I start my days at my In-Box, where I usually find at least a dozen e-mails from readers of this Blog. These are appreciated; and I try to reply to them all.
I must tell you the topic my correspondents raise most often is the joy that discovering Tuba Skinny (the young New Orleans band) has brought to their lives. Some of them thank me for pointing them to the YouTube videos of this wonderful group of musicians.
Here's a recent typical e-mail:
I’m happy to report that 'Tuba Skinny' are under my skin ... a narcotic mix of youth, exuberance and Shaye Cohn’s phrasing. I listen to their YouTubes and am compelled to have a blow myself.........repeatedly failing to reproduce their magic but I enjoy trying!
And another:
...I bought all of the Tuba Skinny CDs because of your blog. Thanks so much. They are terrific! I walk to work...........where I teach harmony, counterpoint and composition......I have an mp3 player and listen both ways. I am conducting my orchestra this Friday..............and I should be absorbing the concert music on my walks. Ha, instead I have had a week of Tuba Skinny - I can't get enough of it - comical.
Another:
And another:
...I bought all of the Tuba Skinny CDs because of your blog. Thanks so much. They are terrific! I walk to work...........where I teach harmony, counterpoint and composition......I have an mp3 player and listen both ways. I am conducting my orchestra this Friday..............and I should be absorbing the concert music on my walks. Ha, instead I have had a week of Tuba Skinny - I can't get enough of it - comical.
Another:
Dear Ivan,
I just turned 79 last March. Quite by accident, I also discovered Tuba Skinny. I've long been a dixieland/jazz lover. Your treatise on Tuba Skinny was spot on. I agree with your comment on the washboard, but they do make it work..........Many thanks for your wonderful blog on Tuba Skinny. (I'm also in love with Shaye.)
Sincerely,
Lou
Another reader - an English trumpet player on holiday in New Orleans - told me he came across Tuba Skinny playing in the street and he stood 'absolutely mesmerised' for two hours by Shaye's playing.
There are over 250 videos of Tuba Skinny on YouTube. I am an admirer of - and greatly indebted to - the video-maker codenamed digitalalexa, who has filmed the band in the streets dozens of times. A fine example of his work is to be seen by clicking here.
