Episode 6: Sioux Loves Louis

Sioux plays the clarinet solo. She stands in the community center performance hall and plays. She practices and practices.

Jazz is her favorite. But she continues to train in the classics. She knows the fundamentals are critical.

It is like Snooks in the kitchen. When no one is watching, Snooks studies La Technique and La Methode. Then he jokes with everyone about the French getting it wrong, but Snooks is a big fan of the French. He knows they lead the world in understanding food and food preparation.

Sioux feels the same way about Louis Armstrong. He is the greatest and Sioux learns everything she can. She reads about him, listens to old records and plays CDs until every note is memorized.

Sioux wants to be great because it is a passion of hers. Her soul is stirred by the sounds and she wants to rise to the occasion.

It is a love. It started early and stayed forever.

Howdy feels the same way about the drums. Gene Krupa is the standard, but classical training is the foundation.

The others in the group enjoy playing, but it is for fun.

Sir Francis concedes to himself that the piano is great fun, but Chopin is hard for him. He is enthralled by the standards that Sioux and Howdy set for the other players.

Snooks loves the guitar and can "get down," but his deal is baseball, not music.