Tuesday, July 25, 2006

SJI In The News

A new concert series at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (in Columbus, Ohio) debuted this past Friday night. The series is called "JazZoo." The theme of the first concert: "A Night In New Orleans."

Unfortunately, the artistic director (and singer and trumpet player) of the Columbus Jazz Orchestra, Byron Stripling, "has been ill," according to The Columbus Dispatch, and had to be temporarily replaced at the last minute. "While it wasn't a great concert," the paper relates, "the musicians worked hard and salvaged the evening with some inspired playing."

One of the songs performed was, yes, "St. James Infirmary." According to the review, this number was "dedicated to Stripling."

You know, as much as love "SJI," if I were ill, I don't think this particular song, with its various ruminations on death and funeral arrangements, is the first thing I'd want dedicated to me.