<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0">I have super strong affections for instrumentalists, especially clarinetists, and have favorites of the highest level of enjoyment on most every instrument (except washboard, kazoo, oboe and basson to name a few).<BR>
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My whole life has been spent playing with and organizing larger ensembles of instrumentalists (6 to 18 pieces).<BR>
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That said, I find nothing, no instrument that compares with the beauty and wonder of the human voice. It can convey more emotion, feelings and musical nuance than any other instrument I know.<BR>
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An awesome musical performance from the likes of Ella can literally bring me to tears . . . in total awe of the beuaty and wonder of God's creation.<BR>
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It is the first and most important instrumental gift from God.<BR>
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And like many other things from God, everyone was given one, each totally unique . . . one of a kind. And like the God children, there are good ones and bad ones . . . but even the "bad" ones are beautiful in their own way.<BR>
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Satchmo, to this day, is still my very favorite male vocalist.<BR>
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About a year and a half ago, I brought to the attention of this board a young vocalist I had discovered, Chelsea Krombach. She is unlike anything I've ever heard. The best I know of walking the planet. I sang her praises here on the board and Ed Metz, Sr. wrote me agreeing with what I had said.<BR>
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This girl could bring me to tears playing behind her, it was too awesome for description.<BR>
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At that time, she had been singing jazz less than a year and we recorded her first CD a few days before she graduated from high school at age 18.<BR>
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In the session we did, it was an unrehearsed session, with a band that had never met each other, and almost everything she did was first take. No overdubs or fixes . . . recorded LIVE.<BR>
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For those interested in hearing this awesome, angelic 18 year old, I have a few demo clips from the CD on my website you can listen to.<BR>
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BillSargentBands.com<BR>
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Sorry for rambling on, just that all the posts on the vocalists got my feelings going.<BR>
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Bill<BR>
414-777-0100<BR>
BillSargentBands.com</FONT></HTML>