Late Afternoon Jazz

In the afternoon on that day, the sky was mostly clear. The sun was shining brightly on the lake. The air was warm without being hot.

Inside Carlos'N Charlie's, on the lower level looking out on Lake Travis, a big jazz band warmed up. Their director helped them tune and ran them thru a few of their songs, some of which they had not played together for months.

Bright green steel pillars held up the floor of the rest of the restaurant overhead. Bright yellow steel beams with zig-zagging bracework ran along the ceiling from pillar to pillar. Flat black spots illuminated the musicians.

The saxophones were in front -- seven of them. Behind them were the trombones -- some with hair out of the seventies. The guitar and bass guitar stood to the side of them -- with expressionless faces both. Six or seven trumpets were in a row near the top at the back. Behind them was the keyboard player, who also sang. And at the top of the heap was the drummer, radiating a beaming smile.

Their music filled the room.

On one number, the saxophones would swing -- swing as well as you might ask any saxophone section to swing. In the next number, the trumpets would blare. Or the trombones would slide out the background or take the melody. Or the bass would walk his fingers up and down. Or the guitar would solo. Or the drummer. Or the keyboard. Trumpet solos. Saxophone solos. Trombone solos. Entire sections standing up and then sitting back down, just like jazz bands do.

The music filled the room. Chameleon. Duke Ellington. Frankenstein. Birdland. April in Paris. (Did I mention the saxophones?)

And the sun descended toward the hills. And afternoon became early evening. And the sunlight from the west glittered on the waves of Lake Travis over our shoulders and lit up the green pillars and the yellow beams and the disco ball on the ceiling and the faces of those kids playing song after song for over an hour. Making their director proud. Making their parents swoon.

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The Phat Cats (Clint Small Middle School Jazz Band) at
Carlos'N Charlie's, on Lake Travis, Austin TX

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