The following musing is from an E-mail response to a dear friend on July 14, 2002: Hi XXXX, I'm having surgery on Friday, Yikes!!! Actually I'm in a pretty calm mental state, however I miss the hormones! I keep getting angry in traffic! My career has been going very well, I just had one of the best months of my life in June. I'm sending a press release that was sent out before my gig here in Hollywood last week. There's an address for the Elkhart Truth article that appeared on their front page the day after the festival. With a picture! That weekend had to have been the best of my entire life! Who would have thought that a midwest bible belt town would be the most accepting, understanding place on earth? The festival producer bought me a new dress! They want me to play again next year and come in a week early to teach some master classes and run clinics! And I was so worried about a backlash. I'll be thinking of Elkhart when I go into surgery. It's always a pleasure to hear from you, hope all is well. Jennifer From: SINISTRAL MUSIC 11333 Moorpark St #110 Studio City, Ca 91602 RE: Appearance by the Jennifer Leitham Trio at Catalina's Bar and Grill 1640 Cahuenga Blvd. Hollywood, Ca 90028 reservations and info: 323-466-2210 Monday July 8, 2002 sets at 8:30 and 10:30 PRESS RELEASE: L.A. bassist Jennifer Leitham is appearing at Catalina's Bar and Grill in Hollywood on Monday July 8th with her trio. Accompanying Jennifer will be Shelly Berg on piano and Randy Drake on drums. This will be her first performance as a leader in L.A. since her gender transition. Before November of 2001 she was known as John Leitham. Since then she has been performing exclusively away from L.A., the majority of the time playing for Doc Severinsen on both big band and symphony concerts across North America. She recently made quite a splash at the Topeka Jazz Festival, performing with Bill Charlap, Wycliffe Gordon, an! d Bob Kindred as well as leading her own group. She appeared June 21,22, and 23rd at the Elkhart Jazz Festival in Indiana and performed with Doc Severinsen and the Milwaukee Symphony last week. Click on the following address to read about her exploits in Elkhart: http://elkharttruth.com/275228014690585.bsp Dubbed "the left-handed virtuoso of the upright bass" by Leonard Feather, Jennifer is perhaps best known for her long stint with the late Mel Torme' as well as playing for other great musicians including Woody Herman, Benny Carter, Bob Cooper, Bill Watrous and a host of others. At Catalina's she'll be playing some selections from her five CDs as well as some brand new material. She's a hard working girl! This show should prove to be quite an occasion! For more information or to reach Jennifer in cyberspace peruse her website: http://www.jenniferleitham.com Catch up on her latest musings!