Jazz & Skeptics
Actually, Jazz is our show's theme this year … - The Sexy Symphony Misses
It's always been about convincing people the music is fun. You have to get it in the minds of people that they're going to have a good time, and that they are going to enjoy themselves. This means you could conceivably play a death march or, Pomp and Circumstance for example, for the billionth time and it would be "fun".
This year it was my turn, as drum major, it was my job to make sure the season was enjoyable. That could prove to be a toughie. The show's theme for the year was jazz. T pleased me … and the sax player, but others were skeptical.
"It's gonna be too slow." One tuba player complained.
"It's sooo dreary!" A red headed flautist complained.
"Just … Listen!" I warned … and pleaded.
Exasperated, I threw in a CD with recordings of three of our pieces.
"Good luck convincing." Mr. Madison whispered with a wink. I winked back and let a trumpet sound filter through the speakers. In the background a strong percussion group accompanied. Shortly, flute and clarinet seeped through.
Once the piece completed I looked around. Most were unimpressed, with the trumpets looking thoroughly frightened and the saxes hurt- from being left out. But no worries, their time would come.
The next piece was slower than the first and was a saxophone and percussion feature with back up from the trombone and base line. I tapped my foot along and looked over to see Mr. Madison bobbing his head of brown messy tresses. The rest of the band …. Still unamused.
I bit my lip as the song ended and I still saw apathetic faces. I looked at Mr. Madison who reassured me with a relaxed smile and mouthing of the phrase "cool it".
Silence … then a base drum and it was off. The piece was twice as fast as the first song with a strong base line and trade off between saxes and brass with falls from the upper winds. The piece seemed to interest the students, but they still seemed unconvinced…
With only thirty seconds left I began to panic. What if they hate it? They'll hate the show … and the season will be ruined!
I did all I could … I looked over at Mr. Madison and mouthed what I needed, "Help!"
Before I could blink, Mr. Madison had grabbed my hand and we were off dancing around the room! A spin here, a jive step there, a flip and a twist, and a lindy hop and it was over.
The room broke into smiled and cheers. Round of "I love it" and "That's so cool" erupted from the room. "This'll be a great show" was hear from a few section leaders; and I knew … they were convinced.
"Thank you." Was all I whispered to Mr. Madison. And yet again, he smiled with his nearly famous wink.
Yep .. they were convinced.
END
Basically … this came to me while on a plane and thinking about how hard it is to convince some people to just relax and enjoy the music. Haha. I know it's short, but hope you enjoy! – The Sexy Symphony Misses