looking back at 2023

 Hello again, and happy holidays!!

I haven't written in such a long while and felt like taking a look at some of the highlights of my past year to share with you.

In some ways 2023 felt like it flew by, but at the same time upon reflection, some things seemed like they happened ages ago!  

It has been a joy having Paul Ostermayer relocate to the area living only 20 minutes away.  George, Paul and I routinely play through material together.

George has been working a lot in his home studio when he's not in Boston teaching at Berklee. We love Boston and we get to experience a nice balance of city VS small town Lenox each week.

In March we had some snow!

And then we had some more snow...

In April I flew to Austin to be inducted into the Austin Texas Jazz Hall Of Fame.  It was a distinct and sweet honor and a fun gig!

We had a great band playing for the event: Mitch Watkins guitar,  John Fremgen bass, Steve Summer drums, Peggy Stern piano, Su Terry, John Mills and Alex Coke woodwinds...all dear old friends.

My amazing kids surprised me and came to the ceremony!

In April there was also LuluFest ATX!  Peggy brought the amazing saxophonist Su Terry into Austin from Ecuador for our festival. She knocked my socks off!  Do people still say "knocked my socks off"?  As I wrote that I thought it weird and old and odd....but she did blow me away!

Here I am with my dear friend and bass player for many years Paul Unger. 

He came down from Fort Worth for the festival.

And another very dear friend the amazing guitarist Margaret Slovak played a set.

  

I paused while in Austin last spring to meet the newest addition to our clan!  My grand niece!  She is perfectly adorable!

And...Passover and Easter celebrated with friends and family before heading back on the road.

We are making the most of living in our 140 year old Victorian house in Lenox, with salon concerts in the parlor for the community and a sound proof recording set up in our attic. 

When I'm not making music in Western Massachusetts I'm making bowls out of paper, gold leaf, paste and lacquer.  I'm obsessed!  Music is a theme that runs through most of the vessels.

And then more travels...from San Francisco, to Seattle, to Portland  and....

Again from Boston....

back to Austin.....

Celebrating her 34th...

My daughter Ariana's BD and a night at Antone's...

Tex Mex and Troy!  Austin food is the best!!

Lunch with two renowned Austin talents: Brilliant photographer Brenda Ladd on the left and Texas music legend Marcia Ball on my right. 

Even though Austin has changed profoundly, it still has a truly remarkable, supportive, amazing arts community. 

And back in Massachusetts :

In May I produced LuluFest Lenox...the sister festival of LLF ATX...women led bands music festival.

Here I am with Mary Ann Mc Sweeney on my LLF set...My band was George Oldziey piano, Paul Ostermayer sax and flute, Conor Meehan Drums, and Mary Ann.

On a break with my buddy Nina...

MaryAnn played the following night fronting her own sensational Fado influenced jazz ensemble.

Here are some shots from the Bernstein Theatre sound check.

Mary Ann Mc Sweeney's Fado band, Peggy Stern's Quartet and The Sara Caswell Quartet played that evening.

I am so thrilled to report the evenings performances were old out!

Sara Caswell violin, Mary Ann Mc Sweeney leader and on bass, Todd Isler setting up his drums and Jason Ennis guitar

ke Sturm bass...on Sara Caswell's set.

Jesse Lewis Guitar, Ike Sturm bass, Sara Caswell and Jared Schonig drums

Jared, Ike and Jesse

Todd Isler...

The sold out theater and magical music...a view from the wings:

We are enjoying all of the music and art in this area when we're here. 

In our own home we had the brilliant John Stowell perform in our parlor for a captivated audience in September, and last week we hosted a wonderful holiday / jazz quintet salon performance here.  George played piano, I sang and we had Paul Ostermayer on flute and sax, Jon Sutters on bass and Conor Meehan on drums. We had the warmest most engaged lovely audience.  I believe house concerts may be the best way to experience live music these days!  We loved it.

So onward!!  Here's to making more music and art in 2024.

And a prayer for peace, clarity, understanding and more love pouring into this chaotic world of ours. The world...the planet, needs that!

I am forever the optimist.

Happy New Year Everyone.

Musically and lovingly Yours,

Suzi

Casa Taconic Salon Series Begins

 

Mark your calendars for an intimate afternoon concert in our home here in Lenox MA

Casa Taconic in the Berkshires

Sunday September 24th 

3:00 P.M.

We are thrilled to be hosting my dear friend,

The brilliant renowned guitarist 

John Stowell

John is headed this way on tour from the west coast

Space is limited so call to reserve a seat (512) 924-5821

Suggested donation $25

snacks provided 

CD’s for sale

John is a truly unique and creative jazz guitarist influenced as much by pianists and horn players as he is by guitarists. 

His original take on harmony, chords and improvisation sets him apart.

This is a rare opportunity to catch this remarkable artist in such an intimate setting.

"In the age of mediocrity and clones, John Stowell's uniqueness and originality are a breath of fresh air."

I love playing with him.

