Raitt says "I got to go…I hope you understand…"

May Performances

Hello friends,

The Color Splash episode that featured my music room makeover is airing two more times! The episode will be airing again in May and June. I hope you get a chance to watch the TV show and to come to a live performance! : >

Also, Stevie Wonder will be touring again this summer and fall. As soon as I know when and where I will let you know! First stop, New Orleans Jazz Fest this Friday! I'll only be in town for 2 days, but would appreciate any tourist or dining suggestions! NOLA, here I come!

MAY 2008
Fri, May 2 5pm
Stevie Wonder
New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival
Acura Stage, New Orleans Fair Grounds
1751 Gentilly Blvd. New Orleans, LA 70116 | 504.410.4100

Sun, May 11 3:30pm
RE-BROADCAST: HGTV
Victoria's music room gets a makeover on HGTV's "Color Splash"
In June of 2007, my home was selected for a room makeover by celebrity designer David Bromstad. Shortly after, I was hired to tour with Stevie Wonder, so that fact was incorporated into the show. David did a brilliant job with my music room, as you'll see if you watch the show!

Fri, May 16 9pm
Lolita Sweet
Maxwell's Restaurant & Lounge R&B, Jazz, World
341 13th Street Oakland, CA 94612 | 510.839.6169

Remember, I'm available for hire and have open slots in my teaching schedule! Please keep me in mind if you're looking for a pianist, keyboardist, accompanist, music coach or piano instructor.

April performances

Hello friends,

I’ve received dozens of complaints from folks telling that I didn’t do enough to promote the Color Splash episode that featured my music room makeover, so I’m trying to do better this time! The episode will be airing again this month and again in May. I hope you get a chance to watch the TV show and to come to a live performance! : >

APRIL 2008

Sat, Apr 19 5pm
RE-BROADCAST: HGTV
Victoria’s music room gets a makeover on HGTV’s "Color Splash"
In June of 2007, my home was selected for a room makeover by celebrity designer David Bromstad. Shortly after, I was hired to tour with Stevie Wonder, so that fact was incorporated into the show. David did a brilliant job with my music room, as you’ll see if you watch the show!

Mon, Apr 21 8pm
Lolita Sweet at Yoshi’sSan Francisco R&B / Soul
1330 Fillmore Street San Francisco, CA 94115 | 415.655.5600

Sun, Apr 27 3:30pm
NANM Festival of Spirituals
Beth Eden Baptist Church
1183 - 10th Street Oakland, CA 94607 | 510.444.1625

Remember, I’m available for hire and have open slots in my teaching schedule! Please keep me in mind if you’re looking for a pianist, keyboardist, accompanist, music coach or piano instructor.

Gig at Q's 3/21/08

Last night I performed with Kymberly Jackson at Q's Lounge in Oakland, CA. Kymberly played flute and sang, I played keys, Mark Daniels was on guitar, Dante McClinton on drums and Dewey Tucker on bass. It was so much fun! It was a very freeform performance; meaning, we played music with freedom and spontaneous fun, listening to each other and creating a musical experience. I had a great time and the audience appeared to as well.

I'd started the day feeling a bit fatigued (I've been staying up way too late and yet still getting up relatively early... gotta break that habit). But as the day went along, my energy level rose, definitely a good thing!

It may be time to get a new gig rig. I currently do local gigs with a Roland keyboard controller and sound module, but whenever I play the controller, it feels so wimpy! I'm used to playing a great acoustic piano at home, so playing a keyboard with only modestly weighted keys just doesn't feel good. I bought the controller simply because it weighs less than a standard keyboard, yet gives me the 76 keys that I require as a minimum (for when I need to play classical music on the thing). I really, really, really don't want to lug around a big, heavy keyboard for local gigs, but I have to do something. Maybe there's a super lightweight keyboard out there (or controller that I can use with a laptop or sound module) with weighted keys that truly feels and sounds good to a dedicated pianist, like myself. All of the best keyboards I know about are very heavy. Any suggestions?

