Column | Sliding into the holidays: Expectations for Christmas Eve blown away
Mid-afternoon on Christmas Eve in downtown Bloomington was pretty quiet. It did not feel much like the traditional holiday season in southern Indiana.
Because Christmas Eve fell on a Sunday, some shops and restaurants were closed that might have otherwise been open for business. Temperatures in the mid-60s did not help matters.
The sidewalks were empty. Just three lonesome cars were parked on 6th Street in the block between Walnut and Washington.
The day was unfolding just about as expected.
Then the quiet was broken. The booming voice of a trombone echoed off the historic brick facades of the buildings near the courthouse square.
Now filling the air was some kind of elaborate jazz improvisation—not exactly traditional Christmas tunes.
But wait.
Underlying the embellished phrasing, even to an untrained ear, was the unmistakable melody of “Frosty the Snowman.”
From mid-block on 6th Street, the horn player was blocked from view by the building on the northeast corner of Walnut and 6th that is home to BTown Smoke Time.
But a quick expedition around the corner revealed the jolly happy soul of Vick Luna, who was sitting on the stoop of the smoke shop, making his trombone tell the story of a snowman and the magic of an old silk hat.
How did Bloomington come to be graced with a jazz trombonist of Luna’s caliber? The easiest guess turned out to be the right one: Luna is a student at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. He’s majoring in jazz performance.
But Luna’s path to Jacobs was not a straight line. He started at Ball State, and “grinded” in Muncie for a year, before they let him in at Jacobs, he said.
He’s now a sophomore at Jacobs, even though by strict chronology he would be senior, if he had started out there.
Any question about a possible objection by the owner of Smoke Time to his use of the store’s stoop to practice his craft got a simple answer: He works at Smoke Time. When there are no customers, the owner is content to let him practice, Luna said.
About that arrangement, Luna said, “Dude, it’s so cool, man—I feel so supported here.”
The horn that Luna was playing looked weathered, with a rich patina. Maybe it was an antique?
Luna spoke about the instrument he was holding with a kind of reverence. It dates from the 1970s. He said he was gifted the trombone by a friend. His friend told him: “It seems like you need this horn—I’m in a space financially where I can give this to you.”
His friend told him to pay him back over time. “It took me like three years, but I made my $50 payments over time,” Luna said. He added, “I was honestly pretty blessed to have this trombone.”
The King 3B model Luna plays is to trombones what the Stradivarius is to violins. He pointed out some modifications—the main slide has been modified to be lightweight and the tuning slide has been replaced. He described it as “honestly beautiful.” He called it “one of the best trombones I think I’ve ever played.” He added, “It has a nice dark sound, too.”
Luna then put the mouthpiece to his lips and demonstrated the nice dark sound.
Listen to that snippet with your own ears:
Thank you to Vick Luna, for brightening up The B Square’s corner of the world on Christmas Eve.
