I have two gigs coming up in the next two weeks.

Vanessa said the other day "That means the concert is next Saturday!" We can excuse her for being surprised with the passage of time as she just gave birth to Lance, a red-haired sweetie and her first child. So although she won't be in the sax section for the Woodinville Community Band concert at the Seattle Center next week or the Pacific Cascade Big Band at Crossroads of Bellevue the week after, she might be in the audience cheering us on.

I've be concentrating on the hardest parts of the song list and my solos. I will be playing a bass sax feature piece called "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch", trying to be heard over a sixty-piece concert band. I reluctantly have been playing with amplification and it sure makes it easier for me to concentrate on the music without trying to blow my brains out to be louder than the band. The concert itself will present some surprises too that shouldn't be missed.

The Pacific Cascade Big Band is a new venture for the WCB. In it's inaugural debut, we will be featuring sweet Sarah Funk on vocals and a number of new soloists on the Eastside. Part of the work I've been doing is to get my parts as the lead tenor sax player. There's no Neil Proff to back me up this time and I owe it to the band to do a bang-up job.

In this vein I've been playing against recordings that are available on YouTube and on CDs that I have. Some of the songs are very challenging like Basie's Hayburner and Two O'clock jump. And the solos are not written out, they just have the changes marked. So being able to play with the pro's to get my voicing and timing down help. Suzy helps me to by sitting in with me on clarinet or sax and giving me very candid feedback.

I'm very excited about this Christmas season and will report back when it is competed. Hopefully I'll have videos to post on YouTube and pictures to share.

Neil from the SaxStation points to this YouTube recording from 1994. Check out the changes at the 1:40 minute marker for a nice little surprise.

Happy thanksgiving family and friends. May this day be filled with great conversations, music, and good food.

50 of your favorite words from the BBC...

I'm told there are a lot of sesquipedalians out there. I'm surrounded at work by word people such are most writers and editors. The BBC asked for "your favourite words and were overwhelmed with nominations." Here they list 50 of the best.

1. To throw something (someone) out of a window is to defenestrate. I love this word because it immediately brings some interesting memories to the front, not to mention makes me think of some new things to toss out of a window. - Lee Nachtigal, West Hartford, Connecticut, USA

2. Poodle-faker - a young man too much given to taking tea with ladies. - Jane, Pembroke

Read more...

Elwood: What kind of music do you usually have here?
Claire: Oh, we got both kinds. We got country *and* western.

The Blues Brothers - 1980

The Blue Brothers by Annie Leibowitz

A Collection of 20th Century American Made Saxophones

Sometimes a once in a lifetime opportunity comes by and you have the opportunity to purchase a museum full of saxophones. This eBay sale offering is such a deal that I know there are saxophone collectors all over the world holding their breaths to see if this Vintage Sax Collection will go for the buy it now price of $350,000 or if it will be pieced out.

Vintage Sax Collection: From Left to Right

Collection also Includes: Swanee Slide Sax ~ Conn Custom Soprano/The Dragon ~ Grafton Plastic Alto ~ F Conn Mezzo ~ Conn Lady Face Curved Soprano ~ Conn Straight C Soprano

                  For more pictures like this visit Dr. Rick's Village Flute and Sax Shop Web site.

This Conn Custom Soprano called the Dragon is gold plated and has exquisite engravings. There are so many fine instruments here, it will be interesting to see if anyone or any museum will go for this collection.

A tip of the hat to Helen at Bassic Sax for spotting this first.

Suzy, grandson Nicky, and I went to hear the Washington Wind Symphony.

I wish I had brought my good camera, but with a little tweaking you get the idea. Don Furness, Nicky's Jr. High band teacher was playing trombone. Leah MacDuffy the Woodinville Community Band director was playing flute. Greg Cagle, aka Gerg is the Woodinville Jazz Ensemble section leader and was playing baritone sax. And Carol Karlak, Suzy and I took piano lessons from her and she has been in more bands than I can name was playing with the percussion section.

The music was stellar and the ensemble impressive. Some day I hope to get called upon to sub in that Symphony. Probably won't happen, but if I keep studying and practicing, who knows. 

