What the heck is he playin’…

It’s another ‘name that instrument’ for prizes and notoriety.

WeirdClari2

Okay, what is it?  ;o)

Posted in Clarinet, Music Instruments, Oddities | Tagged | 12 Comments

When the frost is on the pumpkin…

selling101 There are a lot of advertisements selling stuff where I don’t immediately know, and truth me known really care, what a company is selling. I just enjoy the science, art, and beauty of the advertisement. So in that vein, any guesses from my blog posse as to what the ad with this young lady is for? I’ve removed the text but my guess is that you’ll recognize the company immediately and maybe the ladies on the blog posse will correctly guess the product.

Anyway this picture got me thinking how much I luv sweater weather. I conjure up thoughts of a cozy fireplace, cup o’ joe, and light jazz music in the background. Very nice. As night ascends on the Lake Sammamish hillside where I live, and the air turns brisk there is not very much nice a feeling than cuddling with the one you love and chatting the night away.

WHEN the frost is on the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock,

And you hear the kyouck and gobble of the struttin’ turkey-cock,

And the clackin’ of the guineys, and the cluckin’ of the hens,

And the rooster’s hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence;

O, it’s then the time a feller is a-feelin’ at his best,

With the risin’ sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest,

As he leaves the house, bareheaded, and goes out to feed the stock,

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock.

They’s something kindo’ harty-like about the atmusfere

When the heat of summer’s over and the coolin’ fall is here—

Of course we miss the flowers, and the blossoms on the trees,

And the mumble of the hummin’-birds and buzzin’ of the bees;

But the air’s so appetizin’; and the landscape through the haze

Of a crisp and sunny morning of the airly autumn days

Is a pictur’ that no painter has the colorin’ to mock—

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock.

 

The husky, rusty russel of the tossels of the corn,

And the raspin’ of the tangled leaves as golden as the morn;

The stubble in the furries—kindo’ lonesome-like, but still

A-preachin’ sermuns to us of the barns they growed to fill;

The strawstack in the medder, and the reaper in the shed;

The hosses in theyr stalls below—the clover overhead!—

O, it sets my hart a-clickin’ like the tickin’ of a clock,

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock.

Then your apples all is gethered, and the ones a feller keeps

Is poured around the cellar-floor in red and yaller heaps;

And your cider-makin’s over, and your wimmern-folks is through

With theyr mince and apple-butter, and theyr souse and sausage too!…

I don’t know how to tell it—but ef such a thing could be

As the angels wantin’ boardin’, and they’d call around on me—

I’d want to ‘commodate ’em—all the whole-indurin’ flock—

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock.

James Whitcomb Riley

Posted in Too Spicy for some | 5 Comments

The Bee Dance (The Waggle Dance)

Great googly-moogly!, this is just flat out fun, luv these guyz. The Industrial Jazz Group performs a new tune live at Seasons in Yakima (WA) and Le Voyeur in Olympia (WA). Audio recorded at Seasons on September 6, 2008.

Featuring: Dan Rosenboom (trumpet / piccolo trumpet), Steph Richards (trumpet), Ian Carroll (bone), Nelson Bell (bone), Cory Wright (soprano sax), Lee Elderton (soprano sax), Evan Francis (alto sax), Ward Baxter (tenor sax), Mary-Sue Tobin (tenor sax), Mieke Bruggeman (bari sax), Jill Knapp (vox), Tany Ling (vox), Dan Schnelle (drums), Oliver Newell (bass), Andrew Durkin (conducting, composition).
Opening clip of a bee c/o Ivan Bridgewater and the Internet Archive.
Other footage shot c/o Tany Ling, Jill Knapp, Matt Lichtenwalner, and Andrew Durkin.

IJG

Check out the Industrial Jazz Group at www.industrialjazzgroup.com.

Posted in Jazz | 2 Comments

Fantasy by Renaldo Kuhler

“Fantasy is like fruit and desert, and reality is like meat and potatoes and green beans,” says Renaldo Kuhler
 
Renaldo
Posted in Travel | 2 Comments

Calvin & Hobbes: When We Die?

The pair are named after John Calvin, a 16th century French Reformation theologian, and Thomas Hobbes, a 17th century English political philosopher.

CalvinSax

Posted in Saxophone | 4 Comments

From Planet Soprillo “The World’s Smallest Sax Quartet”

Randy Emerick

 

Randy Emerick regales us with what is billed as “The world’s smallest saxophone quartet” with Soprillo, Eb sopranino, Bb soprano, and Eb alto playing a standard SATB sax quartet. Listen to it here: BlueSkies.mp3.

Soprillogy Randy Emerick is a professional woodwind doubler. His experience includes classical music with the Florida Symphonic Pops of Boca Raton and the Palm Beach Pops, playing clarinet, bass clarinet, and all saxophones.

