Sunday, February 25, 2018

February 24, 2018

NEXT TIME (Sat., 03/03/18) Hook and Ladder, Minnehaha just below Lake St., Minneapolis, 1-5pm.


Don't know if we could have squeezed any more people into the little theater at TowerLight. By the time we got everything down from other floors--chairs, drums, piano--and all the electronics set up around 11:30 or so, we had Raphael (bass), Steve C (piano), Terry (guitar), Serdar (guitar), Sam (trumpet and trombone), Jack K (drums and trumpet), Jack D (trumpet) and Steve H (alto and hitting the cymbals to keep time). Wes (tenor) and Craig (guitar) soon followed, Victor (vocals) was there well before vocals time, and finally Annie (vocals) and Carl (trombone) rounded things out, but only after someone left and made room.

We got things off to a slinky start with Sam's Add-A-Tune, The Girl From Ipanema (I-158). Sam begged for another, and got us on to the first of our Charlie Parker tunes for the day, Au Privave (I-37). Yours truly had been thinking of Till There Was You (II-400) since last week; we started as a ballad, then dropped into a light swing which became more insistent as the solos progressed. Jack K called for I Remember You (II-179), another easy-going tune. Raphael changed things up with Sonny Rollins' Oleo (I-309), and Serdar followed suit with Billie's Bounce (II-44). Terry picked a somewhat quick tempo for a swingy version of Misty (I-277); it took us a few tries to find the beat, but once we did, it was very satisfying.

Victor started the vocal portion with old favorite Avalon (II-29). Carl and Annie had arrived, but were not quite ready, so we took another instrumental, this time Wes' pick (another old favorite), Donna Lee (I-123). Annie took two: Let There Be Love (III-236), and the beautiful My Funny Valentine (I-287).  Victor by now had decided on another, Stardust (II-367), including an a capella opening verse. Someone whose name I did not catch, who had come in with her Mom to listen for a couple of minutes, asked to sing one, and performed Autumn Leaves (I-39). Craig picked our follow-up instrumental, at random opening up the book to the old Carol King number, It's Too Late (III-218). Annie gave Dinah Washington a shout-out with What A Diff'rence A Day Made (III-430). She followed that with I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free. Carl called for After You've Gone (II-xxx), which Victor wanted to sing. It took quite a while for us to find the right double-time feel for this one. A few remained to join Sam in a few choruses of St. Thomas (II-339)

Participant Picks
Oleo
Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Theolonious Monk, et al.
Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker, Bobby McFerrin, et al.


The Girl From Ipanema
Zoot Sims


Stardust
Art Pepper
Willie Nelson
Frank Sinatra/ Tommy Dorsey
Nat King Cole
Louis Armstrong

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