My favorite TV shows for the 2008 season

These are not in any particular order as I am hard pressed to pick my favorite much less the third or fourth best:

1. Sunday Morning on CBS - Starting with the theme by Wynton Marsalis this show celebrates the arts, whether it be music, movies, painting, or where to fine the Heart Attack restaurant with the quadruple bypass burger.

2. Numb3rs - This quasi-science show mixes good math, with mystery, and great people interaction.

4. Saving Grace - EW.com sez it best, "Oscar winner Hunter — blond, taut, and crackling — makes a terrific transition to television. And it's nice to see Just Shoot Me's Laura San Giacomo again."

5. True Blood - HBO's romantic thriller debuts this year and I reviewed it here.

Hint: the dog is more than he seems.                   Image from ShareTV.org              Image of Bones from TVguide.com

5. Bones - Beautiful Forensic scientist solves murders with a FBI partner. There's a lot of play on the geek vs. the cop thang.

6. The Mentalist - Rather nicely done tale of a psychic who is trying to make amends by working as an independent consultant for the police to solve crimes.

7. The Daily Show - Jon Stewart does news for a new generation of viewers. It's amazing how many people get their national news from this source.

8. Survivor Gabon - Yes a bad habit that has grown into a full-level addiction for Suzy and me. I luv the music, the scenery, and some of the players.

Pictures from CBS.com

After weeks of mostly cloudy and rainy days you can't blame me for thinking about a get-a-way.

I'm daydreaming about finding a deserted island for Suzy and me to escape too. So the Concierge.com site article "World's Sexiest Beaches 2008" became my escape route from the drudgery of everyday life in the Northwest during our rainy season.

Don't get me wrong, I luv hearing the sound of rain, the crisp cool air, and the beautiful nights. But every once in a while one gets the urge to depart from the norm, do something wild and unexpected.

As the writer Jason Harper sez, "You know the saying: Put two people together and let nature take its course. Well, put two people together in a locale with sunshine, sand, and turquoise waters…and watch the clothes come flying off.

Whether this summer finds you and your Pucci two-piece looking to break a few hearts, or whether it's a matter of you and your mate defrosting passions after a long, cruel winter, we've got the surefire solution. These beaches, quite simply, bring the heat. We're not responsible for what happens the morning after."

So this beach in Hawaii seems very compelling to me. "Oahu gets its share of loud shirt–wearing tourists, but it's surprising how few venture around the entire island, choosing instead to nurse fruity drinks in Waikiki. Which leaves the North Shore and nearby beaches to the hot surfer boys and girls and superfit locals. And you're free to mix it up with them."

Ah well, with the upcoming Scandinavian cruise coming up next year and sometime thereafter a cruise to Hawaii in the making, I'm sure we will some some of the beaches highlighted in this fine article. Be well.

The Woodinville Jazz Ensemble flat out rocks! We spilt the mondo jazz band into the WJE and the Pacific Cascade Big Band last June and lookee what they are doing now (thanks Greg):

You can see two more clips at Greg's YouTube Channel. I can attest, having sat in as a sub, that this band is a tough ride with very challenging charts, a big book to learn even with the inimitable Neil Proff as the director and lead alto sax. And they worked hard to get the songs for this festival ready. Maybe next year the PCBB will be ready to attend.

So many good bands and so little time. The WJE will next be at the Seattle Center House for the WinterFest 2008 gala on 13 December at 1:00 PM.

The PCBB has a concert coming up in December at Crossroads of Bellevue on the same day at 3 PM that I will highlight in a future post. It will be the first concert for this new project.

Or how Amelia grew her adult teeth as a puppy.

Suzy and I were playing with our now six-month old puppy and we couldn't believe her teeth. She has adult teeth in a puppies mouth. And they are sooo white. Now you see she's been teething for over a month now; teething on the walls--yes with the resulting holes, teething on the furniture--that really hurts, and teething on her sissie Shelby and us for that matter. So I tried to capture a picture, no small task with a very frisky puppy.

