Ann’s in town

Gina was not very amused when singer Ann Hampton Callaway and her wife Kari came over to our place for a glass of champagne before we headed over to one of our favorite Italian restaurants in our neighborhood. She was very jealous and had to defend her territory, but after a while, she got by. Ann just finished a sold-out run at Pizza Express in London and was visiting parts of her family who relocated to Berlin.

In London, she did a tribute to Peggy Lee which will be the topic for her upcoming album “Fever: A Peggy Lee Celebration”, to be released on Palmetto Records on February 10th. Ann is joined by Ted Rosenthal on piano, Martin Wind on bass, Tim Horner on drums, Bob Mann on guitar, and John Pizzarelli guesting on two songs. We can’t wait!

I still remember her last visit in Berlin while I was still working at this jazz radio station. To my shock and my surprise, she told me that she never got paid for her gig at Berlin Philharmonic. But then again, it wasn’t that surprising because another musician who I ran into a few years ago also complained about not having been paid. So please be careful with whoever you’re dealing with!