see inside:

> Uli, welcome!


Thank you!!! Glad I found you lot!
Is your real name Patti?


So glad you came and from so far! I knew that Patti was
there in Germany but the details were fuzzy. How did she look
weight-wise?

well, I can give you more details, just didn't want to overload my
very first message to this list :-)

She looked smashing, she was wearing a white suit (blazer and
trousers)
when we arrived (I wanted to make sure that we were there early, not
that there were that many people because of the unstable weather,
but I wanted to see "my" patti from as close as possible (which was
a little bit difficult due to the lake :-) ) they were all still in
casual dress.
at one point she came onto the stage and we (my mother, my niece and
I) started to clap, so she looked up, then we waved at her, laughed,
and she waved back and smiled! (good start!)
weight-wise she was more or less the same like what she is like on
recent pictures, very slim, very good-looking, but still something
to get used to (at least for me, last time I saw her live in 2000
she was still double the size)
and, after I saw her from very close I could see that she looks
older now. but that's normal, I think, when you're skinnier.

Well, anyway, after she'd sorted her sheet music she left the stage
again and, after a while, I saw her sort of in the woods behind the
stage at the other side of the lake doing some stretching.
that was when I thought: well, this is probably my one and only
chance to try and see her from even closer, if not even meet her, so
I told my folks that I would try that, went around the lake, found
the path and - trying to look kind of natural - "strolled" towards
the back of the stage. she'd already gone by then and I was thinking
the whole time: somebody will stop me soon. but nobody did. so, I
eventually arrived where all the musicians were standing and eaves-
dropped into one conversation of two of them in german. so, I took
all my heart and said to them: I know this is kind of tacky, but I
admire patti so much, and if it was possible to say hello! (gasp!)
and one of them said: sure, go on, she's very nice, just be nice to
her, too!
And, yesssssss, my brothers and sisters! I went up to her, said
hello, she said hello back, and - like a teenager in love - I said
all these stupid things, like that she's my favourite singer, even
replaced barbra (to which she replied: she's a friend, but I won't
tell her you said that! :-) and then, I wished her a belated happy
birthday, and told her that I loved her sense of humour to which she
said that it wouldn't be too funny because of the subject of the
concert. and i said: oh, just one sentence!!! she laughed. then she
asked what my name was, I told her, and then I only said that I was
looking forward to the concert and "swayed off" (5 ft. above the
floor!) she called after me saying that she'd just missed a dirty
joke! that was it! my own personal patti moment!!! so glad I had the
courage!!!
And after that, we had a wonderful time with wonderful music!
:-)

>
> Patti is going to be in my neck of the woods soon too. She's going
to
> be in Liberty State Park in New Jersey for the same concert
series.
> They'll be outside as well on September 9th. Call 888-526-JAZZ for
> tickets.

Which band is going to accompany her there?
are they doing Gershwin too?

>
> What's your daughter's name?

My daughter's name is Ella.
There are three reasons for this name: 1st of all: I liked it when I
went through the alphabet looking for a name, short, nice and not
overused, 2ndly, my grand-aunt (? mother's aunt) was named Ella, and
then, of course because of Ella Fitzgerald, another one of my idols.

What's your favorite Patti album?

Difficult, I really do like more or less all of them, and I usually
have one in the car, depending on my mood. for a very long time, as
a whole album my favourite one was "that secret place" because it's
also arranged and produced so well.
maybe "the real me" is my favourite one because it's got the most
jazz tunes. but then there is "For Ella" too, hhhmmhh.

"Street of Dreams" might be my least favourite one because it seems
to be produced a little carelessly.

Song?

It's more or less the same as with album.
At the moment, out of my head I'd say: Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (with
her version, I rediscovered this song which I never really
liked), "Hearing Ella Sing", but also the old quincy jones stuff,
like "Razzamatazz" (sp?), etc. to be honest, there's hardly anything
I don't like. her version of the jet song, great!
If we ever do a favourite song on every album, I'd probably be
better than "ultimate cd" or "ultimate song".
that wasn't really helpful, was it?

uli