Since the jazz man started university, I haven't had the chance to watch him perfom. It's not that he hasn't been playing his flute. Because, he is, since he's taking a Music course with a major in Jazz Performance. But it's not like High School anymore where they have concerts at school and some other venue where the parents are invited. He performs at the university and there was this one Saturday night when they had an event and I told him that I might be able to watch him. But he said that there were tickets that were sold and that it's like a kind of dance thingy.
Also most Monday nights, he hangs out with his friends at this little Italian restaurant called Buccaccino Cucina or something like that and he plays jazz with his friends sometimes. There was also this one time when he performed at the Franco-Manitoban Cultural Centre. I planned to go that Tuesday night even if I had to leave my two youngest sons at home alone, but that was a really busy day because my middle guy had a basketball game that day. And the jazz man didn’t think that I should watch his performance because he said that his group was not that prepared and they were performing in this sort of night club thingy and that he had other upcoming performances that I could watch anyway.
And so when that other performance night came, I made sure that I made it there. It was also on a Tuesday night. They had this thing called Mardi Jazz. It was on the second floor of the Franco-Manitoban Cultural Centre and it was indeed set up like a night club. The jazz man played with his group in the second part of the show. They played several Latin and Jazz pieces. There were five of them at the front playing the flute, trombone, trumphet and saxes and another four at the back on the guitars, drums and keyboard. They also had lady singers and it was just a fun night. I took a couple of pictures and I wish I had recorded at least one of the songs in my digicam. Either one of the familiar tunes or his duet with Danny on the sax. He's gotten a lot better since high school and he played with such an emotion. But I was kind of shy because I didn't see anybody else videotaping it. Half of the audience were senior people, probably grandparents of the performers. My mother also came that night to watch him. I was really surprised to see her there even though my son already told me that she was coming. Because if you know my mother, you'll know that she doesn't stay up that late. The show went on until almost 11:00 p.m. and it was almost midnight when we got home.
Last weekend, the jazz man also played at this restaurant called Rembrandts Bistro. It's outside the perimeter and since we have to drive him out there, I told the husband that since he would be playing at 6:30 at night, let's bring the two younger boys and let's all have dinner there. The jazz man warned me that the food is expensive. He checked out the website. Oh, that's okay, I said. It's just this one time.
We drove out there last Saturday night for half an hour. It was a fancy restaurant. There were these two senior guys who the jazz man was playing with at the balcony. The jazz man's university friend was supposed to sing that night but she couldn't make it. So she asked the jazz man if he could play with them instead. He got paid, so that was good. But what I paid for the food was more than what he got. :) But that's okay. That's his money anyway. And the kids didn't care much for the food. Okay, they didn't like it. They said that we should have just gone to McDonald's. :)
Well, anyway, we also stayed at the balcony. We were the only ones there aside from the musicians. The owner was kind enough to let us stay there so we can watch our son. And our server was very nice and I now realize that it was more of a hassle for him going up the stairs from the kitchen to serve us up there. I only took one shot while they were playing. Now looking back, I feel bad that I didn't record at least one of the songs they played. I really enjoyed "The Girl From Ipanema" with accompaniment of the flute. Well, maybe next time.
But you know what, I enjoyed watching him better without a video camera in my hand. Because in the past, I couldn't concentrate on just watching him when I had the camcorder in my hand. I'd be minding where to sit to get a good angle and when to zoom in or out. And I'd be wondering how the video will appear on youtube and if I can post it in my blog. :)
