Throughout the spring, Peg and I looked forward to visiting the Safeway Shopping Plaza on North Pearl. There were two of our favorite restaurants there, the Safeway grocery store, Ace Hardware, and Key Bank. Shopping is a needful thing, but what we really enjoyed was a tenor Saxophone player providing fun tunes. We always managed to have some tip money with us for him. We even got his phone number so we could invite him to perform on our deck sometime this summer. Of course we lost the note somewhere and now we are looking for him or someone else to play for us.
Looking back . . . My parents were not big on warning me when they were about to change my life. We had just moved to Lakewood and I was still settling in. When I was called into the living room of our home at 9511 Maple Avenue to meet a friend of the family I had never met. He introduced me to an old silver alto Saxophone. It turned out he was also going to be my band teacher when I started fifth grade at Park Lodge. I assumed I was free from tyranny when my two piano teachers died and my cornet teacher and I parted company. But no . . . life continued. Not only had my mother taken care of my school time, but she also found another piano teacher as well.
I survived the Saxophone and enjoyed the piano teacher . . . even the two boogie woogie pieces I chose for my recitals. He would sometimes play drums while I played the piano. In the sixth grade at Navy Base things looked up and I found a long time friend Rich Christenson. In band, things remained the same . . . boring . . . first at Hudtloff and then at Mann Jr High. In band my playing wasn’t bad, but I found the materials boring. In ninth grade at Mann I was offered the baritone Saxophone. I enjoyed playing it and felt like I did a decent job with it. At the end of ninth grade I applied for the concert band at Clover Park High School. Not believing I would be approved it wasn’t until mid-August when I got notice that I was now a member of the concert band. My parents owned a motel at Ponders Corner, so I would pick a separate random empty cabin at the motel and go in and play for an hour or so almost every day.
As I waited for the school bus to arrive for opening day a friend from the junior class asked me to save a seat on the bus for a friend of his. The big case for the baritone Sax took up quite a bit of room, so it was easy to save a little bit of room. It turned out the friend was a cute junior girl, so saving a seat was not a problem . . . not a problem at all. I saved her a seat for almost the entire year.
The Saxophone section featured a jerk from my days at Mann, and an excellent alto player who was signed up for one of the army band as soon as he graduated. Also there was a senior girl who played tenor. She had a very nice tone and great fingering. She was a shoe-in and had the University of Washington waiting for her in June.
My grade in band was a “C” for the first quarter followed by “B’s” for the next two. I even made money by loaning my Sax to a tenor Sax player who played in a rock band . . . until my mother found out. She made me return the money. I had straight “A’s” in band for the next two years. In my senior year I was chosen for the All Puget Sound Orchestra.
I played alto Sax in the orchestra concerts and baritone in the Concert Band. I had a friend who also played Saxophone. He borrowed my alto Sax and using rubber bands made the larger keys work better. Brian didn’t seem to have any friends. I met his parents and his father seemed to look down on his son. When he came in he asked who was winning our game of Chess. Brian mentioned that I was. He father said, “It figures.” It’s always bothered me since then that I didn’t help my friend, a fellow Saxophonist, but didn’t see what I could do. Brian was only okay as a Sax player . . . as he was only okay as a Chess player and possibly as a son, but they never have to stay that way.
I think a good Saxophone player needs the right touch and the right feel and you have to mostly search for it. Listen to Gerry Mulligan on Baritone Sax and Chet Baker on Trumpet from You tube with Walkin’ Shoes (WOW): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7FOmjiibgk
If Peg and I can find the North Pearl Shopping Center Tenor Saxophone player again I’ll be thrilled. If you know a musician who plays Tenor or Baritone Sax ask them to call me or Peg at 253-752-8262. We are sponsoring a one day garage/yard sale on the 19th of August at 47th and Huson from 9am to 4pm (Just above Point Ruston). We would like to offer a stipend and huge tip jar. It’s not big money, but I think we can offer some internet PR as well for an aspiring Saxophone musician.
Don Doman,
Now I am about to tell you something both you and our good friend, fine fellow Ben Sclair are not aware of.
I got A’s in my school band while playing clarinet and sax. I won solo and ensemble contests including a couple while visiting Puyallup High School.
So I have a few questions for you before deciding if I am going to volunteer to play music at your garage sale.
(1) How big a stipend would you pay me?
(2) How big a tip jar do you plan to use?
(3) Are you and Peg willing to pay for my 1st class air travel between the East and West Coasts?
(4) Will there be free parking for my Hertz rental car?
(5) Do you have a sax I can rent once I get there or will your mother’s having admonished you in your youth not be a forgotten lesson and thereby cause you to not rent musical instruments?
(6) Disclosure = The last time I played the sax was 65 years ago, so I might be a bit rusty. But, on the positive side, I still have some unused reeds for the sax.
Joseph Boyle – A guy with more life experience than you can imagine. Bring up a topic and I have probably been there.
Don,
Thanks for providing the Gerry Mulligan video. I watched and listened with great interest.
