Howdy folks!

Just getting back from a GREAT trip to L.A. with my sister.

To my musician brothers and sisters here at the org, let me say that the Pre-Telecast award ceremony is all that and a bag of chips. The telecast was excellent this year (although, I admit--I HATE award shows), but the pre-telecast is where you get to show love to all the jazz, gospel, world music, spoken word, classical and all the other categories you don't get to see on T.V. This year's ceremony was apparently a step up from previous years--the room was elegant (it was in the L.A. Convention Center next to the Staples Center) and Patrice Rushen was leading an amazing house band. You got to sit wherever you wanted to, so we managed to be in among Diane Reeves, Tony Bennett, Donnie McClurkin, Pharrell Williams, Shirley Caesar, Weird Al Yankovic, The Blind Boys of Alabama, and many others. Diane Reeves was the featured performer (and I'm going to kick myself because she played with this PHENOMENAL trumpeter whose name escapes me at the moment) and she blew the ROOF off the place.

Well, I thought I'd give my take on the Pre-Telecast, because it was really more of a "musicians" award show, as opposed to the hype of the main show.

As you were. . .

COO BEANS!