Proud Mama!!!

I have to share with you a totally cool thing that happened last night.

Taylor had to play in a Jazz Band Festival here at the college. I took him and waited until 9:00 pm when his 35 piece band played (14 saxaphones if you can believe it!). Following each performance, the adjudicator gets up and takes the stage with the band to go over some things with them for improvement.

When Taylor's music director introduced the last song they were going to play, he pointed out a Barritone Sax soloist that would be performing and also a trombone solo by Taylor. He added, "just as a sidenote, Taylor JUST started trombone in October...and well, that's all I'll say...you'll see" The adjudicator asked if he played anything else before this and I shouted up to him that he played clarinet as well. He was blown away at the thought of this kid going from a clarinet to a trombone and said..."wow, this is cool, I can't wait to hear..."

So they played (my palms were sweating and my heart racing...probably faster than his!) and when his time came to play, I was so amazed myself and PROUD, I almost started balling right there! His trombone shon in the stage lights and he moved like a pro jazz man and did a fabulous job! (Some people reading this don't like Jazz music so they may have a hard time understanding how cool this was....but anyway...)...When the adjudicator took the stage, he immediately got up and pointed to Taylor directly and said....YOU (pointing his finger at him) are an AMAZING player....that was awesome...I truly can't believe you just picked this up...you must listen...do you listen? to jazz trombone???"...Taylor just stood there quietly and nodded a little (he has one CD of a trombone player in a jazz quartette but that's it...otherwise Michael Buble and some other jazz music we have)...he continued "because you can't just pick this up, you even have the improvisation down...you get it and you play it!" As soon as he said that T was amazing I started clapping the whole auditorium followed suit and gave him another applaud!

This adjudicator is from Calgary and plays multiple istruments and was fabulous with the kids. It was a great night and Taylor was most definitely the star of the show. We went to McDonalds on our way home (ya, not many choices here at 10 pm on a Thursday night!) and had a milkshake to celebrate (and he also got to drive home so it was a great night for him.)

He is very humble and quiet about it all, but did say that it made him feel even more confident as he will be playing again at a Big Band Dance tomorrow night and performs his solo again.

All I can say is WOW!