I’ve been so unbelievably lucky to be playing with the Toon Town Big Band over the past 8 years. I’ve learned so much about music and about playing the saxophone from these fantastic musicians. I still have a long way to go to come anywhere near matching the quality of the rest of the band but I’m glad that they continue to give me the opportunity to try. So here’s a recap of this last season rehearsing and performing with my crew!

Our first show was early on in the season. Private shows can be pretty dull sometimes since you tend to be little more than just background but sometimes you’re lucky to get a good crowd.

After the high of our first show, we spent much of the year gearing up for our big Broadway show. This included trying some different stuff for us and rehearsing with our guest singers.

But the day finally came and it was a fantastic show. Not as many people as last year but as a performer, it was way more fun this time around! It really felt like it was our show. And Te Broadway Theater is definitely a fun place to play.

Next up was the annual Gatsby Night for Autism fundraiser that we’ve done for 4 years in a row. I absolutely love playing at the Western Development Museum. And having a little extra access to the behind-the-scenes of the museum is fun too!

We’ve been honoured to play for the Soroptimist of Saskatoon’s annual fundraiser every year too and this year was no exception. And of course, we had to do our annual ladies only photo!

Alas, once again, we were not invited to play at the Saskatchewan Jazz Festival this year. I’m not too sure why and after all these years – and with a few very successful shows at past jazz festivals under our belt already – there still seems to be something fishy going on. But we’ll keep pushing for a spot next year. Cross your fingers for us!

Usually, we go on hiatus for the summer but this year, we had a request to play for a wedding. I’m sure we probably would have hummed and hah’ed over an offer like that but this was special as the invitation came from the daughter of one of our trombone players. We couldn’t say no. Nor could we pass up the offer of free food! (Feed your musicians!!!) So, we packed up our gear and headed to Middle Lake which is about 1 1/2 hours from Saskatoon. It was a wonderful time hanging out with my jazz friends and playing great music. I really can’t wait for our next season and all that it will bring!