Note the devil eyes. I guess I couldda, shoudda used the anti-red eye setting. So how'd I get her to display her pearly whites you ask? Well, it would seem that Amelia luvs to play with the same cat toys I use for the cats. So this is her trying to get the toy, a feather in this case. The funny thing is that when she catches the toy, she must know how inherently weak it is as she immediately drops it so we can play some more.

Not to be out done, I snapped Shelby who was watching us play. And she too displayed the ol' devil eye thang. 

Or how I spent my whole Christmas budget... oh well.

With all our grandkids and kids visiting this year I decided to spring for the newly released Rock Band 2. And then there was this way cool new drum set. So I had to get it. I'm holding out for the new bass guitar but I do have the new wireless guitar coming too.

It is interesting to note that the new drum set has cymbals, is not as loud to the neighbors with your headset on, and has an improved bass drum pedal. I can just see little Nicky going to town on the drum set. And since he's often sitting next to me, the thud, thud of him playing with his headsets are on should be a tad bit less annoying. (Oh, grandpa!)

Amber's only 4 but she has been learning to play Rock Band too. They recently lost their Xbox and games but they can always visit us (about 3 miles away from their house) and play. That's assuming your homework is done, Nicky.  ;o)

I don't normally play, but if I get this Rock Band bass guitar, I think I'll start sittin' in. I always need to work on my rhythm, or lack thereof. And bass guitar is a fun instrument anyway. Remind me to tell you about the upright bass that I'm having customized for use in my music studio. Cheers.

Fantastic video on the progression of information technology, researched by Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod, and Jeff Bronman.

I probably pointed to this over a year ago, but the stats keep growing. For the most part this is for my children and grandkids. The world is their oyster. It boggles my mind. I so enjoy the fruits of being able to access and befriend the whole world, but it is soooo large.

One of tricks I use to manage my friends on Facebook MySpace, and of course, Window's Live is to periodically delete the inactive profiles of my friend lists. I try to keep my favoritest peoples and delete with abandon those who's company, comments, or lack of comments I don't appreciate. It isn't about have the most friends; it's about have the bestest friends. Be well.

Jeff Miller points out this opportunity to attend a Saxophone Summit 2008 with the comment, apparently they're featuring "women sitting on piano benches holding sopranino and bass saxophones" this year.

Much as I'd like to attend, I think I'll have to pass. There is just too much happening that makes that trip not very wise. The sponsor list looks very impressive though:

• Eppelsheim Wind Instruments
• International Woodwind Saxophones
• Oleg Saxophone Products & Accessories
• J'Elle Stainer Extreme Saxophones
• North American Saxophone Alliance
• Rico Reeds
• Bari Saxophone Mouthpieces & Accessories
• Musicians Credit Union
• US Army Marine Band
• Theo Wanne Mouthpieces
• Local 47 Professional Musicians Union
• Overture Magazine
• Saxophone Journal
• KJZZ 88.1 FM
• JodyJazz

Ya gotta give them an A for effort. And the girl in the picture? She so reminds me of Suzy 35 years ago.  :o)

From the amazing, interesting, wonderful, weird, odd, and funny Village of Joy Web site we find a collection of very odd buildings. Some of these, such as the one pictured below must be difficult to live in.

Suzy has made custom curtains for semi-round windows, but doing so for some of these windows just boggle the mind. And you have to wonder want the sonic effects would be if you were practicing music in one of these rooms. Do some of the earlier played music phrase come around to mesh with the current ones you are playing. If you went around a crooked corner to fast, would you see yourself just going out of site just up ahead?

Heard the other day, "81% of the Republicans want to continue to back Sarah Palin going forward and maybe advance her as the presidential candidate in 2010. 100% of the democrats support this."  :o)

Just got done practicing a bit on soprano sax. I'm luvin' Quincy Jones 'Grace' from his Basie and Beyond CD. This is so tasty that you should have two of these CDs. Neil purchased this chart for the PCBB and I look forward to playing it next year. The other song off the CD I'm practicing is 'Lisette' which has a nice sop solo on it too. There are some more goodness in a sweet solo piece for Mark and a very nice trumpet solo feature number. Good stuff.

