Last winter I had the terrific opportunity of playing tenor sax in a saxophone quartet led by Roscoe Mitchell of the Art Ensemble of Chicago (and Madison resident and neighbor of mine!). It was an informal practice session and we’ve yet to play a public gig, but it became a regular Saturday morning event for a couple hours. We got side tracked this summer, but now that the cold has set in again, to quote John Belushi in The Blues Brothers, “we’re putting the band back together!”

The members:
Roscoe Mitchell, alto sax 1
J.J. Johnson, alto sax 2
Bryan Husk, tenor sax
Anders Svanoe, baritone

The repetoire:
Bach to Parker, Neihaus to Roscoe Mitchell original creations

It’s such a satisfying meditation to play with three other saxophones. I’m reminded how understanding the saxophone is a lifelong pursuit, and why I continue to play…

Fellow Clyde Stubblefield Band horn friend, Pete Nelson, emailed me an amusing holiday mp3 featuring the extrordinary dynamic range and melodic subtlety of the trumpet. Brass instruments, especially trumpets, are always a delight during holiday season (you know those brass quintets and holiday fanfares that are so popular this time of year!). You couldn’t find a better example than this little ditty!

Now understand, Pete finds endless humor in making fun of sax players (me!) and all woodwind players in general. And these days, with a trombone in the horn section, he’s got an brass pal to gang up with (aka Alex “Youngblood” Leong). The fact that Pete would send me an mp3 poking fun at the less appealing aspects of the trumpet’s tone is indeed a sincere and generous gift for the holidays!

Enjoy everyone, and happy holidays from the Clyde Stubblefield horns!

A Trumpet Christmas (mp3)