Simple Gifts

It is a beautiful fall day here-sunny, cool with light winds. A beautiful day to make music. A beautiful day for a band concert.

While running on the trail early today, it dawned on me that I've been playing the saxophone for 50 years. A milestone. 50 years. Wow.

For 50 years, I've been going off to band rehearsals , a gig, a concert, some gathering of musicians who shared love of music and performing. Concert bands, jazz bands, duets and quartets, all kinds of ensembles. 

In junior high school,  I formed a combo we called "The Burnished Brass" and we modeled ourselves after Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.

In college, I recorded a 45 with a local soul band in a recording studio up in Minneapolis. 

I led my college marching band onto the field at Lambeau Stadium in Green Bay for a Packers game in front of a national TV audience back when they used to show bands on TV.

I played in and conducted school bands and adult bands and performed under the baton of some of the finest band conductors of the day.

For 10 years, I taught young people the art of making music and playing an instrument.

And I've sat side by side with fellow musicians and band nerds in countless hours of rehearsals and performances as we made music together.

Music has been my identity,  my salvation,  my creative outlet and my occupation at times during these 50 years. Playing the saxophone is central to the story of my life.

Today, I celebrate 50 years of playing the saxophone and I can't think of a better way to do that than to play in our community band, performing concert band literature.

Simple gifts that last a lifetime. Music is a gift. And the blessings of that gift are not lost on me today.

My first lesson book dated 7/10/63