The Eastern Kentucky University Saxophone Studio received an invitation to participate in the Promising Artists of the 21st Century program, hosted by the Centro Cultural of Costa Rica.  Seniors Isamu Haynes-Sunayama and Zachary Hammond, freshman Joel Nelson, and ensemble director Larry Nelson made the trip in mid-June. It was truly an honor for an EKU ensemble to participate in a program that includes groups from such prestigious colleges as the New England Conservatory, New York University, and Louisiana State University.  In all, Saxophobia gave eight performances and three master classes during the weeklong trip.

Saxophobia arrived in San Jose about noon on Tuesday; they conducted a master class at the Parque La Libertad that afternoon and a concert in the evening.  Wednesday began with a concert and question/answer session for students at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre.   In one of the highlights of the question and answer, a student mentioned that he had always wanted to play the saxophone.  Isamu (who goes by ‘Mu’) invited him to the stage and handed the student his horn.  After some brief instruction the student got a couple notes out while his fellow students cheered him on.  Another student who had some experience on saxophone came up and played an improvised solo while Saxophobia accompanied.

After a walking tour of downtown San Jose, the ensemble conducted another master class in the evening, this time for instrumentalists whose primary training had been in the “classical” style.  The members of the quartet discussed some approaches to jazz improvisation, and the students learned to play the Miles Davis classic “So What” by rote and also improvised with Saxophobia on “The Nasty,” one of the songs in their repertory.

Thursday began with another concert/Q & A session at the Eugene O’Neill Theater.  For the second time in a row a student in the audience requested the theme to “The Pink Panther.”  It was not originally a part of the repertory, but by coincidence the director had brought an arrangement of it, and the group sight-read the piece for the performances.  After that, the Pink Panther theme became part of each concert.  Thursday afternoon included a road trip to Cartago for a master class and performance at the Escuela Municipal de Musica.

A former jail, the building has been converted into a beautiful museum, school, and community center. Like many of the performances, the concert was in a large open-air space, and keeping music from blowing off the music stand was a challenge.  Nevertheless, after obtaining clothespins and paper clips to keep the music from blowing away, the concert began.  The evening concert in Cartago, attended by both music students and people from the community, may have been the group’s favorite performance.  It certainly received the most enthusiastic response; the members of the ensemble spent quite a bit of time afterward getting pictures taken, signing autographs, and talking to audience members.

Most of the day Friday included a drive to Guanacaste on the Pacific coast.  The only performance that day was for elementary students at the Escuela Bajo Tempisque, and it was at the school that the group saw iguanas roaming around in the schoolyard.  As it turned out, iguanas and their relative ctenosaurs seem to be as common in that area as squirrels are in Central Kentucky.

The day’s travels ended at the Andaz Hotel on Peninsula Papagayo, which is on the Pacific Coast.  An amazing resort hotel, the Andaz is close enough to the jungle that monkeys were occasional visitors.

Saturday was a relaxing day.  The members of Saxophobia were treated to a kayak tour of the bay as well as some snorkeling.  Although sharks do not like the water in that area because  of currents with significant temperature changes, stingrays and sea urchins were potential hazards.  Many different species of fish were seen; it seemed like a live version of the Discovery Channel.  Mu had an underwater camera and took both still pictures and video of the area.  That evening was the final performance of the trip before an appreciative audience of hotel guests, followed by dinner in one of the hotel restaurants featuring a local band.  In true jazz fashion, Larry sat in with the band on a few of their numbers.

Saxophobia returned to San Jose on Sunday and ate dinner at an Applebee’s; since it was Father’s Day, the choice of restaurant fell to the host’s nine year old son Danny.  (As it worked out, the group’s first meal in Costa Rica was at a Carl’s Jr. and the last was at Applebee’s; the rest of the meals, however, featured less “American” places.)  Monday was the long but reasonably uneventful return to Kentucky.

Rodrigo Durán – the host of the group – quickly became a close friend and took great care of Saxophobia on the trip.  Everyone the group met in Costa Rica was gracious, and audiences certainly seemed to appreciate their music.  Students in the master classes were attentive and enthusiastic; hopefully they received a greater understanding of jazz music and jazz improvisation.  It was an incredible experience, and Saxophobia would be happy for a return engagement!