Today, The Boulevardier was invited by a donor friend to watch the Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) band rehearse for their upcoming performance, in the rehearsal space/classroom just pass Dizzy’s.
It is an annual event before the pandemic, and this was the first one in several years. It was an extraordinary experience. Founder Wynton Marsalis was in his usual trumpet chair, but reed man Ted Nash led the band through the rehearsal, with the great Lew Tabackin on tenor sax and flute. Watching all these cats in street clothes was cool enough, but I later learned all of them were sightreading the scores for the very first time. Their level of musicianship is so high that you would have thought they’d been rehearsing for weeks.
Afterwards, the group of us and many of the musicians, including Messrs. Nash and Tabackin, walked over to Dizzy’s for a sumptuous buffet. Some words were spoken and questions were taken.
This was quite the exciting day. I’ll have to grab a ticket for this concert!