Jazz in Absentia, 11/21/09

Since I was out of town this weekend, I missed the Jazz Workshop. However, Kevin and Ken teamed up to provide a list of the folks who were there and the songs they played. Thanks, guys! Looks like it was another great turnout and a lot of fun once again. Sorry I missed it!

Attendees:
Kevin , guitar
Owen, accordion
Peter, bari sax
Wes, tenor sax
Gene, drums
Craig, drums (first time)
Ken, drums
Dan, bass (first time)
Margo, bass
Annie, vocals

Set list:
Fly Me to the Moon (both 3/4 and 4/4 arrangements)
Fools Rush In
These Foolish Things Remind Me of You
Black Orpheus
Got My Mojo Workin
Stella by Starlight
St. Thomas
My Funny Valentine
Satin Doll
In Walked Bud
The Nearness of You
On The Sunny Side of the Street
Lullaby of Birdland
How High The Moon
Misty
Cousin Mary
God Bless The Child

Next Saturday I have been told the park building will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, so there wil be no workshop. May you all have a safe and happy Thanksgiving with the opportunity to appreciate the things you have and the will to help others have the things they need to live a dignified and productive life.

The photos: Pete's baritone sax and a chart up top; Jeff (bass) who wasn't there but it's a good photo.

The Ides of November

Well, a day after the Ides anyway. You've maybe heard of the Ides of March (as in the soothsayer telling Caesar to beware thereof, and also the pop band of the 60s) but every month had an Ides which fell on the 15th in months with 31 days and the 13th in other months. OK, that's enough obscure stuff for one week, eh (I've just finished one of Steven Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa books)?


November 14th saw the Jazz Workshop getting together again at McRae Park in South Minneapolis. We had a great turnout with three first-timers (John on bass, Ann on vocals and Kevin on guitar) joining the usual suspects (Sheila on vocals, Steve on trumpet, Owen on accordion, Ken on drums, Norman on piano, Margo on bass and Tim on guitar). We met in the small room at the park which makes it easier to hear.

The set list today included "Blue Bossa," "Naima," "Satin Doll," "Scrapple From the Apple," "I'm Old Fashioned," "E.S.P.," ""It Could Happen To You," "Laura," "You Stepped Out of a Dream," "Lullaby of Birdland," "God Bless the Child," "Out of Nowhere," "Imagination," "Doxy," "Just in Time," "Sunny Side of the Street," "Song for My Father" and "How High the Moon."

Next week (11/21/09) the Jazz Workshop will meet without Tim, so hopefully someone will take notes about who shows up and what happens. Looking ahead to Thanksgiving weekend, there will be no Workshop on 11/28/09 as the park building will be closed.

The photos: On top we have Norman, Margo, Sheila and Ann; in the middle are Ken and John (with the cubist bass and matching cubist hat); and at the bottom are Steve, Owen and Kevin.

Saturday Afternoon Jazz

A few days ago when I was writing the weekly ad for Craigslist about the workshop, I was reflecting that we "play" music rather than "work" music, and that maybe the Jazz Workshop should be the Jazz Playshop. Well, that's maybe just a little too precious but maybe it makes the point- this is fun!

Today it was a lovely, atypically beautiful November Saturday. 64 degrees, sunny, deep blue sky. We all had a choice to make: play outside or play jazz. Maybe we should have played jazz outside! We had a good turnout anyway: Gene and Ken on drums, Jack on trumpet and also drums for a couple of tunes, Ira on alto sax, Wes on tenor sax, Pete on bari sax, Rob and Tim on guitar, Owen on accordion, and on vocals we had Dick, Toria and Sheila (and also Jack on one tune). One such a beautiful day, ten musicians was a great turnout.

The Workshop kicked off shortly after 1:00 with the "instrumental hour." Songs played included "I Remember You," "In Walked Bud," "When You're Away" (an original by Tim), "I Thought About You," "It's Only a Paper Moon." The second part of the workshops with the vocalists swung into gear with "It Could Happen to You," "Days of Wine and Roses," "I Cover the Waterfront," "The Very Thought of You," "I'll Remember April," "Lover Man," "Dancing On The Ceiling," "The Midnight Sun," "What Is This Thing Called Love," "How Deep Is The Ocean," "Four," "The Song Is You," "Again," and "Embraceable You." 19 songs in four hours.

Upcoming workshop schedule: next week (11/14/09) Norman will be playing piano. The week after that, which is the Saturday after Thanksgiving (11/21/09), we are not sure whether the park building will be open so watch this space for news about that. We also had some preliminary discussion about looking for some occasional gigs out in the community. Nothing concrete yet, but a few possibilities were identified.

In the photos: that's Jack (trumpet/drums/vocal) up in the first photo and Tim (guitar and nothin' else) in the middle photo and Toria (vocals) in the bottom photo.