Stages Abroad!
This past summer (July 2018), I was given the incredible opportunity of traveling to and performing in the Czech Republic with internationally-known pianist and mentor, Skip Wilkins. This experience came with many 'firsts' as I had never been to Europe and thus, had never performed on the international stage before. Over the course of 8 short days, I headlined at the Hello Jazz Weekend festival, performed in a Brewery dating back to the 16th century, and sung in a jazz club in Prague! I enjoyed meeting many wonderful musicians and countless other kind and welcoming people during my time abroad.
The first performance took place in a gorgeous winery in Uherské Hradiště on July 18th. The line-up for the night was Skip Wilkins on piano, Vítězslav Začal on bass, Pavel Začal on drums, and Marek Kotača on saxophone. In between sets, I enjoyed meeting various people and hearing why they loved their particular town and region. Towards the end of the evening, one man gave me a yellow rose, saying that my voice was exactly the gift he needed after his long week. This made my night, and I was sure to take a picture of that rose in my hotel the next morning. The following evening, July 19th, we performed in the town square of Kyjov. This event was also hosted in conjunction with a winery, but its atmosphere was a bit more casual due to its outdoor venue. Before the gig began, the festival director gave me a local newspaper -- my first printed international press! This was definitely a fun memento to keep... Later, I found a similar press article online. You can read a segment of its translation below.
Photo Caption:
"Mladá a talentovaná Amber Anne Emersonse se poprvé představí v Evropě!"
"The young and talented Amber Anne Emerson will be introduced for the first time in Europe."
Specific mention in article:
"Mladá a talentovaná Amber Anne Emersonse se poprvé představí nejen českému, ale i evropskému publiku. Zbytek Skipova bandu budou tvořit čeští a slovenští hudebníci,"
"The young and talented Amber Anne Emerson will be introduced for the first time, not only to Czech audiences, but also to European audiences generally. The rest of Skip's group will be Czech and Slovak musicians."
For the encore piece that evening, I sang "Over the Rainbow." I absolutely loved how the audience simply sat back and soaked in this ballad with me. It wasn't too slow for their tastes... They were right with me the entire time.
The first Main Stage concert for Hello Jazz Weekend was the following night, July 20th. We traveled back to Uherské Hradiště, arriving at another beautiful venue. The stage was located in an outside courtyard. The four surrounding building walls were decorative and colored bright white and sunny yellow! For this performance, Skip and I collaborated with Tomas Baros on bass and Tomas Hobzek on drums. It was a true treat playing with the band! There were also three other groups that performed on the Main Stage that evening. Each had its own unique repertoire and trademark style.
On July 21st, we arrived back in Kyjov for the second Main Stage concert. It was yet another fun and unique performance--this one in part due to some threatening weather. During the intro to and chorus of "How Little We Know" (a Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer tune), the sky began to darken and the wind picked up, roughly blowing trees about. The song's lyrics read,
"Love is as changeable as the weather and after all, how little we know. Who knows why an April breeze never remains? Why stars in the trees hide their face when it rains?"
These words paired with the evening's weather added an extra, haunting layer to the song for me that had never been there before. This gig also stood out because it was chock-full of kids! If you know me personally, you know that I love hanging out with kids whether I'm babysitting, spending time with my niece and nephews, or performing at various birthday parties. So when quite a few of the kids decided to come and sit right up by the stage (and even dance during a few of the songs), performing only became that much sweeter!
After our final performance at the Hello Jazz Weekend festival, Skip and I traveled to a small village called Lomnice for a duo performance. The venue was a beautiful home Brewery dating back to the 16th century. We were hosted by a wonderful family -- good friends of Skip. Before the performance, we had lunch with the family and were given a personal village tour. Lomnice was the closest thing to fairyland I've ever visited. Everything from the ancient castle just up the hill to the flower pots adorning quiet cobblestone streets to the red roofs and green-hilled horizon just outside my window...Lomnice was the definition of whimsical... as melodramatic as that may sound over a blog post. But it wasn't just the place--it was the people, too! The hosting family and coordinators, the audience members, the sound engineer, the photographer, etc., etc. They were warm and smiling and the very definition of welcoming. We even got a standing ovation that evening in the Brewery (something incredibly rare for a jazz duo gig, at least in my experience). I got hugs and sentiments expressed in Czech with such warmth and gratitude. One woman had a man translate her words for me. She said, "I didn't understand the words, but I understood exactly what you were saying."
Another favorite thing from this gig was becoming friends with a young girl named Ellen who had come to the concert with her family. Very quickly we decided to go by the names "Princezna Ellen" and "Princezna Amber" for the rest of the evening. ;)
After our duo gig in Lomnice, Skip and I returned to Prague! We had one day to rest and relax. Then, on July 24th, we played another duo performance at U Staré paní, a jazz club in Prague. This was a smaller, more intimate performance. I had fun switching up the repertoire that evening, performing some tunes for the first time!
We concluded the tour on July 25th, playing at a restaurant in Kladno. It feels repetitive to say each time, but I have to -- the audience was yet again so engaged, warm, and welcoming! At the end of the performance, the restaurant owner brought me a yellow rose. How fun that the tour began with a yellow rose and ended with another!
Thanks for sticking with me all this time as I raved about the Czech Republic! I am so grateful for this whole experience and cannot wait for a chance to go back! P.S. I could not get over the flowers in Europe! It seemed like everywhere I went -- city, country, small town -- there were flowers in window boxes, flowers on balconies, flowers in pots on the street, flowers weaving between fences and up building walls, flowers around every corner... even tiny side streets! Definitely one of my favorite things to look for while exploring each new place.
Tour summary:
July 18 Hello Jazz Weekend, "Víno a Jazz", Galerie Slováckých Vín, Uherské Hradiště, CZ, Skip Wilkins, Amber Anne Emerson, Vítězslav Začal, Pavel Začal & Marek Kotača
July 19 Hello Jazz Weekend, "Víno a Jazz", Masarykovo náměstí, Kyjov, CZ, Skip Wilkins, Amber Anne Emerson, Vítězslav Začal, Pavel Začal & Marek Kotača
July 20 Hello Jazz Weekend – Hlavní festivalový koncert, Jezuitská kolej, Uherské Hradiště, CZ, Skip Wilkins, Amber Anne Emerson, Tomas Baros & Tomas Hobzek
July 21 Hello Jazz Weekend – Hlavní festivalový koncert, Jančovka, Kyjov, CZ, Skip Wilkins, Amber Anne Emerson, Tomas Baros & Tomas Hobzek
July 22 Pivovar Genius noci, Lomnice u Tišnova, CZ, Skip Wilkins & Amber Anne Emerson, Intimate Piano and Vocal Duets -- osobitý a intimní komorní jazz
July 24 U Staré paní, Praha, CZ, Skip Wilkins & Amber Anne Emerson, Intimate Piano and Vocal Duets -- osobitý a intimní komorní jazz
July 25 Ateliér, Kladno, CZ, Skip Wilkins & Amber Amber Anne Emerson, Intimate Piano and Vocal Duets -- osobitý a intimní komorní jazz
