Travelin' Minstrels

As most of you know, I've been on the hunt for a cheap(er) soprano saxophone to take with me on this trip.  I can't bear the thought of not playing for 10 months, and I wanted something relatively smaller and lighter than my alto and tenor.  You wouldn't believe how heavy those instruments are!

Beyond my wish to keep playing music for fun, I believe that music can serve as an incredibly effective bridge between cultures.  I've met many of my closest friends through music, and I'm sure that as Jenna and I travel around the world this will continue to be the case.

Well, I have finally found a sweet little horn (and not a moment too soon)!  It's a beautiful nickel-plated curved Maxtone (a Chinese or Taiwanese make I think).  I bought it at a pawn shop in Denver for only $200, and the shop even sent it to a repair place to take care of the minor tweaks the horn needed.  Aside from a few intonation issues (which are hard to avoid even on much more expensive sopranos), the instrument plays beautifully.






Jenna recently bought a little Ukelele to take along and, although she had played a bit of guitar before, she had never picked up a Uke until a couple weeks ago.  She's a very quick learner, and we've been having so much fun playing music together.  Yesterday, Jenna and I played in public for the first time .  We found a cool spot on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, got out our instruments and had a grand old time busking!  Taking our little show on the road is going to be an absolutely amazing experience.