How I spent my weekend

So much to say.  Let's start with some sad news.  Clarence Clemons, the tenor saxophonist of the E Street Band died this weekend from complications of a stroke.  He was 69 and, though he was not someone I followed closely, he was always on my radar.  He is the big sax sound you hear behind Bruce Springsteen and is responsible for the blazing sax solo in Born To Run.  The world has lost a great musician.

In related saxophone news, I had rediscovered the splendor of Coleman Hawkins.  Hawk was a tenor man too (1904-1969), and is known for his fantastic interpretation of Body and Soul.  Known as Hawk, as a boy he played cello, which may have influenced the rich, full tone of his tenor playing.  Hawk started as a sideman in Mamie Smith's Jazz Hounds and eventually became a featured soloist with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra.  (Fletcher Henderson would go on to become a primary arranger and pianist for Benny Goodman.)  I love his sound and his soloing is fascinating to listen to.  I may try to transcribe a solo to see what he's doing.  It's incredible to hear a skilled soloist navigate through chord changes that present millions of possibilities and manage to come out the other side with something tuneful and coherant.

Yesterday, with a friend, I took a little trip back to the Rennaissance at the Olde English Faire held at the Wildlife Prairie State Park.  In addition to seeing buffalo and other furry and feathered critters, the Faire offered musical entertainment.  One band that caught my ear was a three-piece minstrel troupe called Wolgemut.  Wolgemut means, in ancient German, "to be in a good mood."  They are a lot of fun to watch and listen to, adept on their instruments, with plenty of comedy thrown in for good measure. 

Here they are.  The man on the right is playing a German bagpipe, the man in the middle is playing a big drum (he had two types of sticks to create different sounds, and you can see the cymbals on the stand to his right), the man on the left is playing a rauschpfeife.  A rauschpfeife is a relative of the shawm.  It has a double reed (like an oboe) encased in a windcap.  The force required to make the reeds vibrate create a very loud sound. 

There are a few other things, but in order to keep this nibble down to bite-sized, I will save them for another time.  ARE YOU WOLGEMUT!?!