Paul Horn

“Guitarist John Stowell’s style with standards is a delightful departure from the road well traveled. He transcends the label of jazz guitarist.”
Los Angeles Times

"He plays his amplified guitar as if he were surrounded by fine crystal... the type of slow burning, sustained energy that you hear in players that practice all the time."

Downbeat

"John Stowell plays jazz, but he doesn't use any of the cliches; he has an incredible originality."

John is a master creator.

Larry Coryel

Find out more about John here: www.johnstowell.com

Hear John on You Tube here: 

https://www.google.com/search?q=John+Stowell+you+tube&oq=John+Stowell+you+tube&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIICAEQABgNGB4yBggCEEUYPDIGCAMQRRg80gEINzI1MGowajSoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:83c6bc89,vid:FwJQ2pOMQ4s

Hope to see you on the 24th!

Musically Yours,

Suzi & George

LLF Lenox was a huge Success!

 Hello Dear Friends of Jazz,

Last month was the wonderful musical culmination of many months of planning, connecting, rehearsing and more planning, with the incredibly successful result...LuluFest Lenox, the sister fest from LLF Austin...our "women led bands jazz festival" which happily....thrillingly came to a beautiful conclusion on July 15th.

Both nights were sold out with fantastic audiences and the music I have to say was spectacular...really beautiful all around. Brilliant playing and stunning compositions and arrangements. We all had an amazing time and I was so thrilled that the entire weekend turned out so beautifully...it makes me say "maybe I'll do this again next year!!!"

Here are some images from the weekend, and for those of you who were able to be there, thank you so much for the support and for your energy out there in the audience! 

Onward towards the next LLF Lenox!

Musically Yours,

Suzi

The weekend at a glance:

The Suzi Stern Quintet : Vocalist and composer Suzi Stern with George Oldziey piano / Mary Ann Mc Sweeney bass / Paul Ostermayer on flute and sax /  Conor Meehan drums 

Mary Ann McSweeney Urban Fado Project: with bassist and leader Mary Ann McSweeney / Jason Ennis  guitar / Todd Isler  drums / and Sara Caswell violin 

The Peggy Stern Quartet: Peggy Stern piano / Lew Scott bass / Ron Horton trumpet / Peter O'Brien drums

The Sara Caswell Quartet:  Sara Caswell violin / Jesse Lewis guitar / Ike Sturm bass and Jared Schonig drums

Texas Tour

 It has been a wonderful few weeks of music and time spent with my daughter and dear friends in Austin Texas.

LuluFest ATX was sold out and we all had a blast making music.  Guitarist Margaret Slovak's trio opened the festival with Paul Unger on bass, and Mike Gordon on Drums.  It was a beautiful set of textural dreamy music all composed by Margaret contrasted nicely to Emily Gimble Texas Swing sound in the second set.  Emily's voice and piano chops are unparalleled. She had people up out of their seats.  

The last set was Peggy Stern's band "Estrella Salsa" featuring the incredible Su Terry on soprano sax. Also in the band was Alex Coke on tenor, Suzi (me) vocals, Ryan Hagler bass and Mike Gordon drums. 

A high point for me was getting to sing one of my original compositions with long time friend and collaborator Paul Unger on bass along with Mike Gordon on drums and Peggy Stern on piano. Making music with Paul again was incredibly special as we hadn't seen each other since pre-covid!

On the following Sunday I had the great honor of being inducted into the Austin Jazz Hall Of Fame.  The honor was so heartwarming and to top it off my son and daughter were both there, René having flown in from Portland Oregon to surprise me at the concert! 

Playing with my old friends and band mates again was an absolute joy. 

        Mitch Watkins guitar, Peggy Stern piano, John Fremgen bass, Steve Summers drums

               Here I am looking appreciative as I receive my award with Ariana and René looking on.

                                                  Here with John Mills and Alex Coke

                                                               The event was sold out!

Thank you Austin Texas!!!

I am back up in the north east once again.

Enjoying the cool temps and watching my tulip bulbs come up after a long cold winter. We have a mama finch sitting on her nest that was built in the eaves of our front porch and everything smells like spring here. 

Last night we played a smoking' set at Gateways with an incredible audience, so between the pines, the blood red tulips, the gold finch and cardinals singing for joy and a great venue to play our music it feels good to be back.

Now I am busy preparing for LLF Lenox coming up on July 14th and 15th in western Massachusetts. The line up is fantastic so keep your eye on my page for this upcoming July Festival in Lenox that I'm producing with my friend and fest founder Peggy Stern. More details can be found here: Lulu-fest.com  

Hall Of Fame

 It has been too long since I've written to you all. I keep getting emails from out of town friends and fans wondering what's going on in our new lives here in Western Massachusetts.

A quick run down: We've been commuting to Berklee School of Music in Boston every week for 2 days, then returning to our magical little abode in Lenox. We're enjoying watching the snow fall...even enjoying shoveling the white stuff!  It's good exercise and when you're finished there is a nice sense of accomplishment staring you in the face being able to see the walkway again which safely welcomes visitors to your front door.

