Last night I went to a jam hosted by a local guitar picker's friend. It was at a huge beautiful house set on the water of the Elizabeth River here in Virginia. Huge backyard, beautiful scenery and probably over a 100 people at this party/jam. Great food, free beer the perfect setting for a great bluegrass jam.
Flyers were sent out advertising it as a BLUEGRASS Hoedown Jam. So a bunch local bluegrass musicians show up who are all pretty good pickers and we are all pretty familiar with each overs tunes from playing at a local Blugreass jams.
"Bring your favorite Bluegrass instrument" according to the flyer.
So who else shows up?? You guessed it a saxophone/fiddler! LOL!
Now at least he was trying to be thoughtful because he didn't play a big saxophone he played a little tiny one he called a soprano sax. I didn't even know a soprano sax existed! Well it probably didn't matter it was a small one because it was as loud as any of the various river craft's horns out on the water! It was surprising loud. It was a TRUE banjo killer! LOL!
Well the guy you could tell was a very good player but didn't really know any of the tunes we played but he could noodle around all up and down the scales to whatever song or fiddle tune we played.
My first instinct was just to pack up and leave. But then I am thinking lighten up and have some fun, the guy was just trying to fit in and have some fun in his own way.
And he didn't play the sax all the time (THANK GOD! LOL) because he played the fiddle sometime and he was pretty good on that.
Actually he was good on the sax too and one of our group (a fiddler) even made a comment to me that he thought the guy sounded good.
It occurred to me last night that if the guy would just take a break on the sax as the tunes went around as opposed to playing over top of everyone it probably would have been more enjoyable.
I was thinking that when a group of people get together to jam it is the same as a group of people sitting in a circle and having a conversation. People take turns talking one at a time and if two people talk at the same time it gets confusing. And if one person talks incessantly nonstop even when other people are talking it then becomes annoying. Music is communication.
Anyway's as the evening wore on the jam moved inside and eventually I guess it got late and the sax player stopped and we played a little while longer.
I think all in all we all had a good time and this problem of someone showing up at a bluegrass jam with a non bluegrass instrument (I went to one where a guy showed up with keyboards and LONG extension cord! I LEFT! LOL) is something we ALL have experienced all over the USA at one time or another if you play long enough and go to enough jams.
Anyway's .... I guess I am done venting! LOL! I try to be a nice guy but it gets harder and harder because I am getting grouchier as I get older. I am turning into my father!
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