Isthmus Jazz 2008

Sometimes Madison is just so perfect. It was a beautiful summer evening last night when Colleen and I rode our bikes to Memorial Union. As you might expect on such a lovely Friday evening lots of people had the same idea. Luckily we found a spot on the terrace in front of the bandstand -- lake Mendota spread out behind it. As the sun went down we listened to bebop statesman Richie Cole and the Dave Stoler trio. And if that weren't enough Richie invited up his old friend Ben Sidran and son Leo Sidran to take over for a few numbers. Here's a new one - Ben brought his dog Molly up to the stage and tried to play the first number while watching the little white dog at his feet. On the 2nd number I think someone took charge of the pooch. In any case, Ben was his usual ultimate musician self and lit up the crowd.