James Baker

World record playing "Flight of the Bumblebee" on the Giant Tuba by Joerg Wachsmuth with Dresden Phil on Dec 31,2012. Don't want to be stung by this thing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HJDUp2PlT2s

I suppose it is because I have largely made my living these past 20 years with my voice -- though certainly not as a singer -- that I have come to value the sound of a voice and what it reveals; both when the voice is alive, and perhaps more importantly, when that speaker is no longer with us.

A special piece written by Marin Alsop on NPR included a photo of her conducting the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra in a concert on a Brazilian beach. Twenty thousand listeners attended! Wow! An outdoor concert in December?

A look at the latest weather forecasts for points in South America quickly reminds us that it is presently Summertime (and one would hope the livin’ is easy) throughout the Southern Hemisphere.

Sometimes I think that the endless loop of Christmas songs at the HEB at Wurzbach and I-10 gets stuck and begins repeating the same phrase over and over, like a stuck record. Poor Ella just can't seem to get to the next phrase, and when she does she ends up stuck there.

Mention Frida Kahlo and we immediately think of the painter and the wide range of self portraits she produced during her troubled -- and at times anguished -- life. A recent recording by the Dublin Drag Orchestra with vocalist Clara Sanabras brings to light another side of Kahlo: occasional poet and writer. "La Vida Callada," ("The Unspoken Life") is included on the recently issued "¡Viva Frida!" from the Heresy record label. This track stands out for its balance of contrast and similarity to what the Dublin Drag Orchestra (DDO) has come to champion - early music.

The opening lines of Carlos Franzetti's resume pretty much sum it up:

"Composer/conductor Carlos Franzetti's musical range seems to know no limits. Symphonic and chamber works, big band and Latin jazz and film scores have all been the focus of his vast talent."

Thanks to my Facebook friend Lauri Pearson for setting me up for today's Alternate Routes. Lauri is a real listener, a true fanatic of music who does the mid-day shift at Magic 105.3 FM. Although she and I do most of our listening within different genres (there's more overlap than most might imagine), Lauri's observations about music are almost always spot on.