It’s a four hour drive through Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey on I95 north to get to the Big Apple. Crossing the Verrazanno Bridge into Brooklyn and up the BQE to the Williamsburg Bridge into Lower Manhattan. This Jazz Voyager will arrive in Greenwich Village where I'll spend a few hours before showtime at the Village Vanguard, one of my favorite hangouts for jazz.

My Christmas present taking the stage this week is a phenomenal pianist called Kenny Barron. I’ve seen here several times throughout his career and he always has…