TBA Big Band

TBA is the name these Jacksonville musicians have decided to call their "rehearsal band." Many of them are our areas finest music educators, and they bring an eclectic mix of big band music every other Monday night to Harmonious Monk's in Mandarin.

"Rehearsal Bands" started in New York City by musicians who were recording (usually commercials) and doing shows (Broadway type). The work was often repetitive, and they sought a creative outlet. Smaller groups were just "jam sessions," but some of the bigger groups also provided a forum for up and coming composers and writers to get their music played.

Although short a trombonist, and a drummer delayed by traffic, TBA provided a rousing performance. My Guinness was a perfect compliment to the tasty fish and chips at Harmonious Monks. The evening ended all too soon with the most interesting arrangement of Mercy Mercy I've ever heard.

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Church of the Immaculate Conception

This stunning panorama was taken during Ashley and Spence's wedding, and highlights the dramatic interior of this landmark church. I'm hoping this photo will be a 2-page spread in the couple's album. I'm seriously considering a canvas for myself to hang for my clients to see when they visit my residential studio.

The stained glass is German. During some recent renovations, the glass was cleaned and restored to it's original beauty. I fell in love with stained glass while on temporary assignment in Portugal and Spain, which gave me ample time to visit many churchs. Unlike here in the United States, churches in much of Europe stay open and are busy with tourist traffic all year round. This gave me a lot of opportunity to see a lot of very old churches.

This photo was taken from the balcony of the church. Father Murphy was very forgiving in allowing me nearly full access to the church during the ceremony.

Immaculate Conception Church

Ashley and Spence were married on July 10th at the Immaculate Conception Church. The only clear view of this church is from immediately across the street, and my regular wide angle lens was not wide enough to capture this enormous, nearly cathedral size church. So I reverted to taking photographs in sections, and combining them into a mosaic, carefully splicing, adjusting perspective, and oh, yes, cloning out the homeless man perched on the steps.

Not quite sure yet how this photo will be featured in the album, but it will have to have some prominence. It was very important to Ashley and especially Spence's family, who attends this church regularly, that the wedding be held here.

Wait until you see the interior!

For more about the church and it's history, please visit The Immaculate Conception Catholic Church of Jacksonville web site.