Thanks to my friends and family who attended the show:

Carla and William P.
Darlene C.
Tony W.
David A.
Leo R.
Phil W.
Charles B.
Vernon & Empress H.

I hope to see YOU at the next show! : >

Happy Easter and Spring Equinox!

Victoria
Music, art, education, prosperity, well-being, compassion, peace, joy and love!

March Performances

Hello friends,

March already??? Wow!! Today was a clear indication that spring is approaching: blue sky, warm temperature, bright sunshine. It was a Capri pant and sandals kind of day! I hope you're enjoying the weather where you are as much as I am here in lovely Northern California! : >

I've finally started composing music again! I hope to have a project completed before the end of summer. Wish me luck! I love what I've got so far! : >

I've got a couple of gigs coming up and another television appearance. Check it out!

Sat, Mar 15 7pm
"Antonia Venezia" at Pasta Gondola Restaurant Jazz / R&B
664 San Ramon Valley Blvd. Danville, CA 94526 | 925.820.1144

Sat, Mar 15 9pm HGTV
Victoria's music room gets a makeover on HGTV's "Color Splash"
In June of 2007, my home was selected for a room makeover by celebrity designer David Bromstad. Shortly after, I was hired to tour with Stevie Wonder, so that fact was incorporated into the show. David did a brilliant job with my music room, as you'll see if you watch the show!

Fri, Mar 21 8pm
Kymberly Jackson at Q's Lounge Jazz / R&B
Everett & Jones Barbeque • 126 Broadway Oakland, CA 94607 | 510.663.2350

Remember, I'm available for hire and have open slots in my teaching schedule! Please keep me in mind if you're looking for a pianist, keyboardist, accompanist, music coach or piano instructor.

NAMM 2008

This weekend, my friends and I drove to Southern California to attend the NAMM show (one of the largest music products trade shows in the world, held every January in Anaheim, CA). We were all excited and had planned to leave on Thursday at 7pm, just after my last piano student (gotta make that money!), but at 11am I got a phone call from my sister informing me that my precious niece, Naomi, who is being treated for leukemia, had an irregular spinal tap result, and would be needing another to confirm that the leukemia cells have not returned, thus rendering the past 20 months of chemotherapy moot. Then, at 5pm, I got a phone informing me that my beloved aunt Loraine had just passed away. Loraine had been very ill, suffering from a horrid degenerative nervous system disorder with no known cause and no known cure that left her essentially in a vegetative state. Despite knowing her days were coming to an end, her passing left me rather devastated. I started to wonder whether or not I should go out of town given the circumstances. My family encouraged me to travel to NAMM anyway, and I'm glad they did. The comaraderie I shared with my friends, and the new friends that I made were a welcome distraction from the shock of the loss of my aunt and the fear that my niece may have to start her treatment protocol all over, and allowed me to focus my positive energy on aiding my family through our grief and supporting my niece in her healing.

So, just before 9pm, my beautiful, brilliant, talented, inspiring friends (Janice, Sundra and Maya) picked me up, expressed their condolences and we hit the road. There were 4 of us piano playing ladies in an SUV, cruising down Interstate 5, taking turns playing our iPods and singing along with our favorite tunes. We listened to everything from EWF and Minnie Riperton to Imogen Heap and Chrisette Michele to Take 6 and Kim Burrell. That's how you stay awake for a long drive!

We arrived in Anaheim at 4am and slept until noon. We arrived at the Anaheim Convention Center around 2pm, and almost immediately were introduced to George Benson, thanks to Showboat Shavers! Showboat then took us around and introduced us to several vendors before we took off on our own, exploring the sights of the show.

We heard about a Marcus Miller demo at the Fender booth, but even showing up 30 minutes early wasn't enough. We couldn't get in. We could hear Marcus on the bass, couldn't hear Bobby Sparks on keys at all. Oh well.

