Thursday, May 7, 2015

May 2, 2015


We had a very different kind of Workshop this past Saturday. Having heard that a number of our regulars would not be attending, it looked as though there would be no meeting. I went anyway, on the off chance that some had not gotten the message or just wanted to play anyhow. After checking at the front desk to confirm that no one was there, I mentioned that I would wait around outside for a while. After a bit, a car parked next to me, but I didn’t recognize the man who got out, and paid no attention. A couple of minutes later, he came up to me and asked whether I was with the Workshop. Turns out it was an old friend of the group, Serdar, with guitar in hand. So we went in and played for the better part of an hour and a half, just the two of us. I can’t speak for him, but I had a great time. We played Blue Bossa, All of Me (at two very different tempos), Angel Eyes, Too Young, Black Orpheus, and one or two that I forgot to write down.

Around 1:00, as we were thinking about leaving, Annie and Carl popped in, so we had a nice four-person jam for another forty-five minutes. Annie brought in a Bill Henderson tune, Sweet Pumpkin, which we followed with The Folks Who Live On The Hill. Then we had the usual fun with the ballad It’s Wonderful, the old blues tune St. James Infirmary, and the classic Bye Bye Blackbird.

Participant Picks
Serdar: George Benson, Take Five

Carl: Jack Teagarden, St. James Infirmary

Annie: Bill Henderson, Sweet Pumpkin

Steve: Ray Eberle and the Glenn Miller Orchestra, At Last
I’d been listening to this one for years before I ever heard of Etta James.

Enjoy.
--SJH

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