October 27, 2018

Next Time: Saturday, November 3, 11am-3pm. We will be at TowerLight (3601 Wooddale, St. Louis Park) at least through the new year as The Hook and Ladder plays out a busy calendar, then undergoes renovations.

We began with a short list of Steve C (piano), Raphael (bass) and Steve H (alto). Newcomer Doug (alto) was there to begin, but then had to leave before we got out of the first tune; we hope he'll return. Raphael took the first call, Cedar Walton's Holy Land (II-166). Steve C opted for the very classic The Blue Room (I-53). Yours truly stayed on the blue theme with Bluesette (I-56). Raphael, just looking for something new, found Bolivia (III-56), which took us quite a while to sort out, but proved fun in the end. Steve C pulled out another oldie, Flamingo (IV-134). Right next to that was A Foggy Day (IV-135), the choice of your scribe.

By this point, our guitarists, Bob and Serdar, and Wes on tenor, had made their entrance. Bob took his chance to call You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You (II-438). Serdar followed with Tenor Madness (II-390). Wes surprised no one by making us work hard on Anthropology (I-29). Bob eased up on the madness and the studies with So Nice (I-362).

Vocal time came around; Annie (vocals) and Carl (trombone) had arrived in the midst of the instrumentals. Annie's first choice was Dearly Beloved (I-103), which we took at a lazy swing until Annie slowed down even more for something almost sultry. She followed this with the pretty 'Tis Autumn (handout). Carl was allowed the instrumental call, and we played So What (I-364). Annie went into Full Fall mode, with the melancholy Autumn In New York (I-38), followed by the bouncier Autumn Leaves (I-39). Wes chose old favorite Donna Lee (I-123) for the instrumental break. Back to vocals, we were treated to My Man (III-294), followed by Exactly Like You (III-116). Your scribe took it upon himself to put us in 3/4 time with Alice In Wonderland (I-17). Annie's final two for the day were Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye (III-113), and I'm Old Fashioned (III-66). We topped things off with  everybody getting a chorus on Wes' suggetion, Ain't Misbehavin' (III-13).

--SJH