Big Man is generally off on Sunday nights, but when he was called and asked to sub for another trumpet player at the regular Sunday evening Big Band Night at a large reception hall near Causeway, he jumped at it -- and not just 'cause we need the money. He loves playing those classic tunes, and he knew the gig would help polish up his reading chops.
I decided to go, both to "spend time" with Big Man (kind of relative since he'd be on stage for most of it) and to check out the scene for myself. I don't always get a full report on some of Big Man's more interesting gigs, since some of the time his head is burrowed in an unfamiliar band book and he can't pay attention to whatever else is going in around the band. (Like, he played last week at the Krewe of Thoth ball, and I barely could pry the parade theme -- "Thoth Goes to College" -- out of him.) So I wanted to see for myself, and possibly get to report to my faithful readers (if any of y'all are left).
Big Man dressed in the standard tuxedo, and I just wore what I had put on that morning to preach in (under my robe, of course), which I figured was good enough. But it almost wasn't. Turns out that the Big Band Night is quite the thing with the over-65 set, and the women especially dress up in a major way. Several of these older ladies were in formals, and most were in fancy cocktail attire. The men were in suits and ties, or at least sport coats and ties. God bless that generation! They know what's proper for a night of dancing to the good ol' music (which of course to them is the music of their youth and prime, kind of like how I feel about old New Orleans R&B and the Beatles and Motown).
The band IS indeed big, and Big Man's place was as third trumpet. There were also multiple 'bones and saxes, and a big rhythm section. Most of the band was older than Big Man, but some were just around our age. Among the audience, I was quite clearly the youngest person. (And without trying, became something of a draw, as several old gentlemen made their way to the far corner where I had established myself, hoping to be unobtrusive and unnoticed, and asked me to dance. But I only danced with Big Man, who got genially shoved from the stage about three times by the lead trumpeter, who said, "Oh go dance with your wife." But I guess I could have been the Belle of the Ball had I been so inclined.)
It was really touching to see these old couples, some looking pretty infirm, making their way around the dance floor. (I noticed the band kept all the selections pretty short, verse-chorus-verse-end, in deference to the capabilities of the attendees.) Some of the dancers had some pretty sharp moves, others just kind of shuffled around, but it was so clear how much they were enjoying themselves, how much it meant to them. It was really sweet to see some of those old couples, apparently married forever, still so devoted to each other. A few tables were celebrating birthdays, and cake was shared with the band members at the break.
I had figured Big Man would get no solos as third trumpet, but it turns out that since the lead trumpeter knows Big Man from his playing with the Bobby Lonero Band, he pitched him a few solos. On one, Big Man blew the roof off the place with this amazing drawn-out high A. Hot stuff!
The whole thing was over by 10 pm, which I assumed was actually *after* the usual bed-time of most of the dancers. On the way home, Big Man confessed it was so much fun he'd do that gig for free (oops, don't tell anyone!).
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