Groggy, Foggy Blog No More

Hi everybody. Sorry you haven't heard from me in a while. It wasn't for lack of trying. Blogger.com has been going through some growing pains ever since it's changed its format. After all the bugs they couldn't de-bug and the full force of Murphy's Law in motion, Samantha, my wondrous webmistress, saved the day and constructed this blog all over in the new format so we can be in touch. Thank you, Ms. Beattie, you are the best.

Since I last published, my uncle Bert, who I last wrote about here, has gotten much better. He is finally off his tubes and even back to work and we are overjoyed about that. He loved the music I wrote to his poem when I sang it to him on the phone a few weeks ago. Yesterday I was finally able to get into a studio and record it. I am so grateful the angels are watching over him and speeding up his recovery.

This last weekend I got to sing with The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra under the baton of one of my favorite conductors, Jeff Tyzik. Since it was my Vancouver debut, there were thousands of "Callaway virgins" to deflower. What a glow there was at The Orpheum those two nights! There weren't even enough cigarettes to pass out after the shows! Thanks to Jeff and the great musicians of the VSO, it was a true joy to perform in one of the most enchanting cities I have been privileged to visit. If you have never been to Vancouver, friends, make it a destination for one of your next trips (preferably when the weather is warmer.) The only thing more beautiful than the mountains, forests and water views were the hearts of the people I met there.

I haven't stopped thinking about the amazing performance I saw on December 29th when I had the good fortune to see Grey Gardens on Broadway. What an original and haunting show this is with a once-in-a-lifetime role for the amazing Christine Ebersole. My buddy Bob Stillman plays the fey musician companion in the show and I was so happy to see how beautifully featured his talents were in this piece. Christine absolutely knocked my socks off and Mary Louise Wilson was awe inspiring as well. It was fun visiting backstage after and hearing of some of the sagas involved with putting this all together. Make sure to see the show before the Tony Awards are given and it becomes impossible to get in. And do see the movie it was based on before you go so you get the whole picture of why these women are turning in such remarkable performances as the real-life Beales.

I want to give a big cyber hug to Jennifer Hudson for making me sob every time she sang a note in the movie "Dreamgirls." What an exciting and beautiful talent she is. Make sure you see this movie and if you have them, take your kids. Movie musicals can be so inspiring to young people- that's how my sister Liz and I began dreaming of the lives we wanted to create for ourselves as performers.

Before I close, I want to honor two great jazz artists who passed away recently- Alice Coltrane and Michael Brecker. What a shock it has been to lose both of them. May their legacy live on and may their families and friends receive every blessing of support they need to get through the losses of their supremely gifted loved ones.

Every day there seems to be another reminder of how precious life is. For me and many of my friends, it's been a bittersweet time of many illnesses and deaths of late. Hope you each are doing something beautiful with every day you are given. I send you my heartfelt wishes for your health and happiness. Take good care and thanks for reading.