Community Bands Give Much to the Public--and the Musicians, too

Castro Valley Center for the Arts - a fine community venue

I had the pleasure last night of hearing a performance by the Castro Valley Adult and Career Education Community Band. It was just a bit over an hour of rousing, happy music from a variety of sources. From the National Anthem (we all stood) at the beginning to Gershwin's American in Paris (a band version), to a medley of music from the band Chicago, it kept going and seemed to move the 300 to 400 in attendance.

Community bands and chamber orchestras are fascinating in their purpose and in their contribution. Members, who are mostly over 55, are nearly always not professionals, or even former pros, but are people who perhaps took up an instrument as early as grade school and then, if they were lucky, kept playing their whole life. Some have taken a long break, resuming after years--or even decades--and are finding pleasure in renewing their commitment. Some, like me, are late bloomers. I began my instrument, the upright bass, at 51.

Although many ensemble members are along in years, but there is nothing missing in these folks' musicality or endurance.Gordan Pappas, who arranged five of the selections the band played last night, had a long career in music education locally and elsewhere. He is a youthful 89. The fine trumpet soloist, Harry Hanover, is 85. He showed off his excellent tone and cascades of notes in one of Mr. Pappas' arrangements of themes from Mozart's Die Fledermaus.

All the pieces had interest, but some were remarkable above that. Young Choi Ying Chiu stepped away from her percussion assignment to solo on the xylophone in Tico Tico. She ran through the challenging piece with her hands a blur while putting out a crowd-stirring performance. Kathy Catanho played a sensitive saxophone solo in What a Wonderful World (originally made famous by the voice of Louis Armstrong). During the Clarinet Polka, the entire clarinet section (and bass player) put on men's fedoras before they took on the up-tempo rendition.

I was impressed when the group took on the Chicago Medley. I tried to restrain myself from singing along to Searching (for an Answer), Color My World and Does Anybody Know What Time it Is?

An encore of  Stars ad Stripes Forever brought the crowd  back to where the show had started and was a well chosen finale.

Kathy Maier directed the nearly 50-person band with vigor and flair. For comic relief, Master of Ceremonies Mark Morelli read from the concert notes and made wisecracks about the conductor and at one point before Fledermaus, cracked a saxophonist joke.

Playing in organized musical groups like this not only please audiences but keeps the musicians young. The effort, discipline and mental stimulation surely make a big difference. Did I mention that this concert was free to the public? I would have paid to hear it.

Be sure to contact the Castro Valley Adult and Career Education office to learn the upcoming schedule for the Community Band and the Chamber Orchestra season, which begins in September. And-- if you once played and want to resume, the band (and orchestra) are always looking for more players.

Yamaha WX5 Sounds like Anything You Want!

I was at a rehearsal for a musical today when a fellow musician arrived with two fascinating instruments. Besides the gorgeous golden bass saxophone he lugged in was a trim little tube that looked like a digital clarinet designed in 2011. It turned out to be the Yamaha WX5. This amazing device sounds like whatever you want it to because it's a midi sound generator. The guy with it today had it sounding like a saxophone, but it could be a piano or a guitar or a bass or whatever.

It works just like any other midi tone generator, so it's completely compatible. You can set different fingerings to approximate various instruments. And it only weighs a little over a pound!

Apparently it's not too expensive--about $500, my musical colleague told me.

And check out the gorgeous bass saxophone (which sounded fantastic when he played it):

Jack Casady Epiphone Signature Bass--Tested

I saw the ad for the Epiphone Jack Casady Signature Bass in Bass Player magazine months ago. That motivated me to post on Jack. I finally found a music store within driving distance that had one, so I went there today.

On the one hour drive there, I listened to the Jefferson Airplane's 1969 Fillmore East concert Sweeping Up the Spotlight. On the way home, it was Steady as she Goes, the recent Hot Tuna CD. That's the past and present of Jack's playing--all great.

Tall Toad Music in Petaluma (California), is an inviting, old-fashioned full-service store right in the heart of the small downtown, staffed by helpful and friendly employees. I plucked the golden instrument from its high-mounted rack and sat down to enjoy it. It looked even better than the photo, which makes the surface look kind of matte-finished. Actually, it glows. The neck felt familiar--about the same shape and length as my usual Fender P Special--and through one of Fender's new tube amps the bass put out a nice warm sound. It has just one pickup, but the literature says that Jack worked with the Gibson/Epiphone folks to fine tune it to his demanding specs.

The varitone knob, looking like an old-fashioned stove knob, varies the output at a touch for a sharper or mellower sound. I didn't play very loud, and I didn't play in my usual group, so it's hard to say if it would make my band sound better, but the semi-hollow body instrument feels good to the touch and not too heavy.

The big question becomes, after the search and the fun--do I need this bass today? Of course, the answer is, No. But, kidding around with the sales guys, one of them asked, "How many basses does a guy need?" I answered, to laughs, "one more than you have right now." Ha ha.

Considering the amount of dust on the Jack Casady bass I'm guessing it's been sitting around for a while. I wonder how much they'd take off that price to move it. But, remember, I don't need it, right?

Right?