Sept 25, 2011: Wedding at the Waterfall Conference Center

Neato torpedo venue: Waterfall Banquet Center in Claymont, DE.
Wonder where they get the name?

     As a musician, I think I oftentimes take for granted how much live music can add to the mood and ambiance of a place.  When I hear music, my brain has been trained to pick it apart, analyze it, and process it in a way I could learn the piece.  For the past year, I've done a pretty small amount of listening for pleasure the way I used to.  Whenever I was listening to music, it was for the purpose of learning it.

The wedding hall.

     Tonight's gig was for a wedding and the people in attendance made their appreciation and enjoyment of our music very evident to us.  Some picked out the tunes they recognized while others asked us for tips to improve their own playing.  A couple of staff members also put in their kind words. 

     The jazz quartet I performed with were very laid back, trusting in everyone's talent and only requiring that we enjoy ourselves when we play.  I felt no pressure to try to be ultra-progressive in my playing, no pressure to dance around like a buffoon despite being unable to hear what I was playing (as often is the case with many rock shows), and no pressure to exactingly recreate studio recordings.  It was just a group of three other guys, two of whom I'd never met, and me just enjoying the simpler pleasures of jazz.  

Donald Williams, our sax player for the evening
showing-off his new bari sax.  

     During the commute back, I popped in some music that I was in no way obligated to learn and just listened and sang along like I did in high school.  It made my hour-long drive home feel like a vacation instead of work on the road.  Good times.