Before we knew it, it was 6pm, and we had to find something to do. We went to dinner with Showboat and the kind people at SE Electronics. We filled up on yummy Italian food, family style, at a local restaurant. Then we were off to find some music to listen to. We went to a jam session hosted by the amazing Byron Miller, and sat at a table with the amazing Nate Watts, Morris O'Connor and Herman Jackson! Herman has played keys with Stevie Wonder for years and is a literal repository of information about playing Stevie tunes. And he's a great guy. Byron invited the guys up to the stage to play a couple of Stevie tunes and Herman invited me to join them, since there were 2 keyboards onstage. The amazing (I never tire of labeling the musicians I encountered as "amazing". They were all superlative! But to avoid redundancy, I'll stop using the term; just assume everyone I mention is AMAZING!) Kenneth Crouch allowed me to use his keyboard on stage right. We played "I Wish" and "Part-time Lovers". Everyone took a solo in "I Wish", even me! I had so much fun!

After the jam session, and a brief walk around to hear other music, we retired to our hotel and went to sleep...for 10 hours! We got to the venue around 1pm..late again! Argh... At one booth, we came across drummer David "Fingers" Haynes. David was performing with my friends Victor Little, Randy Emata and Tony Lindsay. I'd seen David's videos on YouTube but to watch him play on his drum machine in person was astounding. Of course the other folks in the band sounded great too (I don't think it's possible for Tony to ever hit a bad note!). Inspired, Sundra, Maya and I walked over to the Nord booth, and sat down at their keyboard setup, which was conveniently set up so that all three of us could play together. Within 60 seconds, a crowd had gathered around us and we were having a blast! But, alas, it's a trade show, and another booth was trying to do a demo, and asked us to stop so that we wouldn't be such a distraction. Boo hoo...at least we tried to get a piano jam going!

Next on our Saturday agenda was to attend a private showing of Logic's Main Stage application by none other than piano deity Herbie Hancock. Many thanks to Dot for inviting us! We walked in and sat with my friend Grandmixer DXT and my new friends Myron McKinley and Kenneth Crouch. Herbie was performing with Lionel Loueke, a guitarist and singer from Benin. After Apple Product Manager, Bob Hunt, introduced the software, Herbie started playing one of his classic tunes in a simple and straight forward manner. Then all of a sudden, amidst all of the simplicity, Herbie played a single melodic line that sounded as if it were eminating directly from the voice of God. And we were all filled with the spirit! Hallelujah! Herbie and Lionel went forth (as much as possible between interruptions for product promotion) and blessed us with their music. Ah, music euphoria...

At this point, we were walking on air, but were also starving. For some reason, trade shows always make me forget about food, until the end of the day when my grouchy hunger monster takes me over! As we patiently waited for our friends to finish their conversations in the hallway after NAMM ended, supressing the hunger in our bellies, my boss, Stevie Wonder, walked by. Of course, I had to stop and say hello since I hadn't seen him in a month. As he gave me an affectionate hug, people snapped photos like Paparazzi! It was good to see the boss again. Right after he left, I met Sheila E. I've known her brothers Juan and Peter Michael for years, but this was my first time meeting her.

After dinner, our dining companions were tired and decided to head to their hotel. Maya and I still had energy, so we wandered around trying to find something to do. We happened upon our new friend David Haynes and spent the next few hours talking about music and learning his drum technique. David assigned us a fun rhythm exercise: tap 4 in one hand, but only on beats 2 and 4, and tap 5 in the other, but only on beats 1 and 3. That was cool, and made me want to take drum lessons! I've always wanted to play drums and violin. One day...

Sunday. We have every intention of getting up early, arriving at the venue when it opens at 10am, going straight to the piano room and having a SERIOUS piano jam....well, we got up at 11:30am, got dressed and got to the venue at 1pm. Oh well. At the venue, we tried to visit the remaining keyboard booths to meet with manufacturers about their products. I had a custom in-ear monitor fitting, ran into my beautiful friends Kimberly and LaTanya (from the Stevie Wonder Tours) and caught up with Showboat. I was determined to find time to get to the piano room, but then found out Stevie was at the show again. I wanted Maya to meet him, so we ran over and chased him down. Once he realized who I was, Stevie invited me and Maya to check out some music gear with him. It was great! Maya got to meet him and we both got to watch him be creative with new gear! By this time, the show was over. We closed out the show hanging out with Stevie and entourage. What a fantastic weekend!

