I don't get out of the house much during these holiday breaks. I'm very close to becoming an elderly shut-in, it seems, but every now and then, someone will request my company and I manage to shower and shave and put on clean clothes and venture forth into the outside world.
Yesterday, the son of one of my friends from work was playing in his five-member band at the Jazz Bakery, located in the old Helms Building on Venice Boulevard (the building where they used to make a lot of bread, apparently). Five of us from work, plus his sister and one of her friends, joined the small but enthusiastic crowd. The group is called the Big Enough Band, which I think is a great name, and they are amazingly talented young men. They're all probably in their early to mid-20s, and all of the songs they performed were written by various members of the band. I feel like such a slacker when I meet young people like this. I could barely manage to string together coherent sentences at that age, and they're already performing their own music at a well-respected jazz venue.
The band includes a tenor saxophone player (the son of the friend from work), an alto sax player (who seems to be the leader of the group), a guitarist (the most talented composer of the bunch, I think), a bass player (who seemed to be having a blast for the whole show), and a drummer (who really knows how to pound the skins). While jazz is not my favorite type of music, I know enough about it to appreciate just how good these guys are. They perform well together, and I hope they start to get some recognition for their talents. They all met through the music program at their university, apparently, and it's good to know that the university system is bringing together and nurturing young talent like this.
After the show, we went to a nearby restaurant in Culver City. The restaurant, called Fraise (I think I got the spelling right), is one of those places where you can have a slow leisurely meal and talk. I enjoy getting a chance to spend time with these friends outside of work and away from all of the little demands that are placed upon us. We talked very little about teaching or our classes or much having to do with the college. We talked instead about books we've read or are reading and movies we've seen or want to see. We had an interesting conversation about Stuff White People Like, with an interesting detour to #116 on that list, Black Music that Black People Don't Listen to Anymore (i.e., jazz). We ate well, although the portions are a bit on the small side, no doubt due to that nouvelle cuisine residual effect. And we had quite an entertaining discussion on how we were going to divide up and/or pay the bill. I hope everyone put in enough money, but who can tell when the total exceeds three hundred dollars?
I was actually out of the house for a bit more than five hours on a Sunday. That hardly ever happens, particularly during the semester when there's always papers to grade or lessons to prepare for the upcoming week. I need to get out more, I know. It's just too easy to stay at home and watch all of the episodes of Life on Mars and The Starter Wife that I've saved on the DVR. But I do miss going to events like this concert, and I would like to go to see more live theater/theatre than I do. Here's hoping the new year brings more opportunities to avoid staying at home all of the time.
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