Still in Japan!!!!!

Japan continues to be very interesting. All of our concerts are pretty much sell outs. We have played at least 3 encores at every single performance. The people are very respectful to us all everyone here knows about the Glenn Miller Band. I went to Tower Records in Fukuoka today and there was a full section of Glenn Miller music. Unreal!!!!! I ended up buying way too many cds today, but they have all kinds of great jazz music that you can no longer get in the USA.

We have about 14 more days in Japan then we fly to New York for an eight day stretch of concerts. THEN HOME!!!!! I miss home.

Many have asked me what I am going to do with all the things I have learned this year. That's pretty easy.
1. Have a better appreciation of my home, family and friends everywhere.
2. Teach all of my students everything I have learned while in the Miller Band.
3. Continue to move forward musically. Too many of we teachers tend to not get better.
In music you either get better or you get worse. There is no in between.
4. I am going to turn the UAM jazz band into the best musical group I have ever stood in front
of. With the new tools I have learned this year I am positive that is going to happen and
my students will reap the benefits.

Tomorrow we will play in the Fukuoka Symphony Hall. You cant believe how many beautiful concert halls there are in Japan. I am just amazed.

On Wed. we will fly to Okinawa. I am very excited about that. One my best friends ever daughter. My old friend Steve Platt has a daughter, Ashly, living there with her US Marine husband. I can hardly wait to see them.

Keep those questions coming. Saxman91254@yahoo.com

Hey Kathyrine, Flat Stanley is doing great. He says hi to you and all your classmates in Roulette Texas.

Toyko

We are having a great visit in Toyko. We are in the New Otani Hotel for 8 straight days. Very nice. We just completed our 8th concert in 9 days. We are a little tired . Tomorrow night we play at the Yokahama Minatomiria Hall. All of the venues here are spectacular. Tonights concert hall had a ground floor and 5 levels of balconies. Is truley unbeleivable. In the USA we build football staudiums while in Japan they build massive concert halls for music events.

Ill keep you posted. If you have questions please send them to me.

Toyko

Great concert tonight. We woke up to a blizzard this morning. After traveling on the bullet train to Toyko at over 150 MPH, it was clear and much warmer when we arrived.

Tonights concert was the best so far. Great crowd and the band was on!!!!!!!!!

Day 6

Today we flew into a beautiful snowy Amori. It was a great flight right over and I mean right over the snow covered mountains. We arrived at our hotel and it was beginning to snow again. Luckily we don't have a concert tonight. We will be back at it again tomorrow.

We are very well received everywhere we go. The Japanese people everywhere are very kind to us and very understanding about our poorness in speaking the Japanese language. Lucky for us we have a Japanese guide and translator. His name is Lewis. He is a rock star in Japan. He plays the guitar. He has complete mastery of the English language and the Japanese language. Most of all he is just a great guy.

Our hotel is superb. They all have been.

Hey Kathiryne tell your classmates Flat Stanley is having a great time. H is learning the Japanese language and hopes to share some of it with you in Texas soon.

Ill see you guys tomorrow night after the concert.

Concerts in Japan

After spending the night in Toyko we flew to Obihiro. We stayed there one night and played our first concert. The concert went very well considering how tired we were and how our internal clocks are really messed up. The next day we travled by train through the snow covered mountains and trees to Sopporo. We traveled an hour out to a smaller town and played for another full house. The venues that we play in Japan are unbeleivable. The Japanese love the Glenn Miller Orchestra. As a matter of fact you can still hear the music live throughout the country.

Tonight we play in Sapporo. I understand it is the most beautiful venue so far. I will report on the concert sometimely to tomorrow.

Tomorrow we will f ly to Amori. No concert tomorrow. It is a travel day.

JAPAN

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! Japan is fantastic!! We flew for 15 straight hours to get here. We spent our first night in Tokyo. On day one we flew from Tokyo to Obihiro and played our first concert. It went very well. We played for a crowd of about 200 people. The band played very well and the crowd was nothing less than fantastic. They loved the band and showed their appreciation with great applause and obvious enjoyment.

After the concert Jeff Uban( ride trumpet ) and I went down town for dinner. Neither of us speak Japanese very well so we were at the mercy of the owner. skeThank goodness all the people we meet here are very polite, and kind to us. The owner helped us figire out what we wanted. I had yakitori ( grilled chicken on skewers) along with a nice Japanese beer, some squid and other unknown items. Jeff had many things I have never seen in my life. However the meal was fantastic and the people in the cafe were great to us.

Tomorrow we will take the train to Sappora and play a concert at Tomakomai Shimin kaikan. I will let you know how it goes. First we have a western style breakfast buffet in the morning. Ill tell you all about it in my next post.

Flat Stanley is doing well and anxious to get back to his classmates in Texas.

Going to Japan

The last three days have been fantastic. You can just tell everyone in the band is gearing up for something big. The sections are tighter, the solos are better and the excitment is really high. Our lead trombone player George Reinert from Alaska is a beast always but the last few concerts he has been nothing less than amazing. We played two nights ago in Rome New York for a completely packed house. The crowd was screaming and clapping and just having a fantastic time. It is so much fun when you have 2000 people acting more like their at a huge rock concert but no, they are there to scream for good big band music. I just wish everyone in music from my home area could see this. The last two nights we played in the Westchester Broadway Theatre. Packed house at both concerts. Another very excited crowd.

We are off tomorrow to get things ready for our trip to Japan on Thursday. A short 15 hour flight from New York to Tokyo. In Japan things are a little different. The band is extremely popular in Japan. While we are there, someone always carried our luggage for us along with our horns and everything else we need. When we arrive at our next hotel our things are there waiting for us. We are staying in Hotels that cost over $400 per night. All of the concerts appear to be sell outs. I must say I am pretty excited about the entire trip. What an educational experience. Every serious musician/teacher needs to experience this. You cant really teach or explain this unless you have experienced it. All the books I have read and studied didn't come close to the real thing.

I will post on the blog as often as I can in Japan. Hard to believe it will all be over in a very short 6 weeks.

Back with the Band

My first concert back was so much fun. Our great bari player had to be gone last night so I played the bari book. My sub stayed on second alto last night and tomorrow night Ill be back on the alto.

I got my first look at the Christmas music today. it looks GOOD!! We will play lots of Christmas music while in Japan and the rest of the year in the USA.

It was just plain wonderful to see everyone again. Like family. I will post more soon and look for lots on the Japan tour. See you later.

By the way Kathyrine Flat Stanley is doing well. He stayed with me at the hospital in Arkansas. He will return to you and your classmates right after Christmas.