Naming "3"

When it came time to find a name for my latest recording, I knew something would pop.

I have liked the names I have used for my previous recordings and have found them to be both personal and clever (even if I do say so myself). I have also provided names for the recordings of friends.

On the return flight from the May 2018 recording sessions, I cogitated on the number 3, starting with it because I had just completed my third solo recording.

3…3…3…3…ok, here goes:

3 solo CDs

My favorite band, Chicago, with their third recording, began using numbers as titles with “III”

3 common contributors to the recording (Ellefson, Kim, Whitaker)

3 letters in Leo (my astrological symbol)

3 trombone teachers at IU

Started trombone on a Bach 3G

IU studio is JS432. 4+3+2=9, which is 3 3s

3 parents

One of 3 children

10 years in an orchestra section of 3

3rd generation American

Attended 3 institutions post HS

I grew up in a 3-story house

I currently live in 2 different 3-story houses

Why are many of the important trombone symphonies number 3s? Mahler 3, Schumann 3, Saint-Saëns 3, Copland 3, Berg 3 Orchestra Pieces. Intro to Act 3 of Lohengrin, The Ride of the Valkyries opens the 3rd act of Die Walküre (the Ride is in 3 beats/bar).

Admittedly, I am cherry picking. Seems to be what we do these days to support a particular point of view, whether be in politics or naming a trombone recording.

So, the recording’s name sort of found me. It is amazing what can happen when one turns off the mind and allows inward flow instead of trying to generate outward flow.

There is a lesson there somewhere.