February 5th, 2008 - Fat Tuesday Celebration

This is the seventh (perhaps eighth year) of David playing a traditional hot jazz concert with friends to celebrate Mardi Gras.

This year many people gave cans of food for the Oregon Food Bank and received beads in return. In many ways this evening followed a now-established tradition. It started with an assortment of chocolate delights to savor while tables answered Mari Gras trivia questions.

When the time arrived to listen to the music the audience moved into the sanctuary and all were immediately enthralled. The love of this music among the musicians was evident. There were new players but the same joy as in years past. The quintet played Indiana, Nearness of You, Sweet Georgia Brown, Rosetta and Walking My Baby Back Home among others but this year I would have to give the nod to Perfidia as being a perfect encapsulation of the musical evening. There was a balance, a humanity to the music that created a musical landscape for the audience that no one wanted to leave.

The energy was intoxicating and there were smiles on everyone’s face. You felt a musical friendship with these musicians as they took the music to a new levels with each improvisational solo. Gavin Bondy returned this year with his superb trumpet performances. Bryan Dickerson played clarinet, Kevin Dietz returned on bass, and Warren Murray played drums.

There was also the traditional burning of last year’s palms. These ashes will be used for Ash Wednesday tomorrow night.