Ritva invites us to turn up the volume and “capture the energy, excitement, and emotion of live music—or anything connected to it. Think instruments, the crowd, listeners, and most importantly, the emotions and feelings that music sparks in us all.” I always loved going to live music dances (Paul Rivere & the Raiders, Three Dog Night), big name concerts (Tony Bennett, Pat Metheny), and the Mount Hood Festival of Jazz in Portland Oregon, where I was blessed to see many Jazz greats (Dave Brubeck, Stan Getz, Charlie Hayden & Quartet West, Gene Harris), to name a few.

Sixty years ago, at the age of 17, I purchased this Victrola at an Auction in Albion, Washington for $15.00. I have cherished it through the years, and if I could find someone to lubricate it, I’m pretty sure it would spin out sound again!

When people ask how I met Creighton, my husband of 57 years, I tell them the true story of when a mutual friend was visiting Creighton at the University of Washington, and appealed to me to ask Creighton to loan him his Gibson 6 string – again.

Creighton and his Gibson in his dorm room, 1967.

LP records, cassette tapes, CD’s and instruments have filled our lives with music. His first bass was the Epiphone in the photo below that also features about half of our CD collection.

Creighton played bass in 3 different bands, and I sang in our Jazz Casual trio, with Creighton on bass, and dear friend Bill Wilson on guitar.

Any photos I have of other gigs and events are buried in photo albums in a chest beneath boxes of other memorabilia that I have yet to sort through. This small window into our walk with music is a peek into how vital music has been and is in our lives together. Thank you Ritva for this wonderful challenge. You can see her excellent post here.

On your walk with life, please honor our earth, encourage dignity and share kindness. 🐾