Tuesday, January 13, 2009

You Say Happy I Say Birthday






















My regular Monday night buddies weren't having it. Neither were most of my regular associates. One person even told me, "Well, I'll go as long as I don't have to listen to any jazz."

I had my usual difficulties convincing others to accompany me to a jazz-oriented event. In spite of the regular resistance, I made it down to the Jay McShann birthday party detailed in the previous Plastic Sax post.

So did a lot of other jazz fans. The upstairs room at the Mutual Musicians Foundation was packed. Smiles and good cheer filled the historic venue.

Still, I couldn't help feeling a little blue. Only a handful of the hundred or so people at the event were younger than me. Half were over the age of sixty.

The great Ahmad Alaadeen was trudging through the bitter cold toward the Foundation as I hurried to my car. I'm sure his contribution was greeted with appreciative cheers. It's a shame that almost none of them would come from anyone without gray hair.

(Original image by Plastic Sax.)

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