A Jazzy Night

A Jazzy Night

As much as I hate going out in the winter, I'm not about to put my life on hold until spring. Last night, I ventured out -- all the way to Atlantic City -- to a performance by Chris Botti (the YouTube clip above is of the song "Venice"). One of my nurses and I enjoy his music on the radio and when we heard he was going to be in the area, we decided to go check it out in person.

I didn't purchase tickets too far in advance because you just never know about the weather in the winter. When I called Ticketmaster for accessible seating, I got a very friendly -- but totally useless -- woman who couldn't find any tickets for me. So I decided to call the facility directly. A woman at the box office told me if I arrived three hours prior to the show, they'd sell me a ticket if any were left.

"Yeah, but I'm coming from a great distance. I'm in a wheelchair and on a ventilator and it's not that easy for me to just show up," I explained.

After being transferred to someone else, I learned I could purchase regular tickets and they would find me appropriate seating when I arrived.

That's just what I did, and I'm glad I was persistent because it was a great show. Botti himself is, of course, very talented with the trumpet. I couldn't imagine being able to hold my breath that long. Of course, I do have a trach and ventilator so I guess I wouldn't need to come up for air if I played a musical instrument!

Seriously, though, I was particularly impressed by guitarist Mark Whitfield and drummer Billy Kilson. I enjoyed nearly all of the music but especially their rendition of Miles Davis' Flamenco Sketches (the link is to the original version). It was as if the instruments were engaged in a conversation, each one responding in its own unique voice.

After a great night like that, I'm starting to think about venturing out a bit more this winter. Stayed tuned...