Arizona Caught My Eye

I have been taking pictures of Arizona for over 40 years, and I thought that I would post a few.

Roping @ The Arena Bar , Benson, AZ

Garden Canyon, Ft Huachuca, AZ

This rock is about 30 feet high

Cattle and approaching storm, Cochise County

Grand Canyon colors

Tucson Caught My Eye

I am forever taking pictures of things that please me, but that others sometimes find odd. These are a few of my recent ones. The title of this post is also the tentative title of my forthcoming book of photos.

 

Barrio row houses

Doorway,  downtown Barrio

The 'Old' Pima County Court House from Presidio Park

Looking down on the Pima County Court House from the UniSource Bldg

The Corbett House on Main, looking toward downtown

The Redhouse family

The Redhouse Family Jazz Band

Arizona’s First Native American Family of Jazz

Members of the Dine’ (Navajo) Nation, the band is comprised of Mary, Charlotte, Vince, Lenny, Tony, and Larry Redhouse. All established musicians, these family members have been performing together and as individuals for over 30 years, and have numerous CD releases and accolades to their credit.

     Larry, a trumpet player and pianist/organist, has the Larry Redhouse Trio in Tucson, their jazz has been called innovative with an edge of raw creative energy. Vince plays saxophone, native flute, guitar and has appeared around the world with his native flute interpretations, and has 2 Grammy Awards to his credit. Lennie is a percussionist and is one of the most engaging jazz fusion drummers performing today. Tony, a percussionist and native flute player performs in a variety of styles including funk, hip-hop, jazz. Latin, rock and native American. Mary, a renowned jazz and Native American vocalist, also plays bass and native flute. She has performed with R. Carlos Nakai and the Oliver Lake Jazz Trio among others. Charlotte plays guitar and percussion and sings Rhythm and Blues renditions of her original compositions. Their mother Maria, who is 85 years young, as of this writing performs with the Redhouse Dancers and signs The Lord's Prayer (The Our Father) in Indian sign.
   Ms Hilda and I never miss any performance of the family or of the individuals if we can catch them. Tony is living in Phoenix and Vince is now teaching on the reservation, so we didn't get a chance to see them this past Sunday, but it was a pleasure talking to Mary and Lennie. It is always an inspirational time when you get to see the family. Their deep rooted faith shines through in everything they do or say. Besides their god-given talents in musical genres and their ability to make so many appreciate Native American heritage and tradition through their regalia and their dancing and chanting, they (are simply put) great people. I count myself lucky in having ben able to see and appreciate their efforts. I have been trying to find a way to import some of Vince's music onto my Blog.


Some pictures that I took on Sunday 10/10/10 in Tucson, at Tucson Meet Yourself.

Larry and Lennie dance traditional dances

Lennie and the Hoop Dance

Maria,mother of the brood, signing the Our Father

Larry doing the Eagle Dance

Charlotte and Lennie

Tucson, Meet Yourself

A busy weekend. Hilda had a Legion Auxiliary meeting at 1000, there was a car / motorcycle /low rider show at American Legion Post 7 at noon on Saturday, Tucson Meet Yourself Festival all weekend downtown at Presidio Park and other spots downtown. All varied types of ethnic food booths and music/dancing ranging from Scot to Greek to Chinese to Spanish and many others in between. This is a festival started years ago by an old friend of mine (and everyone's) Tucson Folklorist/Historian "Big" Jim Griffith. It was originally about all the various ethnic cuisines in Tucson and in it's history ... it was called Tucson Eat Yourself and has grown to encompass the many customs, music and food from all our ethnic groups ... great fun.

Roadster that gets 3 miles to the gallon

Tucson Folklorio Dancers

Ms Hilda with an old Ford

Pima County Courthouse in Tucson