Arrival in St. Petersburg alongside Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in her own plane.

After a long trip from NY via Amsterdam, we arrived in St. Petersburg, Russia at midnight and pulled up next to Air Force 2 with Secretary of State Hilary Clinton aboard.  With a few hours of daylight still ahead of us, we took a magical “white night” walk and saw some of the beauty of this historic city.  In the afternoon we sound checked by the Neva River and kicked off the tour by kicking off the USDABA Jazz Festival–our first-ever concert in Russia was met with great enthusiasm and participation.

The band is Bob Stewart, tuba, LaFrae Sci, drums, myself at the piano and introducing Inyang Bassey, vocal.  The tour is the culmination of the “American Seasons” program sponsored by the United States Embassy in Moscow.  The goal is to share the culture of the United States and build trust and understanding between our nations.