Merry Xmas everyone

Hey all, the Kuumbwa gig with WorlView was tons o’ fun. I got to break in my new Kanstul flugel. My old one, a Custom Class model made by Zig Kanstul had been giving me some problems on my last few gigs. The valves when they worked (thanks to Lionel Emde at Hornucopia who kept them moving) were silky and smooth. But from the beginning, they always stuck and would give me problems from time to time. This is a trumpet player’s nightmare! So I took it to Dick Akright at A&G Music in Oakland, CA and he shipped it off to Kanstul to get new valves put in. He had another Kanstul, a copper bell model w/ a slightly larger bore that played beautifully!! So, I whipped out the ol’ credit card and took it with me to the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz and played the gig that night with it. If you haven’t played one, you have to try it. The valves worked perfectly and the tone is gorgeous. The copper bell is a beautiful reddish color and I think I’ll name it Susan, after my wife. It matches the color of her hair and reminded me of her every time I looked at it.
We had a great crowd there and I saw my old friend Bob King who works there managing the bar and spreading good vibes with his smiling happy self. When you play there and see him smiling at you from across the room, it really makes you feel like you’re in a place called home. The crowd was near capacity and very exuberant. We went as a sextet because Michaelle Goerlitz who normally plays percussion was out of town on another gig. But we made due and the audience loved us. Thanks goes out to Bobbi, who took a chance in having us, Brett for the fun radio interview and everyone who made it out to see us. And last but not least, Matt, Kris, Wayne, Tom, Murray and Paul VW for all of their talent and intuition. These cats are the best!!!
Our next gig is on the 29th of January, 2006 from 4:30-7:30pm at the Jazz School in Berkeley. Hope to see you there and in the meantime, Happy Holidays, stay safe and we’ll all be together again soon.
Peace,
John L. Worley Jr