Greetings and blessings to all of my friends (old and new) that made the weekend such a wonderful experience:
Altoris Martinez
Bobby Sparks
Bray Guarnari
Brig Carr
Byron Miller
David Haynes
David Mora
Doctor Fink
Don Braden
Dot Bustelo
Francis Mandin
Gary Ciocci
Grandmixer DXT
Herbie Hancock
Ian Fisher
Jack Knight
Janice Maxie-Reid
Jessica Starr
Joey Fabian
John Amstadter
Kaila Sampson
Keb Mo
Kenneth Crouch
Kevin "Big Daddy Funk" Jefferson
Kim Denison
Kimberly Brewer
Larry Houston
LaTanya Marble
Les Cleveland
Lil' John Roberts
Lynette Williams
Lynn of Heaven Productions Music
Marcus Miller
Mark Wilder
Maya Kronfeld
Michele Aristy
Morris Hayes
Myron Chandler
Ndugu Chancler
NewWorldSon
Nick Smith
Patricia Diaz
Randy Emata
Randy Fuchs
Ray Chew
Rich Simmons
Rob Arbittier
Ryan Shaw
Sebastian Wheat
Sheila E
Showboat Shavers
Stevie Wonder
Sundra Manning
Verdine White
Vernon Clark
Victor Little

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hello friends,

It is once again Thanksgiving and I feel compelled to express thanks for my many blessings. I am humbled by the abundance of grace that has been poured forth into my life. At the moment, I am most grateful for (1) the fact that my beautiful 5 year old niece is surviving leukemia and (2) for the opportunity to perform with the phenomenal Stevie Wonder, both of whom inspire and compel me to be my best!

NAOMI

My niece is beating the odds! Despite a very difficult and challenging course of treatment, Naomi is giving us every reason to believe that she will survive and, through her strength, continue being an inspiration to me and to everyone who meets her. She endured a particularly difficult chemotherapy session this past Monday (including 8 unsuccessful attempts at inserting an IV), and yet, today is filled with her usual irrepressible joy. She is, without doubt, one of the bravest people I know. Her strength belies her mere 5 years.

STEVIE WONDER

In August, I was hired to perform with one of the greatest artists of all time, Stevie Wonder. I could not have asked for better! Stevie Wonder is, as you know, a genius, and, through his creativity, talent and humanitarian spirit, an inspiration. On his example, I spend several hours per day while on tour in my hotel room practicing, creating, expanding as a musician. I've had the honor to accompany Stevie Wonder (just me and him on "If It's Magic"!) several times in concert, and even played the grand piano in Madison Square Garden on November 17, 2007, as Stevie Wonder and Tony Bennett sang "For Once In My Life"! Wow!! I am truly living a dream and am filled with gratitude for having been given this opportunity. Every member of the Stevie Wonder team has welcomed me, and has been professional, warm and encouraging. It is a beautiful experience. I am grateful for them all.

I pray that each of you be filled with the spirit of gratitude and joy, and that love envelopes you this holiday season.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Victoria Theodore

Pianist<

Music, art, education, well-being, compassion, peace and joy!

Marcus Shelby Residency at Jazz at Pearl’s

Tonight, for the first time, I went to a concert at Jazz at Pearl's in San Francisco. A friend had been telling me about a certain incredible bassist for a while, and I finally had time to go to a concert. The bassist is Marcus Shelby, and he was joined by Jeff Marrs (drums), Matt Clark (piano) and Evan Francis (sax, flute). What a fun night of music! The band started at 10pm with "Stablemates", a tune by Benny Golson and then moved into a lovely version of Night and Day by Cole Porter. I LOOOOOVED what Matt was playing on this tune. His melodic lines, chords, harmonic choices, and rhythmic variation made me come home and practice after the show! He was great.

