27 December 2010 by ben.

This year, we had a small family gathering for Christmas:  my parents, who drove over from Okanogan for the week, plus the five of us.  During the week, everyone finished their shopping and enjoyed a seasonal flick or two.  This year, we watched It’s A Wonderful Life and The Bishop’s Wife earlier in the month, and after my parents arrived, viewed the John Ford / John Wayne classic, Donovan’s Reef.

On Christmas, Kim and the kids played a concert for us.  Sandy played the melodies on her saxophone, Scott and Bonnie accompanied on their trombones, and Kim added harmonies on her violin.  In the kitchen, Kim cooked Beef Wellington as the main course, and, with Kim’s crust, I made a chocolate pecan pie.   A few other dishes rounded out the delicious meal.

Click Santa for a few family photos:

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6 December 2010 by ben.

For the 11th consecutive year, the Roosevelt Jazz Band in Seattle performed the Jazz Nutcracker, as arranged by Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington in 1960. This annual tradition brightens the theater with thoughtful and articulate performances of this increasingly popular jazz version of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite.  Many attendees had kids in the jazz programs in previous years and come to the concert to hear this great music again and to see some old friends, too.

Click the photo for the rest of the archive:

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3 December 2010 by ben.

On Friday, 3 December, Roosevelt Jazz Band put on a special pair of concerts for area 4th and 5th graders.  In each concert, the band played selections from the jazz version of the Nutcracker, as arranged by Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington.  The band played a few selections, and then director Scott Brown solicited questions from the audience, some of which showed surprising insight.  One boy wanted to know, “What does that big saxaphone sound like?”  A girl asked a question about jazz improvisation, wondering if the musician played completely on their own, or interacted with other musicians on the stage.  That was probably the most insightful question ever asked at these concerts for the local middle school kids over the past decade.

And here are some photos I took of the event, click the one below to see the full archive: 

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