A Winter in Boston, John Pizzarelli

Gloucester Harbor from the Beauport Hotel

We aren't exactly in Boston, but rather in Gloucester as we continue our pursuit of a cultural winter.  The Beauport Hotel is a luxurious oceanfront hotel.  As you can see in the above photo,  the sunsets are fabulous.  It's a 15 minute drive to Rockport where the Shalin Lui Performance Center is.  There we saw John Pizzarelli.

Shalin Lui Performance Center

The Shalin Lui is a most unique center with a windowed stage backdrop looking overlooking Rockport's Sandy Bay.  John Pizzarelli is an American jazz guitarist and vocalist. He credits his father, Bucky Pizzarelli as his most important teacher, and referred to him frequently.  He had a pianist accompanying him; the sounds were easy and pleasant as was his chatter.  One funny story was about his recording of Beatles songs which his publicist referred to as Abby Road Kill.  

Before the concert, we had drinks and hors d'oeuvres at the Beauport.  The sunset was so gorgeous. We had thought to eat dinner afterward at Barbara Lynch's new restaurant in Gloucester.  However, it was far from the hotel and didn't seem to have parking.  Instead, we opted to return to the Beauport.  The dinner offering was not nearly up to the hors d'oeuvres.  Nor was breakfast the next morning.  Lesson learned.  

A Winter in Boston, Handel's Messiah

Jordan Hall, Boston, MA

We are so fortunate this winter to have friends, Martha and Oleg, who have offered the use of their Boston condo to us.  They will be sculling in Tampa where they live during the winter months.  The condo is a beautiful South Boston corner apartment with a covered balcony facing east toward the harbor and a second story deck facing west toward the city skyline.  It is luxurious.  

We began our winter festivities with a Boston Baroque concert at Jordan Hall.  Jordan Hall is the principal performance space of the New England conservatory. Boston Baroque is the oldest period instrument orchestra in North America. It was founded in 1973 by Martin Pearlman who remains conductor and harpsichordist. We were here tonight to enjoy Handel's Messiah.  Hallelujah! 

Martha and Oleg invited us to stay the night at their's.  While we were at the concert, they were having dinner with a friend.  They suggested we do a dry run to access the condo. We successfully did so and were settled in with television when they arrived home.  We're off to an excellent start.