In July 2008 I booked a ticket to San Francisco. I was double bass player for Gail Kingston’s Hot Foot Jazz and we were making plans to appear at the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee in May 2009.

This was a big deal for us. The band was in peak form; we’d just completed a new CD “Can You Tame Wild Wimmen” and Gail was hot favourite as we toured to jazz festivals across south-eastern Australia.

Gail Kingston’s Hot Foot Jazz at Tooleybuc NSW, June 2008. Brian Loffler (double bass), Derek Dalton (trumpet), Ron Bash (reeds), Gordon Coulson (trombone), Harold Phillis (piano), Dave Sutton (drums), Gail Kingston (leader, vocals), Tony West (banjo)

Exposure in the US would be a breakthrough; we’d tighten up our stagecraft and have a chance to mix it with some of the best traditional jazz musicians from around the world.