Welcome to the Frederick Puzzler's Corner!
This is a monthly event to encourage puzzle solving in the geocaching community, and all are welcome.
November 6th is Saxophone Day.
Imagine a sultry wail on a mist-ridden street, the rich warm tones of a jazz riff in a dark night club, or the soulful brassy sounds behind a silky voice… Today we celebrate the birth of Adolph Sax, creator of the Saxophone, that instrument that can take you places and generate emotions you’d never expect.
Adolph Sax was born November 6, 1814 in Belgium. He was an inventor and musician, playing flute and clarinet from a young age. He moved to Paris in 1842 to start a musical instrument business, trying to improve the design of the bass clarinet, and creating other instruments relatively unheard of today. He wanted to create an instrument that would combine the agility of a woodwind with the projection of a brass instrument, to fill the voice gap between the two instrument families. What he came up with had a single-reed mouthpiece similar to a clarinet, and a brass body similar to the ophicleide. In June 1846 Sax received a 15-year patent which covered 14 types of saxophones.
While the saxophone, classified as a woodwind, was originally intended to fill a sound gap in classical orchestras and military bands, it has evolved into a very versatile all-around instrument. Jazz is probably the first musical style that comes to mind when thinking of a sax today, but is found in almost every music setting. Think of how many styles of jazz there are, and it shouldn’t surprise you that many of these styles were created by sax players, including be-bop, Latin jazz and smooth jazz. Listen to how the sax is used as break-out soloist or general back-up instrumentation in pop & rock music. Examples here include the “brass” back up in bands such as Huey Lewis and The News (Johnny Colla), and Chicago (Walt Parazaider), giving you a peek at this instrument’s versatility.
Today, you will find several versions of the saxophone in many ranges and keys, including subcontrabass, contrabass, bass, baritone, tenor, alto, soprano, sopranino, and sopranissimo. The most commonly heard and used are the baritone, tenor, alto and soprano.
Some of the greatest (or most well known) sax players in the last few decades are John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Stan Getz, Dave Brubeck, Sonny Rollins, Cannonball Adderley, Michael Brecker, Phil Woods, Grover Washington Jr., Kenny G, David Sanborn, Gato Barbieri, Candy Dulfer, Gerald Albright, Eric Marienthal, and Bill Clinton. These folks have (mostly) had successful careers as soloists, composers, style leaders, session musicians and in jazz groups. I found myself fortunate to study for a short time with Phil Woods, who taught me that, in jazz improv, II = I. For a pleasant break from your daily routine, take a listen to some well known tracks such as:
Mercy, Mercy, Mercy by The Cannonball Adderley Quintet (covered by many famous musicians since, including Buddy Rich, The Buckinghams, and Queen Latifah)
Bermuda Nights by Gerald Albright
Europa by Gato Barbieri (composed by Carlos Santana)
Song for Bilbao by Michael Brecker
Take Five by Dave Brubeck
Parker’s Mood, by Charlie Parker
Baker Street, by Gerry Rafferty
Scenes From An Italian Restaurant by Billy Joel, featuring Mark Rivera
Bang Bang by David Sanborn
Just The Way You Are by Billy Joel, featuring Phil Woods
Wow, I’ve so enjoyed putting this playlist together, I almost forgot to publish... I hope you are as pleasantly distracted as I was.
If you prefer to concentrate on food, today is also National Nachos Day. Just don't eat too soon before practicing!
And now, for the usual spiel…
This event is open to all cachers, no matter what your statistics say or whether you even like puzzles! So newbies and addicts, socialites and lone wolves, mark you calendar.
If you've got a puzzle or mystery cache that's currently got you stumped and you'd like to pick some brains, this event is for you! Zombies are not welcome here though, so please leave your pets at home - we want everyone to leave with the brains they brought, at minimum.
This event has evolved to a think-tank type gathering, with everyone collaborating on the latest tantalizing quizzler on their radar. Occasionally there may be a short tutorial on some aspect of puzzle solving, but the learning seems to come from working with others to solve a targeted teaser. You don't have to work on puzzles to enjoy this, as there are plenty of stories to be heard. However, you'll have plenty of others to commiserate with, and you might find someone who has already solved a puzzle using a similar technique. We continue to see successes and progress at each gathering.
For the puzzle junkies, bring your puzzle paraphenalia - flagged caches, laptop or tablet (Wi-Fi is available), theories, library card, worksheets, (sp)eye glasses, HTML color code charts, Enigma machine, abacus, scratch paper (don’t forget your writing instrument) - you never know who (or what!) will show up, and what kind of help you can take advantage of. Maybe you’ve recently cracked a tough one and want to see the wheels spinning while others tackle it - that can be loads of fun! Yes, we have regular head-slapping moments!
If you have a specific puzzle or puzzling topic you'd like help with, feel free to make note of it in your Will Attend log.
When & Where:
Tuesday, November 6, 2018, 6pm - 8pm
Wegman's Market Cafe
7830 Worman's Mill Road
Frederick, Maryland
All food and beverage costs are your own responsibility.
Field trips not included.
(But it's a good time to plan them!)
If you drop any trackables into this event, make sure they have all been claimed (or reclaimed) before you leave. We don’t want them getting lost in a the muggle world!