A Taste of Candor

Chapter 8

~Tahlia.

Five days after my second visit to Brewer's with Keene to listen to Declan's lovely playing, I found myself poised to indulge in another musical treat, albeit an unconventional one. After much negotiation with the musicians' guild, my father had come to the conclusion they were unable to meet our standards, despite the act their very purpose for existing was to provide us with musicians who lived up exactly to our expectations.

A discussion between myself, my parents, my brother Benjamin, and our band director had ensued, in which we had came to an unusual arrangement. Instead of auditioning them in private, we would gather a handful of potential candidates and have them perform a song or two with the band in order to evaluate who played along best.

We'd ended up with five candidates. Per my request, my father called up Declan to audition, and a player each from Keene and Benjamin's respective circles of friends also agreed to try their luck. The other two, our director apparently gleaned from his own connections.

At any rate, I sat down in the auditorium in the downstairs of our mansion and smoothed my dress in my lap with my palms, excitement growing as I anticipated what would essentially be a musical competition for a spot in the prestigious Paige band. Keene and my father sat down on either side of me and unbuttoned their suit jackets as they did so. My mother and brothers took up the rest of the row, and a few guests I had no acquaintance with, but had been invited by my mother, settled in seats behind us.

Before long, the director came onto stage and announced the procedure he would be using for the audition. Each saxophonist would play one uptempo original piece to test their technique and sight-reading skills, and one more sentimental tune to put their phrasing and musicality itself on display.

The first player frankly reminded me of a raccoon, with the mischievous expression in his beady eyes, as well as his stocky physique. The tenor saxophone appeared a large instrument in his hands, due to his own size. I also observed his silvery instrument sparkled in the light, almost blindingly at times.

But appearances were the only remarkable aspect of the man. I found his playing predictable, almost pre-calculated. There was nothing to openly object to in his performance; it simply failed to impress me either. When he slunk off the stage at the end of his turn, I nearly feared he would actually steal something due to his suspicious manner.

Next was the second saxophonist from our director's circle, and he left a significantly stronger impression in my mind. He constantly switched between the alto and tenor saxophones, having brought both on stage, which did grow to be an old trick after a while, but I nonetheless found it interesting. Overall, he performed well, but I wasn't left with too much to say about him.

Benjamin's recommendation followed. This lady saxophonist did play exceptionally well, with a lovely sound and choice phrasing, but when she came to the slow tune, which was full of long notes, she sounded to have great difficulty in sustaining her tone for the required duration. That wasn't the most egregious flaw I had seen that night, but it did stand out.

Fourth was Declan, who I predictably had been excited to see. He outdid himself on his slow tune as I expected he would, creating so much beauty with very few notes, and sustaining his full sound for much longer durations than the one preceding him had. However, he stumbled many times on his uptempo tune, barely playing the outline of the melody and also clearly struggling through a solo at the demanding speed. He walked off the stage at the end with a graceful bow, but clear disappointment on his face.

And finally, the man Keene had suggested stepped on the stage. He sported black hair as full on the crown of his head as it was on his chin, and his eyes hid themselves behind sunglasses. He played an alto, and his performance in almost all respects excelled Declan's. This man kept right up with the challenging tempo, reading the unfamiliar music perfectly on the spot and improvising masterful lines over the solo section. He also offered an amazing performance over the slow tune, interspersing improvisational phrases between those of the melody.