| "Lady of the Night"
This is a great contest. Leigh I hope you get many great ideas.
1.) Innovation: Using your current tuning system you could make interchangable crooks. I'd like to have one as a normal trumpet crook, and one as a shepherd's crook like a vintage cornet. Also an interchangable leadpipe, one with a normal open leadpipe with a trumpet shank and a tapered leadpipe that would accept either a cornet or flugelhorn mouthpiece(if this violates the rule for not building a cornet we can take this out). This would allow you to get both the sizzling trumpet and the smoky cornet/flugelhorn sound. This would be the ultimate jazz horn. I would think the medium or large red would be the perfect bell for it.
2.) Theme: "Lady of the Night" She would have fishnet stockings on the outside of the bell with a clear brass undercoat and several layers of lacquer over the outside of the stockings. The fishnets would run back the bell to the tuning section. If actuall fishnets won't hold up to the process, small guage wire could be used to create the effect, but I think that the black on brass/gold effect would be awesome. Your bracework is gorgeous and I would want the braces to look like the tops to lace stockings with my initials carved out of the brace, but the edge to look almost lacy. Engraved either on the leadpipe or the bell bow would be "Lady of the Night". The braces between the leadpipe and bell would be a curved woman. Possibly incorporate the lipstick kiss shape into a brace. This would make it right at home in any night club. (how am I going to tell my wife about this?)
3.) Story: Sam was finishing up yet another evening at the Spicy Shrimp, a local haunt known for good seafood and great beer. Most of the club was empty with a stray man here and there hunched over his drink. Joe was wiping down the bar with the greasy towel that normally rested on his shoulder.
Joe called over to Sam asking him to wind up with his favorite “Autumn Leaves” and call it a night. Sam wasn’t about to argue, it had been a long, hot night, typical of the New Orleans summers. As Sam counted off the final chart in strode a long leggy blonde. He barely made it through the count. Nothing else was on his mind except for her. She had golden blonde hair which fell down onto silky white shoulders. Her crimson dress hid little, and tantalized the eye with every curve. Her legs were wrapped in seductive fish net stockings showing the lines of her supple calves.
She made her way down to the front table. Her eyes locked with his the whole way. She gently sat down pursing her lips and gazing at him seductively. Sam was having trouble keeping his mind on playing, and it seemed like he was in an oven. Miraculously he laid down a great solo and sat back listening to Jerry make his tenor sax sing. Sam closed his eyes trying to calm himself down with this beauty in front of him. When he opened his eyes she had put one leg up on the chair beside her and had rolled down one stalking and was beckoning to him with one finger.
Sam started throwing in bars with Jerry, alternating 8’s, 4’s and then finally 2’s. She seemed to bring out some animal instinct in his playing. It ended with both Sam and Jerry playing their hearts out. It had been a great night. Sam turned around and put his horn on its peg and shook hands with the drummer and turned around, trying to get up his nerve to go ask this beautiful vixen out. As he turned around Sam scanned the area where she had sat just a second ago. She was gone! Sam said, “Hey Jerry, did you see where that blonde went?” Jerry responded, “What blond, all’s I’ve seen for the last hour is a bunch of drunks.” “She was there. She was all I could think of for that last chart”, Sam said astonished. Jerry looked at Sam like he had grown a second head and said, “Man, there was nothing out there. Must’ve been the heat messing with your mind.”
Sam packed up his gear and threw it in the trunk of his Pinto, his ugly but dependable daily driver. He went back inside and walked up to Joe to get his pay for the night. It was a paltry sum for the work that he put in, but at least he’d make rent this month.
As Sam walked back through the club he noticed something in the chair where the blonde had sat. In her chair there was a single black fishnet stocking. Since that day he has kept it in his case reminding him of that hot, sultry New Orleans night.
4.) Why I deserve the horn: I'm a great guy, unfortunately horn poor. I'm currently eating through my horn so I need a new one. This horn will be my pride and joy (although probably not my church gig horn 8) ) |