A heart full of thanks to Tony, Mal, Tom, Len, Jim, Gary, Michael, Mark, Hank, Duncan, Jay, TDahl, George, Bryan, Steven, and others who've looked and listened.
I taught myself the recorder, then took some clarinet lessons; then went down my own rabbit holes into double reeds, brass, strings, piano, cello, lap steel, pedal steel, chromatic harmonica, etc. Along the way, I've figured that music is the graceful measure of time, art is the graceful measure of space, and craft ties it all together (no complicated equations necessary for contented relativity).
I've been very lucky to hear and meet (and get enduring inspiration) from many of my musical heroes - Al Hirt, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Arturo Sandoval, Benny Goodman, Buddy Defranco, Urbie Green, Stan Getz, Toots Thielemans, Bobby Hutcherson, Ornette Coleman, Wayne Shorter, Yo Yo Ma, and many other fluent folks.
Mark - glad you went down some rabbit holes. Recorders are underrated instruments - they reigned supreme from about 1100-1750 (end of JS Bach's life). I make my own holes in them and have updated the baroque fingering system to a jazzier configuration (without forsaking the instrument's classical repertoire). The sopranino is pitched in F - so everything is transposed up or down to C (concert pitch) - nice par-course for the brain. I have a little (handmade) garklein - the backyard birds seem to like it. The clarinet gets 4 octaves with a little squeeze on the top end - pitched in Bb, also a transposing instrument so you have to think a musical whole step to C. The recorder gets close to 3 octaves with some squeeze and creative fingerings. My favorite mid range woodwinds are alto clarinet and English horn (Cor Anglais) - nice woody warmth with a touch of mystery.
Hank - I was lucky to hear Al Hirt in New Orleans - wonderful trumpeter, wonderful person! Your Father in law must have been great to play with him. I heard Mr. Hirt with the great trombonist Bob Havens (who took over the trombone position from Al's brother Jerry, and later left the band to join Lawrence Welk) - thrilling music.
Jay - I'll be posting a number of YouTube videos this summer and will keep you in the loop. Meanwhile - here's one for which I multi-tracked the music background in thie following instrumental sequence: brushes on a snare drum, bass clarinet, acoustic D-hole Macaferri style rhythm guitar, Bb clarinets, and pocket trumpet with a lathe-turned maple bubble mute:
Trombonist Steve Turre inspired me to make a Triton's trumpet from a nice (Charonia tritonis) shell off the Florida coast - recalling that Poseidon and Amphitrite begat Triton, who calmed the waters by sounding a shell trumpet - good for 2+ octaves with careful right hand positioning inside the shell (yes - nature can swing):
Thanks again, and happy weekend to all! - Bob