Judith Owen...

I was the B-seat guy squeezed between MG (Will Ferrell with a crewcut) and a novel-reading woman as we flew north on our post-Jazz Fest flight from New Orleans to Newark this Tuesday past. Hope I didn't snore too loudly. Tired. Late in the flight, as Ms. Reader intently tore numerous pieces out of her New Yorker, I joked to her that it was a creative way to keep those weekly bad boys from overwhelming the house. Smooth. She offered that she lived in NYC and was returning from her first Jazz Fest, where a friend, Judith Owen, had performed on Friday. Owen, a jazz vocalist, was to appear at the Alison Miner Music Heritage Lagniappe (Grandstand) Stage late afternoon and, with the heavy rain at noon, was fearful that the set would be canceled. Everthing turned out fine. I admitted I was not familiar with her. Well, she's bi-coastal, living in Elay and NYC, has a new album, Happy This Way coming out this month, will be performing a few shows at the Living Room in NYC, and is married to Harry Shearer (Derek Smalls of Spinal Tap and many voices of The Simpsons). Well, oooooooookay! I'll check her out.