The Community Music Hangout gathered for the 43rd edition of the CMH on Sunday, January 14th. We gathered under high clouds and sunshine. The day was cool but comfortable for me, cold for other, less-well-insulated individuals, and I’m not talking about attire! The piano was playing a little stickily to get started, but I knew that with some warmth and vibrations, Carly would come back to good and, sure enough, she did. When Rikki and I pulled up to the piano, the dew still lay heavy on the grass. As we got set up, Joe came rolling up. Nice to see ya! Soon after, we met some new friends in Jon and Madison. Welcome! They led a really nice Harvest Moon and all around were great contributors to the day’s festivities. Glad you found us and hope to see you again soon. We also met Tom and when he switched behind me from playing banjo to playing a heretofore unseen tin whistle in the middle of a song, I was rather confused. It was great. Great playing, Tom, come on back soon. Kyle showed up too, providing the low end for the day. Today he was playing bass guitar instead of bass fiddle. Still sounded great (except for the part when he played Primus – he played it well, it’s just that the better you play a Primus song, the worse it sounds! Taste is a funny thing.). Anyway, soon Zach showed up with his drums and we were really rolling! We were reeling off songs, the crowd was really lovely. It’s such a joy to look up from the piano and see lots of smiling faces, see people singing along, dancing to the music. Delightful. Soon, Nina rolled up with her cello and Jorge with his guitar. Nice to see you both again! Kyle, Zach, Nina, and Joe are some of the most consistent Hangout contributors (and Brian too but he had to miss this week). Thank you so very much for forming the core our musical community. A little while later, Lilah returned. Welcome back! With your third appearance at the Hangout, you’re now officially a regular. It’s great to have another piano player in the mix, especially one who can read from my songbook. That lets me move to saxophone and also to sing songs without playing another instrument at the same time; I realized I rarely get the chance to do that. Thank you, Lilah, for joining in and contributing to the party. Izzy was back and dancing, too! Great energy all around. Then, Mateo and family walked up to join the hangout. It’s always great seeing them! Mateo is such a great little dude; I really admire his courage to jump up and jam in the park at just 11 years old. It’s been a treat to introduce him to the world of improvisation and to play along with him. Great stuff, dude. As the day was winding down, Paul found his way to us with his melodica. Nice! And to round out the day, Hugh joined in on auxiliary percussion. It was after 3:30 by the time we shut it down. It was another fabulous 4 hours of music in the park with friends new and old. I’m running out of superlatives to describe the day. It’s my favorite way to spend time; I love sharing the day with everyone. I’m already looking forward to CMH #44 which will be on which ever day looks dry, if either of them do. Saturday or Sunday, January 20th or 21st. Stay tuned!