Several friends rolled their eyes and groaned when I told them I was including a book on John Philip Sousa this month .... you know, the march king? I thought it was hysterical, but perhaps I should apologize? (One friend has told me she thought it was fine).

It wasn't easy to get my hands on a book about John Phillip Sousa, but I finally did, and what a find it was! John Philip Sousa's America: the Patriot's Life in Images and Words is by the last direct descendant .... John Philip Sousa IV (with Loras John Schissel). It is a delightful collection of photos, news clippings, etc., in fact, it looks a bit like a scrap book might. Sousa was the director of the Marine Band for many years and was the one who started them on the tours which made them so famous. He took the band across the United States and then on to Europe. He wrote marches, dozens and dozens of them as well as dance music, songs (sometimes the words, too) and operettas. A wonderful tribute to a most interesting man.

"The Stars and Stripes Forever" may be the most familiar Sousa march ... it's the one with the nifty piccolo solo in the trio. Harvey Phillips may have been the first to play it on the tuba. His book, Mr. Tuba, was an exhilarating and exhausting read, the man had boundless energy! He is responsible for bringing the tuba (and it's variations) from the back of the band or orchestra, mostly playing the 'on beats' (while the horns did the 'off beats') to a solo instrument, and one that is now found in many brass ensembles. He had older music transcribed, and commissioned new solo works for the tuba. As a free lance musician, he played classical, jazz, in the pit for both opera and Broadway shows ... pretty much anywhere he could. In a spine tickling moment, he mentioned one the professional tuba players he'd worked with, and it was someone I had played with once as well. His name was George Black, and he played in the Bellingham Civic Band at the end of his life. He was amazing. The enthusiasm Harvey Phillips had for his tuba was infectious and I found this a hard book to put down. (Read this now and be ready for International Tuba Day on May 1)! :-)

Reading Hermit With Dog