We had a lot of entertainment around our little city this past weekend.
There was the Richmond Jazz Festival at Maymont Park where you would have found me on Saturday listening to Maestro J, Kim Waters and Keiko Matsui. Kim Waters was a lot of fun with his verbal commentary along with some amazing saxophone riffs punctuated with awesome high notes that probably had birds flying for miles in the woods.
At one point he introduced his daughter (whose name I do not remember) who just graduated from Howard University and sat in on the keyboards. She did a great job and I could see Dad standing in the background with a proud smile on his face. He had audience members walking up to the stage and giving him drinks before the set was finished. It was all very cozy with some very cool music and the sun came out too!
Earlier it was raining quite a bit but no matter because Keiko Matsui was in the house and I made my way up to the stage to sit near her and feel the amazing vibe her music brings to the world. So very beautiful. Afterwards I went to the Meet and Greet (which I never have felt impelled to do) to talk to her and touch her hand. What a delicate, powerful, spiritual force she is!
On Sunday Betsy and I went downtown to see Cirque du Soleil Dralion and experienced the wondrous combination of color, dance, music and athletic accomplishment that is their trademark.
Our little city did itself proud and once again I was appreciative of it as a place to live without big city problems but still able to attract world class entertainment. We have the mountains (where I will be going soon) and the ocean (also on the list), DC is a couple of hours up the road and there is so much American history all around us.
I didn’t get any photos either day because both places said not to bring DSLR cameras. Maymont said not to bring umbrellas either but when it started to rain hundreds of umbrellas sprouted in the air. I, of course, sat there is the rain but was wearing some nylon hiking and running gear that dried quickly. It was so warm out it really was nice in the rain! And there were lots of folks there with pro cameras there also! Maymont did not impress in this regard. Also, they encouraged the patrons to walk through the lovely park and see the exhibits while we were there. But then they locked the bathrooms! If you were somewhere outside the festival area and needed to go you were out of luck! Check with the bears ( I guess) if you had a problem. They know what to do in the woods.
So now I have loaded some Keiko Matsui music in the smartphone and will take her on walks for the rest of my life. Because she is a dream and we need those as we go down the path. Next year, if she returns, I will be there (with a camera!) and get a photo of the amazing artist and the blogger (in a blissful trance). Please return Keiko! Here she is playing the music that brought the inner sun out in the middle of a rain shower. Truly, the heavens opened up on this day.
The post Keiko Matsui At The Richmond Jazz Festival / Maymont Tries / Kim Waters / Cirque Du Soleil Dralion appeared first on Virginia Photos.
Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keiko_Matsui
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