It takes me about one week to recover from any trip out of town. I’m not really talking about jet lag, since usually the worst of it is the first full day back, after a good night’s sleep. No, I’m talking about everything else. This time, it has taken about one month. So, it’s with this in mind that I submit to you some observations and reflections about my trip to Europe last month.

On Wednesday, May 7, Russ Gershon (head honcho of the Either/Orchestra) and I jumped on board a suprisingly small airplane bound for Amsterdam. We arrived in one piece Thursday morning (that is, in Europe), were picked up by someone from the festival (Music Meeting in Nijmegen, The Netherlands), and delivered to our hotel in Nijmegen. Music Meeting has been around for 24 years. One of the more fantastic things that they organize each year is a series of master classes and project bands, led/coached/conducted by guest musicians. Russ and I worked with a band of very hip musicians learning about Ethio-Jazz. Saturday night, this band gave a short concert, and the Either/Orchestra played a concert a few hours later. Sunday morning, drivers from the Moers Festival in Germany took the band over the border. We played a concert that night, then left for Amsterdam Monday morning, bright and early. After a few hours of waiting around the airport, we boarded a much bigger plane bound for Boston. Arrived safely Monday night.

Nijmegen: lots of bicycles and beautiful flowers

This trip was very special for a few reasons:

• It was my first trip to Holland.
• Although it was my second trip to Germany, the first was so long ago and I was so disoriented (it was my first trip to Europe) that I can’t really say for sure where in Germany I was.
• We played two fantastic festivals. Music Meeting is new to me, but it is clear that the festival organizers know what they are doing. I have several concert bootlegs from previous Moers Festivals, and since a few of them are Steve Lacy concerts, it was a really big moment for me.
• I did not stress out about traveling with a bass, because I was traveling with my AlterEGO bass.

Ok, so the main reason I’m writing this is to update previous posts about this instrument. In My New Bass, I wrote about its arrival, and in Traveling with a Bass, I wrote about exactly that, the hitch being that I hadn’t been airborne with the AlterEGO yet. Now I have, a couple of times.

My first trip was last February, to Oakland, California. The Either/Orchestra played a very, very fun gig at the Historic Sweet’s Ballroom with Mr. Ethio-Jazz himself, Mulatu Astatke. It was excellent.

For that trip, I was worried about flying with the AlterEGO because a) I had never done it and b) because I had a cardboard box made for the instrument, and wrapped it in a bunch of bubble wrap. This was pretty stressful, as you might imagine. Not only did it arrive in one piece, but with less obvious wear and tear to the box than to the various double bass flight cases that I have used over the years.

Being that my recent trip to Europe was my second time flying with the AlterEGO, it was less stressful. But one change made it even easier: this time, rather than flying with my bass in a cardboard box, it flew in a new flight case (many thanks to the great Carmine D. for making it).

AlterEGO Acoustic Figaro, broken down/packed into Tournee bag and custom flight case

There are stories all over the the internet about how horrible it is to travel with a double bass. It is terrible because of any/all of the following reasons, among many others:

• You are trusting your most prized possession to a fleet of individuals who are not likely to treat it with respect.
• Respect or not, accidents happen.
• Double basses in flight cases are gigantic and heavy, making transport to and from the airport very challenging.
• “Gigantic and heavy” means “oversized and overweight” to airlines, which costs extra. And by that, I mean potentially hundreds of dollars per flight, if they let it on the plane.
• When you arrive at your destination – bound for a concert – it is possible that your instrument will need repair. It is also possible that the instrument will not show up.

Traveling with an electric upright (EUB) bass does not solve all of those problems, but it takes a big bite out of them. An EUB is still subject to disrespect, accidents, and any resulting repair issues. But by being packaged in something similar to normal luggage, it will be treated the same. I know that doesn’t seem like a bonus, but I think it is. Here’s the best part: in the flight case, my AlterEGO weighs 44 pounds and is relatively small. This means that the whole “oversized and overweight” issues have disappeared.

So, Wednesday evening, I called a cab (imagine doing that with a double bass). When the cab arrived, I loaded everything into the trunk, and we were off. Standing in line at the ticket counter, I experienced none of the usual looks of horror on the part of the airline customer service reps. Then, they didn’t charge me more money. The TSA guy was superb, thorough, respectful, and made sure that the instrument was packed back up correctly. I checked the bass at the ticket counter, sent it on its way with TSA, then headed off for a beer. When we arrived in Nijmegen, I put the bass back together right away, to be sure that everything was fine, which it was. It takes about 5 minutes to break down/pack the instrument, and about 10 minutes to reassemble.

AlterEGO Acoustic Figaro on a drum riser in Nijmegen

 

At Music Meeting in Nijgmegen

Anyway, next stop England. We are playing (that is, the Either/Orchestra) with several incredible Ethiopian musicians (Mulatu Astatke, Mahmoud Ahmed, Alemayehu Eshete, Getachew Merkurya) billed as Ethiopiques. Our first gig is at the Barbican Theatre in London (SOLD OUT!), and our second is at the Glastonbury Festival (Jazz World Stage, right before Buddy Guy). More flying happens later in the summer when we go to Ireland, and even though I’ll probably be playing a traditional double bass, we are playing at at Lincoln Center in New York City in August.

Best, Rick