I gave a slideshow presentation last month on my jazz photography, which you can find a video for on Facebook. I was "opening act" for Karin Carson's CD release show for her album, "The Time is Now". Many of the jazz shows you see on this blog are shot for the organization she runs, the San Diego Jazz Musician's Guild.

What made this show a bigger deal than usual was her rhythm section, world-class bassist Christian McBride and drum phenom Gregory Hutchinson.



It's not every day that our sleepy little town gets to witness a performance with musicians of such stature. The band (including a formidable horn section) warmed up the audience with a song. 





Finally, Karin's time had arrived.



One of my talking points during my presentation was how attractive female singers are tough to shoot since I have to make sure they look attractive in every shot. If any other musician makes a scrunchy-face during a particularly burning solo, it looks great. With a singer, not so much.



Karin has a relaxed delivery to her singing style that I tried to capture in my shots.



One of my favorite shots from the night that implies a lot without explicitly stating it:


Christian is a superstar bassist who commands attention from everyone in the room.





They had a couple duo interludes as well.



Karin had a couple special surprises for the audience, like introducing a future jazz star.



We also surprised Christian with a painting done by the musically inclined painter, Anthony Santos.



Joshua White told me later that playing with Christian Mcbride is always the same, he has to hang on for dear life!