Day 18: Queen Esther & The Hot Five at the Kennedy Center!

On Saturday June 18th, the quintet and I performed a set of 1920s vaudeville blues on Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage, then returned later that night to play 1930s swing music for Jason and Alicia Hall Moran's Forever Gershwin after party.

Our little road trip turned out to be a pretty fun adventure.  We got to see Forever Gershwin, which included selections from Porgy and Bess, and later we noshed on sushi with that indefatigable showstopper Norm Lewis as well as the conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra, whose enthusiasm while gliding the orchestra and the 168 person chorale through It Ain't Necessarily So was nothing short of contagious.  I must say, it took the top of my head clean off to hear that many people scatting simultaneously.  Thrilling, inspiring gut-wrenchingly brilliant stuff. I get goosebumps just thinking about it.

I miss singing in a chorale.  More on that some other time.



I had to post this video to give you an idea of what I saw and heard. So lush! I don't know if I could ever get sick of this song...! 

The latest #1930s #frock. #queenesther #vintage #glamour #vintagedress #doramarra #vintagestyle #vintagefashion #vintagegown #webstalike #webstagram #instalike #beautiful #DC #kennedycenter #millenniumstage #performance #webstagood #webstapic #doramarra

A photo posted by Queen Esther (@thisisqueenesther) on Jun 22, 2016 at 7:50am PDT

I'd say this newest addition worked out just fine, wouldn't you?  I'm just relieved that it fits. There's nothing quite like buying something you can't try on before that point of purchase.

A view from the wings of the #millenniumstage at @KennedyCenter for the #ForeverGershwin #afterparty. #music #jazz #DC #hotjazz #vintage  #queenesther #queenestherandthehotfive #vintagedress #doramarra #webstalike #webstagram #instalike #beautiful #instagood #webstapic #webstapick #webstagram

A photo posted by Queen Esther (@thisisqueenesther) on Jun 22, 2016 at 3:48pm PDT

To see our entire set of vaudeville blues, click here.

End of the Year Blowout!

I'm going to do NaBloPoMo because I need to get unstuck with my writing. Whatever prompts me into these spontaneous fits with these little scribbly moments will give me the impetus I need to dig in with everything else.

Someone on Fitbit's blog threw down a gauntlet and challenged everyone to walk/run 600,000 steps by December 31st. They made that challenge three weeks ago but of course I didn't see it until last night. At this juncture, that would mean I'd have to run something like ten miles a day. Right away, I figured why not. If I aim for ten, I'll probably do five, which is what I'm supposed to have under my belt every day, anyhow.  So I'll be getting unstuck physically, too.

The real reason I'm jumping on the fitness fast track is because I'm singing at The Kennedy Center's Millenium Stage next month with my jazz collective The Hot Five.  When they told me that they're doing a simulcast that will be archived -- well, that just about cut it.  I'll be hornswaggled if I won't look amazing on camera for posterity.  A snapshot on an off day is one thing. Forever and ever for the whole world to see is something else.

The quintet and I will be at The Player's Club for New Year's Eve Eve and I return with a duo for New Year's Eve, so there's that.  What's really driving things forward at the moment is the timeline I sketched out with my director Talvin Wilks for The Billie Holiday Project, the musical I'm developing.  We had a meeting last week that truly lit a proverbial bonfire under my butt. 

I'm starting every day this month with a drop off to Bottomless Closet or the Salvation Army for that handy dandy tax write off, and I'm decluttering absolutely everything.  Stuff is getting thrown out, shredded, donated or sold, in short order. By New Year's Eve, everything must be in order -- cleaned, scrubbed, scoured and organized -- because as the saying goes, how you end the year is how you'll live out the next one.

Onward and upward, kids.