During the past months the quartet has been traveling and performing concerts. The first appearance was in London, during which time the BBC bestowed a Lifetime Achievement Award on me.
This London visit was followed by a concert schedule that took us to Paris, Vienne (France), the Northsea Jazz Festival, Perugia (Italy), the Montreux (Switzerland) Jazz Festival and Monte Carlo.

We returned home at the end of July and during August celebrated my 80th birthday at home in Mississauga. This homecoming included a memorable visit with two dear friends, Elvis Costello and Diana Krall, along with Mayor McCallion (a treasured friend), all of whom were present for the presentation to me by the people of Canada Post of a stamp bearing my likeness. This was staged at the HMV site in Toronto, and was attended seemingly by half of Toronto's population. This was a great tribute, needless to say, which was enhanced by the visit of these two talented people. The presentation was attended by many of my musical Toronto friends such as Phil Nimmons, Dave Young (who is now a member of my quartet), Dave Broadfoot and numerous other local notables in the entertainment and performance fields. This was a great honor and was heightened by the presence of these musical dignitaries and friends of mine.


At the close of the presentation and later in the evening, some of these wonderful friends returned to my home in Mississauga and we spent a fantastic evening enhanced by musical memories and opinions. The evening was topped off (in my view) by an unexpected musical period that arose with the spontaneous piano playing by Ebe Gilkes (my Barbadian buddy), whose pianistic talents I happen to admire. This was followed by a period of reminiscence on behalf of Elvis, Ebe, Diana and other guests, along with yours truly, of recalling some of the early Nat Cole tunes. This went quite a ways back in musical history and brought back many, many pleasant memories of various musical personalities. Diana was gracious in performing several wonderful tunes, both vocally and pianistically to the delight of the gathered guests, who needless to say, bathed themselves in this unforgettable musical period of jazz. I must say that I am most proud of the fact that Diana performed not only at our home, but also at the earlier presentation of the stamp, a composition of mine titled "When Summer Comes," which she and Elvis composed lyrics for. This whole evening was filled with musical and personal reminiscences that all of the guests, along with yours truly, enjoyed and treasured. I would like to personally thank Diana and Elvis, Scott Morin of Verve Records, Ebe Gilkes and Russell Croney (my Barbadian buddies), for making this birthday the most memorable one to date, obviously highlighted by the honor of the striking of the stamp by Canada Post. It is a date in my life that I shall never forget, and will forever be thankful for.