Blogging again

After all the shoveling we've done in the last couple years, I finally feel like we have something to start blogging about.

My brother, may his wealth increase, took the band temporarilly in a slightly different direction when I was out on the ships of Princess Cruises. Now he's come around to my way of thinking about never cutting back the band except for when the gig specifically calls for it. Never, but NEVER, to GET just any gig.

So what caused this change of plans? Well, a lot of it is that we now have a very congenial group of top-tier players who rearrange their schedules so they can play with us. Monte Mann and Bruce Truitt are guitar players AND bass players, and both of them sing, which really adds a lot of flexibility to the rhythm section. Both are skilled readers too, so any chart I write they can play, and better'n I heard it in my head.

We now have developed an impressive bench. If Bruce or Monte or Leroy can't make it, we have a list of proven cats. Also Janice now has an on-call replacement, Casey Daniel, who I worked with on the Grand Princess last year.

Then there's my favorite section, the horns. Casey came to town because Tommy Poole, her husband, is getting a DMA from UT. He's a killer alto & tenor player, so we're using him about half the time. I slide down to baritone, and switch to the higher registers with Chris Kapral playing baritone when that doesn't work with Tommy's schedule. We still benefit from Jimmy Shortell, and the 'bone chair has been ably covered by a couple Master's candidates from UT.



Last Saturday night we couldn't have sounded better. Not a train wreck or even the slightest hint of mini-catstrophy. It was a wedding at the Mansion on Judge's Hill, an upscale and busy venue for wedding receptions and parties. The bride and groom were hip, going so far as to name the tables DIZZY and ELLINGTON. (The band sat at the RAT PACK table for dinner.)

The call was 8:15 downbeat with a cocktail set at 6:30, and I played that damned Steve Goodson baritone for all it was worth, with Tommy alternating 8-bar heads. It makes such a difference that the wedding party knows jazz!

After an excellent buffet dinner we resisted the temptation to nap and the folks wanted to dance and that's what we gave them--plenty to dance to.

After two sets the whole party disappeared to wish the newlyweds a fond farewell. And that was that. We were done about a half hour early. It's such a nicely paced event when the bride and groom LEAVE rather than hanging around for all three or four hours. Folks just drift back to the hall, pick up their coats and SPLIT.

So extra-credit kudos to Bruce on bass, Monte on guitar, Leroy on piano, Janice as the Canary, and the horns: Jimmy Shortell, Tommy, Javier and me on the bottom. And to my brother Jimmy for having the good sense to turn things around at exactly the right time, and the fortitude to deal with the business side while I am as busy as I am.

We expect to get more than a few gigs from this one, because the party planner at the joint was plenty impressed, and we did have a couple come down from Houston to check us out who are ready to sign.

Things are looking up.

It looks like two now additions to the ORB Bench will arrive soon: trumpeter Andre Zollinger's wife got transferred here from Las Vegas, and Kevin "Yogaboy" thinks he can make a go of it here as a guitar player/yoga teacher.

I may slip away for a week or two on a Princess or Cunard ship before the end of the summer, but I like my job just fine with Orpheus, so there's no compelling reason financially to go. Plus I want to be here in case something happens to Jan's folks in Alabama.

So that's maybe not everything, but touching the most important points. Five in the morning!