We began our tour by flying into Geneva and taking a short bus ride to Montreux, Switzerland. The Montreux Jazz Festival headquarters itself on the beautiful waterfront of Lake Geneva. Over the next three days we performed twice, at two of the four outdoor stages located along the waterfront. Enthusiastic audiences of hundreds of people met both of our performances at the festival. Each of the outdoor stages present performances from the early afternoon until 10 pm. All day and evening, the entire waterfront is buzzing with a European street market selling crafts and offering multiple international food options. Additionally, in the evening, there are three indoor venues that present headliner concerts of professional American and European artists.

Our tour continued with travel to Vienne, France where we performed at the Jazz À Vienne Festival. Vienne is an ancient Roman city located in the Rhone Valley region. It was a spectacular performance in an absolutely wonderful venue laid out in the center of the city. We had six to seven hundred people in attendance and played through three encores. Europeans do a fantastic job at presenting music performances. The sound and stage crew along with the backline equipment we had at our disposal was first rate. I remember trying to explain to our piano player what he could do with the three extra black keys on the nine-foot Bosendorf piano he had to perform with. Later that evening, we all listened to a magical performance by Pat Methany and the National Jazz Orchestra of France in the largest Roman amphitheatre in Europe. In contrast to nightly performances in this incredible outdoor amphitheatre, the festival also houses performances in a much more intimate setting at the Midnight Club and continuous street performances throughout the ancient city.

After two days in Paris and a performance in the Luxembourg Gardens, we traveled to Amsterdam for our final concert at the North Sea Jazz Festival. Located in Den Hague near Amsterdam, the North Sea Jazz Festival is the most electric and exciting jazz festival in the world. For three days, eight hours per day, and with artists rotating hourly on fifteen stages, the North Sea Jazz Festival is a who's who of American and European jazz artists. This year, there were more that 190 groups performing at the three-day festival. In addition to many cutting edge European jazz artists, American performers included: Michael Brecker, Phil Woods, Bud Shank Quartet, Bill Mays Trio, Dave Brubeck Quartet, Joe Lovano Quartet, Lee Konitz Nonet, McCoy Tyner Trio, Clayton Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Santana, Pat Martino Quartet, Terrance Blanchard, Fred Hersch Trio, Jackie McLean Quartet, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Dee Dee Bridgewater, David Sanchez, Randy Brecker & Bill Evans Soulbop Band, Buena Vista Social Club, Pat Methany Trio, Michel Camilo Trio, Branford Marsalis Quartet, Al Jarreau, Kenny Barron Quintet, Danilo Perez Trio, New Orleans All Star Brass Band, and Kenny Wheeler.

Festival programs are announced in the spring each year. Further information on these festivals is available on their websites: www.montreuxjazz.com; www.jazzavienne.com; www.northseajazz.com. If you would like to contact me, you can reach me at: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .