Yes, still here.

It's funny, but in retrospect, I would have thought lockdown would have been the perfect time for me to write endless blog posts about music, literature, food and, you know... life.

 But actually, lockdown proved to be a period of hard work and less free time than in the old normal days.

I've been glad to be busy and counting my blessings, but there have been some gaping holes in my life. Primarily, playing music with my friends. Or playing music with anyone for that matter.

I did get a gig as restrictions started to ease off. It was a glorious night where I got to play my six string bass and the oud, along with my pal Russ on acoustic guitar. We played through a wide repetoire of songs and had a lovely, appreciative audience.

I have been playing a lot though. But sadly, only on my own. One thing I do to keep my chops up, is to pick a random jazz standard, either from the Real Book or from an app called iReal Pro (which provides backing) and then try and play it without preparation. I make quite a few mistakes, but over time I have learnt how to use these mistakes and incorporate them into the music. I'm also working at not making so many in the first place.

For nights like this I often play on my Fender Precision, strung with flatwound strings, as it works very well as a surrogate double bass.

 

Maybe when this is over, if it ever is, I might try and get some gigs playing these amazing songs.