trumpet blues project 2 - debut!

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Papa Gussow, having resolved that his son Shaun (9) was going to make his public debut on trumpet at the 2015 Double Decker Festival in Oxford, Mississippi, discovered that his son was uninterested in practicing. So for the two months prior to the festival, we barely touched the trumpet.

Then, in late April, Shaun suddenly caught fire. Although he had never actually played his way through a 12-bar blues and had never jammed with The Blues Doctors, we decided that this low-budget apprenticeship could work. Papa Gussow showed him how to play one specific riff on the tonic note of a Bb blues.

It was also understood by all parties concerned that Shaun would be able to keep whatever money flowed into the tip bucket while he was playing. That, in fact, was the main incentive here. Papa Gussow was convinced that if the young man could experience the thrill of instant money-accumulation, he would realize just what a priceless gift (ahem) music is.

That is the backstory. This video shows the result. Since Papa Gussow had never instructed Shaun in the fine art of "laying out," he just kept blowing right over Papa's vocals. But what tone! What poise! Remember: this video shows THE VERY FIRST TIME THIS KID HAD EVER PLAYED WITH OTHER MUSICIANS. Not surprisingly, a crowd surged to a stop, curious about the little kid with the great big sound.

At the age of 9, Louis Armstrong was still three years away from picking up a horn for the first time. Buddy Bolden would be proud.

Papa Gussow can't decide whether to be euphoric or guilty, or both, about the lesson that has been communicated here: that being a musician is a great way to pick up some easy cash.