Flights and Sounds–Branford Marsalis Concert

After the kids went with my parents for a sleepover at their house, D and I went out for a date night. Our first stop was Barnes & Noble, one of our favorite places to go sans kids. Then we headed to the Great Park for a concert in the “Flights & Sounds” series held during the summer. The concerts are free, but parking is $10. We had never been to one of these concerts, so we had no idea what to expect. It is held outdoors, near the carousel and balloon. According to an article I read on the concert, there were about 3,000 in attendance. While it felt like a lot of people, it didn’t feel like that many! We arrived before 7:30, and there was still plenty of open seating. A lot of people opted to bring blankets/chairs and sat on the grass to the sides of the stage for a picnic dinner…we’ll have to do that next time. There was a limited cafe menu, but it is so nice you can bring your own food. No one searches your bag, either.

The concert was supposed to start at 8:00, but didn’t start until a quarter past. I was excited to see the Branford Marsalis Quartet. I couldn’t believe that we were able to see an artist of his caliber for free! (Well, technically $10). It really brought back memories of my jazz band days. I had forgotten how long jazz pieces can be. We left early, around 9:15, and the band had only played five songs. The piano player had a lot of solos, and later I read that the quartet has a “chamber orchestra” influence. I think I enjoy more uptempo, straight ahead stuff, but it was still great. Too bad we had our own peanut gallery seated directly one row behind us providing running commentary. (We also saw one of the pastors of our church a few rows ahead of us!)

balloon and moon

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(Pictures were not allowed, but I snuck one anyway…shh!)

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