Around 11pm, the band was expanded by Mike Olmos (Trumpet), Adam Shulman (piano) and Howard Wiley (sax). Mike jumped right in and showed why he tours with Etta James! Evan and Adam had solos that were fluid and full of great musical ideas. Once Howard got to the stage, they ripped into an Ellington Blues (don't remember the name of it... I'm trying to get better with remembering names!) Howard was AWESOME!!!!!! His solo was so expressive and free. I felt like I was in church! He made me want to jump up and play too! But, really, it was lovely to just sit and enjoy music. That's a rarity for me.

Marcus and Jeff were solid all night. Both played without frills; just the perfect subtext for the solo instruments to soar and play. Marcus and his band are in residency at Jazz at Pearl's every Tuesday this month. I recommend checking them out!

Oakland Symphony Chorus "Sing-In"

Tonight I performed with Susan Swerdlow at the Oakland Symphony Chorus "Sing-In". Susan conducted around 60 singers in a sight read performance of Bernstein's Chichester Psalms and Schubert's Mass in G (which I learned he composed at the ripe old age of 17!). The night was incredibly successful! The music is so beautiful and many of the singers present had sung both pieces before, which made it easy to do at least some justice to the works. I received rave reviews from the crowd, who were all duly impressed by my attempts at emulating an orchestra on the piano (don't you just hate orchestral reductions?? I do! Lol) Nonetheless, I had a great time, felt extremely strong on the piano, and felt highly expressive.

Several audience members asked where I was performing next (by which I'm sure they meant where would I be playing more classical piano). Of course I told them about my wildly diverse freelance performances (this week alone has classical, gospel, jazz and R&B gigs…phew!), but I immediately thought about the fact that I have not performed a classical recital in more years than I'd care to admit. I had wanted to do a recital this year, but I think it will be smarter to aim at 2008. There are so many wonderful pieces I'd love to perform (Rachmaninoff Etudes, Chopin Preludes, Scherzos and Ballades, Prokofiev Sonata 7, Ravel Jeux d'eau, etc.) One step at a time. At least I'm finally practicing again! Tonight's success was a direct result and evidence of that! : >

I Met Patrice Rushen!

Tonight I had the honor of hearing and meeting the legendary Patrice Rushen!













She is performing all week at Yoshi's with Christian McBride, Dave Ellis and DJ Jahi Sundance. The show was incredible! They're playing through Sunday, so if you get a chance, I highly recommend you check it out!

The music is fully improvised and SUPER funky! Patrice played beautifully. Her rhythmic ideas, technical prowess and soulfulness kept me and my fellow pianists (the raucous Rushen cheering section) on the edge of our seats! The music was purely organic in its ebb and flow, wandering from church romp to hip hop groove to esoteric jazz with sprinkles of electronica. I, for one, had a hard time keeping still in my seat.

Once again, I'm truly inspired, and despite my exhaustion am about to put in some more practice time tonight before passing out.

15 hours of practice this week!!! Yippeee!!!!

I did it!!!! 15 hours of practice this week! Phew! It was tough, given the hectic nature of the week, but I set my intention to not miss another opportunity to meet an important goal, and I succeeded! I always notice IMMEDIATELY how much stronger my playing is when I practice consistently. I'm going for it again this week!

I am still relearning the Rachmaninoff Etude in Eb minor, and it felt GREAT tonight! It's amazing how much freedom is gained when the notes are in hand thanks to repetition.

I've been trying to figure out why I've had such a hard time implementing a serious practice regiment. I practiced 6-8 hours per day in college, but have had the hardest time practicing even 1-2 hours in a week as a professional (embarrassing, but true. I play all the time, but practice is an entirely different matter). In any case, I did it this week! : > Next on my goal list is to get back to writing. Would be nice to get over that hindrance as well!

