He looked at her lying there, entranced by her sensuous curves,
her golden glow. But it was her voice that really moved him—sometimes soft and sexy, sometimes wild with abandon. Whatever his mood, she matched it.
He lifted her lovingly to his lips. Tonight they would make beautiful music together. Harry and his trumpet.
Here's video of the 2nd movement of Haydn's trumpet concerto.
This was from 6 November at St. Paul's in San Miguel de Allende.
Many thanks to the sweet lady right in front of me. She was such a good sport. Nice to be around people who aren't afraid to have a little fun.
This is to date my last performance in Mexico, but stay tuned I may be back with my trumpet in hand, doing my best to entertain whoever shows up.
A very cool thing happened the day after this performance when I was in the airport headed back to take care of my Grandfather a lady came up to me and said, "Jason?"
I said, "Yes", I had never seen this lady before in my life.
She proceeded to tell me that she had been at my performance of the Haydn and how much she had liked it. What a nice feeling and how nice of her to share her feelings with me. I left Mexico on a high note.
It has been difficult for me to see where the trumpet has been leading me over these last few years. I seem to have been in a bit of a haze. Have to keep practicing and trying to find my way. It should be interesting. I'll keep you posted.
Things have been very crazy for me as of late. You know the last month of the year is wild when your ignorant alcoholic Uncle points a hand gun at your face and that's not the worst part of the month. It's nice to be back in friendly old Jasonanuary. I hope you are all celebrating at home.
I have received many nice comments from you guys and girls. Everyone seems to like my fotos, so here are a few more of one of my favorite guys you'll see daily working the streets and callejones around Guanajuato.
The burros are loaded down with firewood and mulch from the forest in Santa Rosa high above Guanajuato.
If you look closely you can see the lady of the house placing an order from her rooftop.
Since I am not with my girls, I love looking at fotos I have taken of them, thinking back to what we were doing at that moment.
What a lovely walk into town.
You can see why this is a favorite spot.
The above fotos were taken 27 October 2011 during Cervantino on our way into town for trumpeter Brain McWhorter's master class on practicing. I had already been into town once on that day to listen to Brain perform with the other members of Beta Colide. A wonderful concert followd by a very intimate master class. Brain has many very progessive views on practicing and I was very thankful that Pearl and Rose were there to take in some of his wisdom.
It's always fun walking into Guanajuato. So cool to live in a walking town. Nice to not need a car.
I returned to the Metroplex last week to continue helping out my Grandparents. When I first returned to help out I had a crash course in cathetering my Grandfather, Ralph Trostel. I watched one and the the next I performed by myself under the supervision of Brad, a real nurse. After that I was pretty much on my own. 4 times a day. As I'm sure you can imagine this has brought me closer to my Grandfater than ever. It's been very cool to have this time to spend with my Grandparents during this part of their life.
I have been very fortunate to have a chance to know all of my Grandparents when I was growing up. We all live in the same town of Arlington Texas. My Grandfathers were both cool in their own special ways. Looking back they were both better Grandfathers than they were fathers. Most of it having to do with the simple fact that they had much more time to spend with their Grandchildren and they were able to show us what they loved. I loved the hours I spent with my Grandfather Melvin Pettit on his different boats. I love sailing. Nothing like it. Powered by nothing other than the wind. Ralph loved taking me fishing, camping, and hiking in many close by State parks and even as far away as Durango Colorado. Beginning my love affair with that beautiful part of the world. Ralph loves maps and trails. He would drop off my oldest cousin Matt and myself somewhere on a trail and our adventure would begin.
Ralph bought me this shirt at 1 of his favorite dollar stores.
I am holding a latex rubber urethral catheter 14 French.
Yes, almost the whole cath goes in. About 11" to reach the blader.
So right now I am in my hometown of Arlington Texas playing nurse. There is a season for everything. If you are fortunate enough to be able to empty you bladder without the use of catheter, enjoy it.
I will be beading back to Texas tomorrow evening, so today I took my girls to the Zoo in Leon and to 1 of their favorite parks.
We had a wonderful day together and we even spotted a few cool 3 wheeled bikes. The most loaded down 1 I didn't have time to click a quick foto of as we drove by but I was still pretty pleased with the fotos I did manage to get. I hope you enjoy.
As I stated yesterday, my performance last Sunday of Joseph Haydn's trumpet concerto went very well. I was especially proud of the how the middle, Andante movement sounded. I took the most chances with the Andante and they worked wonderfully.
Saint Paul's Church in San Miguel was the most packed I have ever seen it. 250 plus people crammed into the church and made an enormous difference in the temperature. The church went from pleasantly cool during the rehearsal to hot and humid. It's amazing how people can effect the local climate so rapidly. Or maybe not. Due to the size of the orchestra, 17 musicians, the end of my trumpet bell was at almost the same location as the ears of the people on the 1st row. Luckily the Haydn is pretty light and they all seemed to enjoy themselves. 1 very sweet lady who had the misfortune of being closer to me than anyone I think I have ever performed for, was such a good sport and played along with the clown show that now accompanies all of my performances.
As most of you know, Michael Pearl contacted me around 6 months ago to invite me to perform as a soloist and principal trumpet with Sinfonieta Potosina a small chamber orchestra. I was thrilled. What an opportunity. It turns out that my feelings about performing the Haydn trumpet concerto were correct. However, my excitement about Sinfonieta Potosina, ProMusic and ProMusica president Michael Pearl were completely off.
I am not familiar with the British class system but I don't think musicians are very high on the scale. It's been a long time since I have dealt with a person as disrespectful as Michael Pearl. When I was contacted by a media source in San Miguel about my upcoming performance I was happy to hear I was getting a little press. She asked if I could send her a foto. As you all know I have lot s of those. I know it may sound silly but I do think about my image and what I am trying to convey with every piece of PR I send out. So here's the foto I sent:
This was not the "image" that ProMusica and Michael Pearl wanted was the reply I received from the nice lady who, up until this reply I believed was an independent reporter. I now realized that while I'm sure this appeared as an article in Atencion, it was in fact an advertisement. Slick.
The most insulting and disrespectful insult came after the last rehearsal with the phantom Sinfonieta Potosina. I was sitting outside the church eating a very yummy Piasana torta when I notice a box filled with programs for that evenings performance. I opened the program and as I looked through I noticed my name was nowhere to be found. I am billed in the add for the concert inside of the program as "Our star trumpeter" In the program notes there is over 1 entire page dedicated to the fictitious Sinfonieta Potosina which in reality is just a pick up group comprised of musicians from Queretaro and Guanajuato that only rehearsed the day of the performance. We never played completely through the Haydn until the performance. Not a single mention of who the soloist for the evening concert is. Or any of the musicians who made a sound. Plenty of information on how to donate money.
Here's my encore from the concert:
Michael Pearl was sitting in the 2nd row and had the most disgusting look on his face when I brought out my rubber hose trumpet. I think he was the only person who didn't enjoy it. No surprise. He also didn't announce who the soloist was so I had to take matters into my own hands. How many times have you heard someone shout during the encore of a classical music concert, "What's your name?" That's how comfortable I made them feel. And how little information they had. Thanks ProMusica and Michael Pearl you really know how to treat your "star trumpet soloist".
I'll post more of my performance when I get a chance. I can't wait for you to hear the Andante.
