Enjoying the Jam

My friend S. and I stopped by M.'s for their weekly music jam session.  I had no idea what to expect, but S. assured me I would have a great time.  And that I did.  After being instructed by M. to "Grab an egg!" I realized there were little wood eggs filled with beads, or seeds, or something, to make rythm to the music.  I had a great time shakin' that egg.

 This lil' guy showed up with his mom, to provide some age diversity to a room full of oldsters.  He was delightful.  He knew his way around, and let the fellas play away, happily eating crackers and drawing on stickies.

Eva, our singer, was a true songbird.  She also knew her way around several African rhythm instruments.

One fella brought along his new toy - a synthesized drum. Yeah, we got down.  Drumming on cardboard boxes and the coffee table to an old rock tune which escapes me now.  Chalk it up to the wine.

And here, our host, jams on with his rum and coke, a most gracious gentleman artist who provided us with food and beverages, and later had a pizza delivered which we simply inhaled.

I came away from the evening simply enlivened by the music, the colorful characters, the stories, and the generosity of our host.  The last time I had such a grand experience was on my last night in North Carolina, when I attended a jam session by some old-timey musicians who blew my mind.  That was a couple of years ago...and the memory still makes me giddy.

What memories I have of practicing with my old band, going over songs until we got everything just right.  Until we were sick of them, but knew we had them down.  I am long past the guitar playing stage -- a distant memory -- but these folks inspired me.  Damn, but they did.