After the high strung, high stress night I had last night, I’ve haved quite the ameliorative and uplifting morning.
This morning I had my 9am ensemble, and I was minding my own business, in a practice room warming up. This guy politely knocks on my door, pokes his head in, and asks “I’m sorry to bother you, but are you Sarah Davis?”. My initial response was, no, of course, but then I had to revisit the thought… A couple weeks ago I met a bunch of people who were joking around, calling me Miss Davis (after Miles), and apparently this guy was confused into thinking it was my real name. Ha! We got to talking, and yes, I’m the Sarah he was looking for…. I got invited to play in a big band that he also participates in, and he wanted to introduce himself. I’m just tickled to death that 1) my reputation is beginning to precede myself, and 2) my recognizable title as “trumpet girl” seems to be shifting to the more dignified “Miss Davis”. The name has a nice ring to it, though it sure gives me a lot to live up to.
Then, the unthinkable happened. I’m in my ensemble… And I was complimented by my director. Yes! Remember, this is the Charlie Parker ensemble- the super hard, super awesome group that has been giving me a royal ass kicking (the fact that it’s a 9am ensemble doesn’t help me any). Not only this, but our director, like myself is also a trumpet player (and a fine one at that). Normally our charts will be too fast for me, too high for me, the progressions too complex… And occasionally Mr. Stout will bring in his horn and blow, leaving me awed by his playing but again feeling inadequate as a horn player. I don’t know. Today, it was just there. We played some nice charts, one absolutely beautiful one (that unfortunately enough has never been recorded). Some bebop, some not. And it was all there. My reading was on, my solos were on, and it felt good. After we finished playing Mr. Stout pulled me over and asked if I had been workin on my chops, because he thought I was sounding real good and that there was a noticeable difference in my playing. 🙂 Let’s see if I can keep this up.
My day just gets better.
I played a couple nights ago with my friend Paul, 21, amazing trombonist, from Ohio, who’s opinion I respect very much… and he recorded it. He was listening to it today, and felt compelled to go out of his way to tell me that he loved my playing, thought I had a very unique sound, and, I quote, “You really are on your way to becoming a fantastic influential upcoming trumpet player”. What nicer thing could you say to someone? Talk about a way to make someones day.
It’s just nice, being here. As much as I loved being at HSPVA, I always felt like I was at the lower end of things, at the bottom of the food chain. Always playing catch up, always behind. It was very disheartening at times. Since then I’ve made lots of improvements, and now, though I’m still not on top of things as much as I should be, I’m starting to be recognized. I’m getting calls on occasion, and people are actually wanting to play with me. It’s an extremely nice feeling.
(Waiting for the musician cliche?) I gotta go- I need to practice!