hey, Harp-l-ers, hafa adai from Guam,
the past couple of days have been spectacular for me and i thought i would share it with you all. the Dirty Dozen Brass Brand came out here for a few days and did a couple of benefit shows. i got to hang out a bit with a few of them during their stay and we had a blast. their shows were wondrous-- they are all such superb musicians and showmen.
Efram "ET" Towns went out into the Tumon Bay night after the shows and sat in with the Guam Jazz All-Stars at Mac & Marti and with Caliente, a quality salsa band, at the Fishbowl. ET just walked right in and tore it right up.
last night was the capper - they called me up and some of my band mates to sit in with them. the amazing drummer, Terrence Wiggins, had warned me the night before to bring my 'horn' with me the next evening.......gulp. . . . . so, we get up on stage - John (our guitarist and band leader); Ching, (our drummer), and Gary (trumpet player with the Boonie-Pepper Horns). and their sax player says: okay, let's play some blues in Bb. i had already prefigured i'd be in a key like that given all that damned brass, so i had an Eb diatonic and G-chrom 12-hole in my pocket (i'd have played that in 3rd with the button in). so, the band goes immediately into Blue Monk. i opted for the diatonic, of course i played acoustically into a voice mic, and everything worked out fine. i'll always remember that evening!
DDBB - catch them if you can!
http://www.dirtydozenbrass.com/
ps--i little side story for you jazz nuts....after their first show, we drove Kevin Harris - sax player extraordinaire - to get a Burger King fix. i had some music on - i think it was Billy Boy Arnold, and Kevin, asks if i got any sax cd's handy, so i say, maybe, but all i've got about is 5 CD's in my car - and in terms of jazz, is was only Jimmy Smith and Lee Morgan , so he asks for the Lee Morgan (Cornbread). then ET jumps in the car in the car with his cheap but beautifully toned J. Michaels pocket trumpet and says, "wow! Lee Morgan i haven't heard this tune in a couple of years", and proceeds to play along with "Ceora" note for note, including the solos! it was such a rare opportunity for me to watch and listen to such musical brilliance up close and personal.
yours in brassedlessness,
-sg tumon bay, guam
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