[Dixielandjazz] Breda Jazz Festival (Eli Newberger)

[Elazar Brandt]

Shalom Eli,

Glad to hear that things were better for you than what I experienced at Breda. I
suspected that I was missing a lot not being able to be there on Friday and
Saturday. I had to leave early Sunday to catch my flight home, so it occurs to
me that maybe my Thursday evening experience was not representative of the whole
festival once things got underway. However, I still wish things had been better
organized.

I was not there to play with anyone. I almost got invited on stage by a band
from England when the trumpet player (probably also the leader) saw me carrying
an odd shaped instrument case -- a valve trombone I bought in India. While
someone else was soloing, he pointed at my case with a quizzical look as if
asking if it was an instrument. I nodded, then he pointed at the stage, and I
nodded again. But I guess I didn't look enthusiastic enough, or I was too
polite, waiting for a second confirming gesture from him, and it didn't come,
and so neither did I. Oh well.

In other news, I returned home to find a faithful friend from the US had
delivered an aging Olds marching trombone I bought on eBay. Looks like a
trumpet, only roughly twice the size, sounds like a bone. It's a 3-valve Bb horn
with a nice satin finish that gives it an antique look. Not many dings, the
valves and tuning slides are clean, and it sounds great. I gave it a test drive
today in downtown Jerusalem, alternating with tuba and trumpet while my partner
played banjo. The old "What the heck is that thing?" effect is great for drawing
crowds. (But we make some pretty decent music too, that keeps the crowds with
us.) So I'm continuing my quest to find any unusual looking or sounding Bb
horns, 3 or 4 valve or slide, that will add to the mystique and quirky character
of our Doctor Jazz Band. I am due to receive another eBay purchase next month, a
Jupiter slide trumpet (soprano trombone), for the opposite effect of the
marching bone. In a way, it's a pity that people's knowledge of brass
instruments is so low in Israel. Almost everyone who ventures a guess as to what
any of my horns are called, starts with "saxophone?" And they call the banjo a
"mandolina". Guess I have my work cut out for me. It's a tough job, but
someone's got to do it.

Blessings from Jerusalem,

Elazar

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Eli Newberger [mailto:enewberger at attbi.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, 03 June, 2003 09:58
> To: dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
> Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Breda Jazz Festival (Eli Newberger)
>
>
> Dear Elazar, and greetings all,
>
> I just got back from Breda, too, and got an entirely different
> impression of the scene and of the music.  (Fair notice:  I was there to
> play with Butch Thompson and Jimmy Mazzy.)