DISCLOSURES:
(1) I only made it to the 2nd chair in the band, never the 1st chair, which was always covered by Steve Buzzmier, who had the money for private lessons.
(2) I never sounded as good as Gerry Mulligan.
While I have been honest with my disclosures, I am retired and really could use the extra cash. Do I have a shot? If not, would you consider having me do some stand-up comedy at your garage sale?
Joseph Boyle – A guy who gets ideas.
I love that you both support local musicians! My former student, Kareem Kandi, is one of the best. Just returning with his family from a European tour. He plays many local venues. Even plays out at SeaTac. We last saw him play outside the Seymour Botanical Conservatory at Wright Park. An awesome Music Teacher as well. Watch for him.
I’m interested!
Hello! I know a dynamic Saxophone player! His name is Frank Bumpass! He has a website at Frankbsax.com. He travels all around the world where needed. He is on all social platforms as frank_b_sax. His contact information is on his website!
I took clarinet lessons in grade school in a group of other musicians. It was fun but not really good lessons. I practiced one hour a day but my band director encouraged me to get private lessons which would never happen because it wouldn’t be fair to my younger brother. My two brothers played baseball but they never bought me a glove because if fear I would be best. I excelled in every school subject and in summer played in band. I wanted to play something Sam & Dave had so my parents broke down and bought me an alto sax. I played all the clarinets and saxes in summer band 3 years. Elementary school didn’t give out saxes and our school had 3 students playing alto sax. There were no band directors before the 70s who could play sax 🎷 I found out from my junior high school band director @ the late 1990s. There is a good video on 5 myths of the sax. The school band tries to teach sax to play symphonic music which there are no sax parts. Most sax Players want to play RnB, Soul soul, Jazz, Rock. In USA there were hip band directors who included USA music in the 50s & 60s. That’s RnB, Country, Jazz etc. Most didn’t really teach USA music. Doesn’t make Sense. Bach played organ in church his adult life. His music was called baroque. Mozart was championed by a cardinal and he write gospel music. His music was called classical. Beethoven write romantic music. In USA it’s all called classical ! Classical music has folk elements, gospel elements and secular music brightened music after the church controlled the arts and sciences in Europe. Bach wrote the best Bass lines. Bass didn’t progress until Charlie Parker took away the piano players left hand. The drums was free to play percussion and bass to walk the chord changes. How do you connect USA Jazz to European classical music ? Now it’s called Western music. The tenor sax 🎷 gets the sorriest parts in the concert band. How is it there’s so many great tenor sax players? The sax is the only instrument 🎷 that was invented in Europe and named after a European! The 🪕 banjo is the most African instrument. The guitar 🎸 developed from banjo like instruments. The modern guitar came from Syria an Arab Country. When parents commit their children they’re asking for something children might not want to do. I wasn’t encouraged to play music. I was encouraged to play sports because it’s cheap and subsidized by tax money. When I left grade school I played in funk bands that generated income in the black community. We were exploited by black business folks because our parents didn’t care. Sports doesn’t generally any income in the black community. My mom’s brother played tenor sax in late 1940s behind Dinah Washington who had 111 jukebox hits from 1945-55!. He was a Dexter Gordon tenorman. I’ve heard USA is devoid if the arts meaning USA creates good quality artists but doesn’t appreciate it!
I wonder if you are aware of pee wee Ellis. I moved to mill valley and met pee wee at a little bar on shoreline
He was a womderfull.instant friend. He expressed love radiating from him he played in bay area alot and Keith van Morrison. Wanted to share this about him. I was with bass player Paul Edward’s and know how you musicians take care and look lout in that music life..pe7ace and love7 noreen
WOW! I WISH I WAS GOOD ENOUGH AND CLOSE ENOUGH TO HELP!! JUST A SERIOUS STUDENT OF THE ALTO SAX NOW!!
This is awesome, I would not mind being a part.
Started playing musical instrument in Park Lodge band – Gerald Pepos, director – on an uncle’s silver C melody saxophone. I used C flute music since C melody sax scores not available.
Kept playing that sax while at Navy Base, Mr. Pepos director.
t Hudtloff, Almon “Al” Meddaugh was band director. C flute music was getting too high for me to play on the sax. He transposed scores for me until my folks bought me a silver E flat alto sax.
Also played it at Mann, Jack Henderson director. Practice made perfect with Mr. Henderson leading.
My final year in band was as a Lakes sophomore. Played E flat baritone sax. Mr. Pepos director. Lakes band:
–marched in formation on CP’s Thompson Field at halftimes of Lakes 1963 home football games. Played in pep band at Lakes 1963-1964 home basketball games.
–went to play (sat in stands, in uniforms with instruments ready, never played) at Tacoma’s Cheney Stadium prior to President Kennedy’s speech. Fri., Sept 27, 1963.
— played in a concert with trumpet virtuoso Rafael Mendez in the Lakes Gym. Tue., Jan. 21, 1964.
— marched through Tacoma, Puyallup and Sumner and in a Puyallup Daffodill Festival Parade. Sat., April 11, 1964. Played only one song — “Go! Twist!,” which we memorized – entire parade route.