Well, here's something you never expected: Apropos McLuhan's hot and cool, Tina and I went to see Sentimental Journey, a big band, play for about an hour at the First Congregational Church in Harwich on Cape Cod tonight. Bob Cormier, who joined the band in just last year or two and plays trombone, invited us to the performance. Bob and his wife Sue have a cottage not far from ours on Cape Cod Bay, so we couldn't resist. (We've known each for many years - astute readers may recall a character named Cormier in one of my novels, The Pixel Eye - she asked me to put her name in one of my novels, and I said yes to that, too.)
But back to the band - they were good, playing numbers from George Gershwin, Tommy Dorsey, E. Y. Harburg ("Over the Rainbow") all the way up to Stevie Wonder's "You Are the Sunshine of My Wife" in time. The 15-person band, with a guitarist, drummer, bass, piano, singer, and the requisite horns, gave spirited, evocative renditions of every song.
As someone who came of age in the 1950s, when rock 'n' roll was aborning and big-band music was mostly over, I've always found these sounds unexpectedly appealing. On the one hand, they seem old fashioned. On the other hand, I can hear an energy in them which rock music took a different way, and it's invigorating to hear and see it live, almost like traveling in time (another one of my favorite themes).
So if you ever get a chance to see Sentimental Journey, go for it. In the meantime, here's a photo - with Bob Cormier in the second row, white mustache and red tie and trombone in hand.
But back to the band - they were good, playing numbers from George Gershwin, Tommy Dorsey, E. Y. Harburg ("Over the Rainbow") all the way up to Stevie Wonder's "You Are the Sunshine of My Wife" in time. The 15-person band, with a guitarist, drummer, bass, piano, singer, and the requisite horns, gave spirited, evocative renditions of every song.
As someone who came of age in the 1950s, when rock 'n' roll was aborning and big-band music was mostly over, I've always found these sounds unexpectedly appealing. On the one hand, they seem old fashioned. On the other hand, I can hear an energy in them which rock music took a different way, and it's invigorating to hear and see it live, almost like traveling in time (another one of my favorite themes).
So if you ever get a chance to see Sentimental Journey, go for it. In the meantime, here's a photo - with Bob Cormier in the second row, white mustache and red tie and trombone in hand.
No comments:
Post a Comment