Strike a Chord

Daily Post, 3 July 2014

Do you play an instrument? Is there a musical instrument whose sound you find particularly pleasing? Tell us a story about your experience or relationship with an instrument of your choice.

I don’t play an Alto Saxophone but the sound it makes calls my name.

The Down Beat was a very small nightclub located on the waterfront in Biloxi, Mississippi. When I say small, I mean the entire club would fit inside many living rooms with space to spare. Six round tables populated the open area with four chairs each. The rear third was divided in half – on the right was a small bar with four stools and a bartender. On the left sat a five-piece band.

The music they generated was pronominal, unlike anything I have experienced during the subsequent years. The black man on the Alto Saxophone made his instrument sing. The memory still moves me.

I’ve forgotten his name but I’ve never forgotten his sound.