Winning (Part 2)

It’s great to be writing for the second Friday in a row about winning.

Last night I was in the band for Malcolm Edmonstone‘s big band arrangement of Donald Fagen’s 1982 album The Nightfly.

It was Thursday night’s feature in this week’s Sligo Jazz Festival, and Eddie Lee, the chief, went all out to fill the stage with an amazing collection of musicians. Drums, percussion, 3 bass players (!), guitar, piano, keyboards, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, 5 saxophones, 4 singers. People who had played and recorded with household names. People who are household names in the jazz world themselves.

From the moment the crowd applauded on hearing the opening horn riff on I.G.Y. you knew it was going to be one of those nights. They knew they were in for an exceptional evening, and so did we. There were smiles everywhere, on and off stage, people sharing in the feeling of being part of something special.

And so we all left with that winning feeling – the band, the audience, the staff of the theatre, all thankful to Malcolm (above, left) for putting this arrangement together and getting the band into shape, and to Eddie (above, right) and SJP for bringing this to Sligo.

And the best part about last night’s win was that unlike last week, no-one had to lose.