Anacrusis27 wrote:
Sammy Nestico said, "Ya Gotta Try." I say, ya gotta do the hang when Michael comes to town.

The In the Mood show is currently in the Sunshine State and this past weekend, I had the good fortune of spending the better part of an afternoon with Michael and one of his section-mates Bruce Gates. It was a bit of a drive to get there, but well worth the trip. Michael demonstrated that he's just as great a guy as he is a trumpet player as he generously shared his perspectives on every and any topic that I wanted to talk about.

That evening I watched and listened while he proceeded to tear it up on stage. The In the Mood show is a very entertaining and appealing one. While my wife was watching being entertained by the dancers and singers on the front of the stage, I was intently focused on every note coming out of the trumpet section. Michael sat on top of that section like a great lead player should and turned out those tunes one after another with a richness of sound, style, and precision that really made the show and captured the style of the era. He shared with me that one of the show's major challenges is that every tune segues into the next and the trumpet doesn't come off of the face very much at all, and man, he wasn't kidding. In spite of the endurance requirements of the book, he never faded. In fact in the second set he pasted some notes in the A and double C range that would have made the Boss smile. So congrats Michael, you really killed it.
Thanks, I apprciate the kind words. Where in the house were you, and how was the sound?

Perhaps the next time I'm through FL we can get a few more guys together and really make it a bigger, more formal trumpet hang.

All the best, and keep in touch!



Last Edited By: Michael Apr 9 09 5:22 PM. Edited 1 times.