I'm exhausted...lol

Broadway Revue

Tonight I performed in a Broadway Revue, which served as the entertainment for a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity. The night was filled with musical theater favorites of the very talented and dedicated Romar DeClaro. There was a quartet of great singers (Romar, CJ Blankenship, Lorraine De Arco and Julianne Thompson) and a small band (Me, Tommie Bradford - drums, Jonathan Bretan - bass) supporting everyone. We had some sound and lighting challenges, but overall the evening went very well.

The evening started with a short video of a family who'd recently been given the opportunity to own a home as a direct result of the good work of Habitat for Humanity. After the video, the mayor of Pleasanton, Jennifer Hosterman, made a brief statement encouraging those in the audience to donate more to the worthy cause being celebrated.

I opened the musical portion of the show with an overture that I created from the main themes of several of the more popular songs to be sung. Romar served as the musical host and entertained the crowd with his hilarious wit, immense charm and beautiful voice. Each of the singers brought down the house in turn: CJ with "Impossible Dream", Lorraine with "Don Juan", Julianne with "I Could Have Danced All Night" and Romar with "Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)" from Jesus Christ Superstar.

All in all it was a wonderful evening.

Romar was hoping to raise at least $10,000. You can also contribute directly at Habitat for Humanity.

MUSIC IN AUSTRIA TOUR 2007 - Part I

Wow!  I had a great time touring in Austria and Switzerland!  I’m a staff pianist at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church and was asked to join the church’s Chancel Choir on the farewell tour with long time music director, Doug Lawrence.  I was utterly thrilled at the opportunity that I’d have to play and sing in some historic and beautiful sacred spaces.

I arrived at the SF International Airport Monday morning, June 18, at 11am.  Several choir members were already there, including my assigned roommate, Brenda, and her aunt and uncle.  They were what we referred to as “choir groupies”, people who don’t sing with the choir but provide the BEST enthusiasm and applause during the concerts!  The tour directors could not have chosen a better roommate for me!  Brenda is energetic, adorable, friendly, spunky, brilliant, beautiful and fun!  Furthermore, she’s an experienced traveler and sleeps quietly!  All good! lol  The choir members and choir groupies, 82 people in total, were divided into two groups: Blue and Red.  I was assigned to the Blue group, which included our fearless leader, Doug and his family.

We all boarded the Lufthansa airplane and took off for Frankfurt.  During the flight, I intermittently watched and slept through 3 movies: Catch and Release, Freedom Writers (my kind of movie; I love that inspirational, real life, positive kind of movie) and Music and Lyrics.  As usual, I chose the vegan meals in-flight.  I have found that the vegan meal is generally more tasty and edible than the standard fare.

On Tuesday, 6/19/07, we arrived at the Frankfurt airport.  It’s not exactly aesthetically pleasing.  It was ugly and smelled bad.  But we weren’t there long.  We boarded a pretty new plane (yes, that’s my description; don’t ask me what type of plane it was), which I didn’t appreciate for long because I passed out again.  I, thankfully, have no trouble at all sleeping on airplanes. 

After a couple of hours, we landed in Munich (a very nice, clean airport).  We boarded a tour bus and drove from the Munich Airport to Castle Neuschwanstein in Bayern.  I have never in my life suffered as much from intense heat as I did during that drive.  It was a hot, sunny day and the bus that the Blue group was assigned had no air conditioning AND the windows barely opened.  We were nearly suffocating on that bus.  We couldn’t get to the castle soon enough. 

The castle was built for King Ludwig II (also know as Mad King Ludwig), and is incredibly beautiful.  In fact, it’s the inspiration for the Cinderella’s Castle at Disneyland.  As we toured the castle, Doug decided to have the choir sing in the Throne Room.  I gave the pitch on the pitch pipe and we began to sing one of the pieces of our repertoire (“Sing and Rejoice” I believe).  The acoustics in the room were stunning!  We sounded so good that we all broke into smiles immediately!  After leaving the castle, it was back onto the HOT bus for the ride to our hotel in Salzburg.  Upon arriving at the hotel, I had dinner and quickly passed out!