He has also recorded with the jazz ensembles of Jaco Pastorius and the Impact of Brass. In addition he has performed with artists of all styles including Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, Sammy Davis Jr., The Four Tops, Crystal Gayle and many others.

Read more about the soprillo at http://www.soprillo.com/. And check out Nigel Wood’s Soprillogy CD at Saxtet Publications. Note that the price is in British Pounds.

There are so many different ways to serve up the saxophone world. And most people can’t tell the difference in sound or site between an alto or a tenor sax. But the soprillo has been my hardest challenge to date. And whenever I pick it up the dawgs head for the door.  :o)

Posted in Music Instruments, Sax Quartet, Saxophone, soprillo | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Technorati: 2008 – Who Are the Bloggers

"Bloggers are not a homogenous group, but they are an educated and affluent one: three out of four U.S. bloggers are college graduates, and 42% have attended graduate school. They skew male, and more than half have a household income over $75,000."State of the Blogosphere/2008

Would it surprise you that bloggers tend to be better educated and more articulate than your average Joe or Josephine? As my blog posse knows, I luv tables, charts, and data. And Technorati provides them in spades. As a fellow who owns more than one copy of the Statistical Abstract of the United States, I’m eatin’ this stuff up.

Blogger2008

There is a lot to look at here for those who are interested and I will highlight one more statistic in this post. Based on the growth of bloggers, and in this chart measuring links to a blog, you can afford to be very picky about who you add to your friend list.  ;o)

blogger2008growth

Enjoy.

6 Comments

Pricing or the Value of a Vintage Sax – Fall 2008

During a discussion amongst friends recently where I said,

I am absolutely floored at the prices I’m hearing for these instruments in this thread. I can’t fathom spending upwards of $2K on anything but a pristine vintage instrument. I tend to quote average prices worldwide vice the best price that has been paid. I suspect that for every Conn Naked Lady sold for those high prices there are 20 or more that go for less than $500!

The stories I hear about buying Conn “Naked Ladies” all tend to quote *much* lower prices. Maybe these folks are exaggerating their finds or maybe the people selling the instruments are hyping them. Who knows. But many fine instruments go to dealers who tend to only buy at really low prices.

Tony, wasn’t your Conn NL in very nice condition? Does Annamarie’s compare based on the pics you have of her instrument? That said, I’d hold on to a fine playing Conn NL. It’s value will only continue to rise and playing it, if you’re into vintage instruments is where the real value is.

I came across this assessment on the value of vintage saxophones in 2008. I thought it was very close to being right on. (Tip of the hat to Tony.)

connsax

"I hear ya, this sounds like a topic for a blog. Of the 120 plus horns I have sold on Ebay the market really hasn’t moved much in this price range.  The two horns that’s have really taken off are the early engraved Mark VII’s (240XXX range) and the early Eastlake Super 20’s which are now approaching the $3K range. The others and I think Matt Stoecker would agree would fall into the following categories:

· Selmer Mark VII’s  – $2,000+

· Yamaha YAS 875 Customs – $1,900

· Buffet Super Dynactions – $1,600+

· Keilwerth Tone King etc – $1,600+

· Conn 6M’s $1,600+

· SML Standard and Gold Medal Horns – $1,500+

· B&S Guardala’s – $1,400+

· King Zephyr $1,400+

· Martin “The Martin Alto’s” $1,200+

· Conn “Chu Berry” $1,100

· B&S “Blue Label” – $900

As for the Conn, this one just listed for a Buy it Now of $4K now that’s a horn!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Gold-Plated-Conn-Full-Naked-Lady-Transitional-Alto-Sax_W0QQitemZ330275268698QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item330275268698&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Just a comment, a year from now all bets are off as to the value or your vintage sax then.

Posted in Saxophone | 1 Comment

The Final Word: Good punctuation brings periods of happiness

“An exclamation mark is like laughing at your own jokes.” – Scott Fitzgerald

I thought I was the only one with bad comma karma. But Craig Wilson of USA Today writes in “The Final Word: Good punctuation brings periods of happiness“, that he too has agonized about the placement of commas or the lack thereof. It’s one of the thangs my dad says to me about my writing. But I notice he doesn’t correct them or give me specific suggestions.

“E-mail has not helped any, mainly because it’s often communication through sentence fragments. Dashes and ellipses galore. Maybe that’s why I use lots of exclamation points in my e-mail. It’s not that my sentence fragments are exciting. I’m just trying to make them so. Like this!”

Exclamation points are really funny in most cases. I must remember to use them less!  ;o)

Posted in Humor, Language | 2 Comments

Dad’s Message to the Faithful

At Church Again

Posted in My World, Religon, Video | 3 Comments