I've been getting things in order here in Lenox to produce a sister festival of the Lulufest we started in Austin Texas.  I'm learning to write grants...learning to be brave about asking foundations and private donors for assistance to get Lulufest Lenox off the ground.  It's been a learning curve and I'm loving it.

It is all coming together nicely so that on July 14th and 15th I will proudly present The First Annual Lulufest Lenox!

We will be kicking off the festival with my Quintet on the 14th of July at Gateways Inn on Walker Street in Lenox.  My dear life long friend and a new transplant to the Berkshires...Paul Ostermayer (of Leonard Cohen fame) will joining us.

Then on July 15th at The Bernstein Theatre in Lenox I have a beautiful line up of women led bands:

Mary Ann McSweeny's Urban Fado Band,  The Peggy Stern Quartet

and grammy nominated jazz violinist Sara Caswell and her band.

Sara just released a long awaited C.D. and we get to hear it all live!  Cannot wait!

But before all of that happens I'm traveling back to Austin Texas to perform and assist with production of Lulufest ATX on April 1st.    Here are more details: https://lulu-fest.com/

And on Sunday April 2nd I am being inducted into The Music Hall Of Fame in Austin Texas.  I was so surprised, flattered, moved and deeply honored when I received the call from the Austin Jazz Society about being inducted. I'm truly thrilled.

Here are more details: 

https://www.austinjazzsociety.org/content.aspx?page_id=4002&club_id=215484&item_id=1934543

Well this was just a quick catch up and if you've made it this far reading my post I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart! 

Stay warm!  Spring is just around the corner!!

Musically Yours,

Suzi

Back to the future!

It has been an incredibly long time since I last wrote and much has happened since last November! 

I have returned to my original north eastern home turf in a way. Having been raised in Buffalo N.Y. I'm back to where it all started...feeling familiar but new. 

Our move from L.A. to the Berkshires was a leap of faith and it seems that we made a good call.

We purchased a 125 year old Victorian house that has tons of character and great vibes...and it's a good thing we love her as much as we do because she needs a ton of work!  We are slowly chipping away at what needs to be taken care of with a dream of intimate house concerts at the center of our visualizations.

The Berkshires hosts a lot more jazz than we realized.  The summers open up here and become an active bustling hub for the performing and visual arts.  We chose this area because of that fact but we didn't realize to what extent the arts come alive here once the snow goes away!

Not only do we have John Williams, James Taylor, Yo-Yo Ma, The BSO at Tanglewood (which is just a walk away from our house), but there's Jacobs Pillow Dance,  Shakespeare and Co., Berkshire Film Fest.,  MOCA and the Clark Art Museums, music at The Mount, Music Mountain Summer Festival with artists like Helen Sung and Sara Caswell;  But the great news for two jazz musicians moving to the mountains is that there are a plethora of venues in Lenox and surrounding towns that have top notch weekly jazz ensembles featured and many outdoor summer jazz festivals supported by The Berkshire Jazz society who have graciously invited me to perform.  

So one of my L.A. buddies asked me last night on a zoom call...

 "On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being moving east was a bad idea and 10 being the best idea greatest move ever...how would you rate your move?"

I think I'd give this move a solid 81/2 and that's only because my children live on different coasts so I miss them terribly and the winters are seriously cold and a bit too long....but no place on earth is perfect right? 

Life has a nice balance here and we're finding a new rhythm.  George loves being professor Oldziey at Berklee driving into Boston two days a week, I love performing with a band again...Covid and a two year shutdown had me forgetting that this is what I love doing with every fiber of my being. We love taking the train to NYC now and then and we adore having people come visit from all reaches of the world...making music with us, eating good food, drinking wine and chillin' on the front porch. 

So on that note, please come share some music with us! Come chill on the front porch!

We will be hosting our first house concert in our old Victorian on Thursday August 25th and if you're in the area or know someone who is, circle the date!  

We will be featuring...

Jazz pianist  Peggy Stern (all the way from Austin) 

and

Bassist  MaryAnn McSweeney (from N.Y.C. and the Berkshires)

Thursday August 25th

7:00 P.M.

Seating is limited

Call for details: reservations, address and parking info. (512) 924-5821

$25 suggested donation

B.Y.O.B  we will provide some snacks!

AND...

 

 

some more Jazz in the Berkshires

The Suzi Stern Group 

at 

Gateways on August 18th 

with

George Oldziey   piano

&

MaryAnn McSweeney   Bass

6:00 to 9:00

51 Walker Street , Lenox MA for reservations and more info:  (413) 637-2532

AND...

Friday, August 19th 

The Suzi Stern Quartet

with 

Paul Ostermayer   sax

Will Carroll   drums

George Oldziey   piano

MaryAnn McSweeney   bass

AT

The Red Lion

Stockbridge MA

30 Main Street

(413) 298-5545  for more info.

 

Stay healthy, happy and thank you for keeping music in your lives!