On Wednesday, 6/20/07, I woke up, practiced yoga in the hotel gym, ate breakfast, dressed and headed with the group to downtown Salzburg.  We met our very knowledgeable and friendly tour guide, Inga, and toured several notable locations: Mirabelle Gardens (simply beautiful), the old town, St. Peter’s Cloisters, Salzburg Dom and courtyard, and Mozart’s birth home, to name a few.  It was quite sobering to walk on cobblestones in the old town and realize that people had traversed those actual stones for hundreds of years; perhaps even Mozart himself!  The city of Salzburg is beautiful, very clean and full of botanical sights. 

Once our tour guide finished the city tour, we were free to explore the city on our own for a couple of hours before heading back to the hotel to dress for the night’s event: dinner and a concert at the St. Peterskeller, one of the oldest restaurants in Europe (serving since circa 800 AD)!  The food was decent, but the concert was lots of fun.  A few students from the local conservatory performed scenes from a couple of Mozart operas.  I was even serenaded by Don Giovanni, who bent before me on one knee as I blushed!

Accompanying Sopranos

This past weekend, The National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM) held it's regional conference in Oakland, CA, and asked me to perform and accompany on two occasions.

On Friday night, April 27, 2007, I performed with the wonderful Jeannine Anderson. She chose 2 pieces, Senza mamma from Puccini's Suor Angelica and an arrangement of the spiritual "Witness" arranged by Hale Smith, in that order. Both were riveting performances. Jeannine explained the scene from Suor Angelica, the torment of the lead character, who had been living in a cloistered convent (punishment for having had a child out of wedlock) upon learning of the death of her child six months after the fact. It is a very difficult and moving role to perform.

Hale Smith's arrangement of "Witness" is wonderful; full of angular rhythms and lush, jazz influenced chords. I had so much fun accompanying Jeannine for both pieces!

On Sunday afternoon, April 29, 2007, NANM held their annual spirituals concert. Normally, the concert is packed with numerous attendees, including fans, patrons, other musicians, etc. However, this year the audience was relatively small, though enthusiastic, thanks to the disastrous tanker accident that destroyed part of a major freeway system in the Bay Area that same morning. Nonetheless, we performers gave our all!

I performed my own arrangements of a pair of spirituals: "Heav'n, Heav'n" and "Ain't Gon' Study War No Mo'", which were both very well received. Despite my exhaustion at having played for 3 church services that morning, and having rehearsed before the concert with the sopranos I was to accompany (oh, and did I mention teaching on Saturday 9-2 and then playing another church service that afternoon, and then practicing until midnight!?!), I played with joy and energy. It was easy to use the knowledge of the origin of the spirituals to motivate me to bring my best to the music.

I accompanied Yolanda Harden on improvised arrangements of "Were You There" and "Hold On". Yolanda did a great job, and audience loved both pieces! Finally, I accompanied Hope Briggs on Roland Carter's arrangement of "Is There Anybody Here" and Margaret Bonds' "He's Got The Whole World In His Hand". Hope was wonderful and will be featured this summer in the San Francisco Opera's production of Don Giovanni, singing the role of Donna Anna.

I love accompanying great artists! I'm so grateful for the opportunity and look forward to doing more!

Kurt Elling at Yoshi's in Oakland

Tonight I saw Kurt Elling perform for the first time. He appeared at Yoshi's with his usual collaborator, Laurence Hobgood, on piano, Rob Amster on bass and Willie Jones on drums. Kurt is a GREAT showman, engaging, witty, funny, and extremely talented. Laurence demonstrated his classical training in his solos, which were in turn soulful, swinging and virtuosic. I heard intimations of Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Ravel and even Bach in some places. Rob played with immense sensitivity and Willie played with such energy and had such great timing it was near impossible to sit still while listening (well, completely impossible in my case!). Here I am with Kurt and Laurence, unfortunately captured with my eyes closed on my less than great camera phone!