August 29, 2016

ATTENTION READER WHO IS INTERESTED IN WHERE WE WILL BE MEETING NEXT TIME (there could be one!):

Our time for meeting on Monday nights in the summer is over, and we should return to our regular Saturday times. HOWEVER, we are not sure where we will be meeting; the rules have changed with the Minneapolis Parks people, and we may or may not be meeting at McRae in the future. Stay tuned.

Not quite your usual mix set-up this week. No bass, no drums. But with Phil there on piano, we had enough rhythm to accompany Steve M (alto), Steve H (soprano) and Wes (tenor). We had some good instrumental time; and then moved to vocals with the arrival of Annie and Dick, along with Carl (trombone).

Your scribe forgot to take notes until about halfway through the evening, so we don't have page numbers, but we do have tunes. Phil started us out with the shifting chord changes of Pick Yourself Up. Steve M called for the old standard You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To. Steve H pulled out Gerry Mulligan's Line For Lyons, which several of those present had not heard before, though they spoke approvingly. Wes wanted to get back to work on Donna Lee, which is slowly getting better. Back to Phil, we took on the moody Black Coffee. Steve M thought we should try Donna Lee in a different key, so we played Indiana.

With the arrival of the rest of the group, we turned to vocals. Annie got two back-to-back: All Of You and Angel Eyes. Dick then took two together: A Night In Tunisia, with it's tricky structure, followed by Have You Met Miss Jones. Time for an instrumental again, and Carl got the call, Blue Monk (I-52). At Long Last Love (III-32) is a tune I don't remember playing before, but we got it going. Dick went with one of his favorites, Out Of Nowhere (I-318). Annie tried to get us playing My Melancholy Baby (III-295) at half speed, which we finally got right after some false starts. Dick handed out a chart in a key he preferred of Like Someone In Love.  Annie next called So In Love (III-362). For Dick's last solo, we played There Will Never Be Another You (I-407). We finished up with something everyone got a shot at, Ellington's Take The A Train (I-398).

As I said, keep your eyes peeled for where and when we will meet next.

--SJH