I was looking at Gerg's upcoming gigs and feeling how lucky the guy is. Gary mentioned he only did 12 gigs this year. I only did seven. Gerg probably had seven gigs in two months on average. But I refuse to feel sorry for myself, I just turned down two more gigs with a USO band because I just don't have the time to do them. See each gig includes at least one rehearsal and then lots of ramp up. My last gig with the Moonlight Swing Orchestra had three solos and two clarinet parts to prepare. All that time adds up. I don't know how Gerg does it.

I was running through my FaceBook happens page and I noted that Kim threw a sheep at me. So I clicked to do something back using the Poke 'em app and it appeared to error out. The next day I got this from Kim, "FLUNG A THONG?!? My gosh Jim, how indecent! ;)" Whoah, how'd I do that? Good thing Kim is a good sport. Imagine if I'd done that to Barb? Man, would I be in trouble now.

My parting shot--this is my current status on my FaceBook profile, "Jim believes it was Goethe who said it is better to be like "whoah" than to be like "whatever."

We got a lovely email from Aaron and Wendy with pictures of our newest granddaughter, Addie. She had a court date to make the adoption final. And last month she was christened. Here are some of our favorite pictures:

First is the picture of the happy family at the courthouse. Then there is Addie with daddy's glasses. Why do kids love glasses so much? And then there is Addie's silly face. Note the octopus from here recent trip to Seattle and the Seattle Aquarium.

Addie cleans up pretty nice, wouldn't you say?  :o)  Addie is teething and does that tongue thing that all of our kids did. And this year's Halloween costume. I think Addie makes a cute Ewok.

I saw this way cool picture on MySpace where different body parts were tagged with names of friends. Well actually they were just pictures of lips. So I ported that over to my Facebook and started doing it. I actually have two of my blog posse members as friends at Facebook and I added the braver of the two as I really don't want to offend anyone.

There's a lot to choose from including a vampire and the messy chocolate girl. Maybe I can find one of these for saxes and do one with all the friends who play sax on my profile. Note, that if you are not a member of Facebook, my links above will not work. Be well.

Elaine send this interesting article about expensive food experiences.

There are so many great places to spend your dining out dollars. But Suzy and I can normally be found at the Mom and Pop places with prices that are amazingly low for the quality food served. The American Cafe in Crossroads of Bellevue is an example. And I challenge you to find a better cup o' chowder on the eastside.

But there is one place I keep meaning to go to but to date we've not been. It's not Tulas, Jazz Alley, and the like--we've been there. It's Bakes at Providence Point. The food is reported to be excellent and the jazz not to be missed. We'll get there soon, just wait and see. Thanks for the ping Elaine.

A coupla weeks ago I was subbing with the Moonlight Swing Orchestra and they pulled out a saxophone feature number called Bill Bailey at the end of the practice. Man was that a fast ride. Here is a band on YouTube doing it to give you a feel for it:

Those who know me, know that sight reading, aka playing a new song for the first time, is not my strength. I'm concentrating on improving upon that, but let's just say it is a real dice roll as to how well I sight read from song to song. Some just flow, and it's an enjoyable time of discovery. Other times it is flat out hard. Guess what it was this time?  ;o)

This from XKCD.com just made me laugh. And that is a good thing as I stress about the elections. Many of my friends say they are concerned but still trust the public to make the right decision. I'm not so quick to say that after the last two presidential elections.

My mom, sister, wife and I have this long running tradition of playing Scrabble every Thanksgiving. And we've kept track of the last ten or so games. I believe my fair wife is up two at this point which shows how good she is at these kind of games. She up against an English Major (mom), a technical writer (me), and a bank VP (my sister).

Well, actually my sister isn't a VP; she just ends up training them because she isn't willing to move from the local bank to accept a position as a VP. And she retires at a very young age next year. You might remember we are all taking a cruise to Scandinavia to celebrate next year.

By the way, if the word opportunity came up for me in one of our competitions you know damn well, I'd jump all over it.  :o)