June 8, 2019

Next Time: Sat. 6/15, 11am-3pm, TowerLight (3601 Wooddale, St. Louis Park)

Sam's Add-A-Tune: Ceora (I-72)

Your scribe finally has a little more time, so a return to narrative. If that bothers you, please re-read last week's entry.

Present at some time or other were Sam (trombone, trumpet), Raphael (bass), Steve H (piano, soprano), Jack K (trumpet, drums), Roger (tenor, drums)), Craig (guitar), Wes (tenor), Ari (trumpet, drums), and Carl (trombone).

Sam's Add-A-Tune this week was Doxy (II-111), which got us off to a smooth start. Roger grabbed the next call with Au Privave (I-37), which Raphael continues to insist doesn't mean anything in actual French. Your scribe was up next and opted for All Of You (I-21). We had skipped Jack's turn, and now he got his chance with When Sunny Gets Blue (I-440). Raphael pulled out his list and challenged us with Minority (I-273). Craig opted for Cole Porter's peculiarly segmented In The Still Of The Night (II-198). Ari went for the simply difficult Speak No Evil (I-xxx), which somehow was not a complete disaster. An easy-speed version of Groovin' High (I-166) was Wes' pick, and it's not often when that is considered a rest song. Carl decided on So What (I-364), and we all said, Whatever.

Round 2 had us on Sam's choice, Killer Joe (II-229), which we found oddly difficult to keep from speeding up. On the other hand, Roger wanted to play Blue Bossa (I-50) up tempo, which was quite the trick. Ari's choice, My Favorite Things (II-285) was nobody's favorite by the time we finished; not one person got through a chorus without having to stop and get everyone back together. (I suspect we'll do it again next time.) Wes opted for an old favorite, Robbin's Nest (II-xxx), which got everyone back in the groove. Next up, Carl took us on a Sentimental Journey (II-343), complete with trombone phrases and some harmonies. Yours truly went with the Ellington swinger, Perdido (II-311). We finished off with Raphael's final choice, the ballad You Don't Know What Love Is (I-459).

--SJH