Dateline: Washington

Ha...just wanted to sound very important - this is not a breaking political news blog...however, it is an excuse to look at the beautiful cherry blossoms happening in the U.S. capital...

Got an email from Derek Gray this morning - Derek is a Humber student and talented drummer who is one of the privileged or should I say chosen few (21 in all from all directions of the compass)  to attend the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Residency to hone their craft. He writes that he has learned a lot and is inspired - particularly with the likes of instructors like the great Curtis Fuller, trombonist extraordinaire...

Now comes the very sweet part - if you happen to be in the D.C. area there will be 3 FREE, yes FREE concerts at the Kennedy Centre starting at 6 p.m. on April 13th, 14th and 15th at the Milllenium stage. Derek's group is opens the show on Wednesday the 13th - it will feature compositions written by the students. They are on of course the other two nights and close the series on the 15th with one of Derek's works - "Big Mac".

If you are not there - you can be VIRTUALLY - here is the link:

 http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/millennium/schedule.html

And for more info about the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead residency:

http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/jazz/jazzahead/

As well as being an incredible vocalist and businesswoman - Betty has an amazing legacy of mentoring promising young musicians - it's wonderful that she lives on through this program.