All day, as computer consultant Dean Booth deals with manufacturers, he looks forward to heading down to his basement in Hudson, Mass., to practice his tuba. His wife watches TV in the room above, knowing he's there because she sometimes feels the floor vibrate, he said.
“This is my escape from manufacturing companies," said Booth, 55, as he wiped down his sousaphone on Tuesday after an afternoon rehearsal, part of this week's New Orleans Traditional Jazz Camp.
The camp, in its second year, attracted 80 musicians ranging in age from 14 to 88, with an average age of 65. They traveled from Switzerland, Argentina, Canada and 18 American states, said the camp's three founders: singer Banu Gibson, drummer Nita Hemeter and music educator Leslie Cooper.
For roughly half the group, it's a fantasy camp of sorts.
But instead of driving race cars or playing one quarter with an NBA team, these fantasy campers learn at the feet of some of the city's jazz legends. They jam in some of the city's most hallowed traditional-jazz venues: Preservation Hall, Fritzel's European Jazz Pub and the Palm Court Jazz Cafe. And they second-line through the French Quarter.
“This is my escape from manufacturing companies," said Booth, 55, as he wiped down his sousaphone on Tuesday after an afternoon rehearsal, part of this week's New Orleans Traditional Jazz Camp.
The camp, in its second year, attracted 80 musicians ranging in age from 14 to 88, with an average age of 65. They traveled from Switzerland, Argentina, Canada and 18 American states, said the camp's three founders: singer Banu Gibson, drummer Nita Hemeter and music educator Leslie Cooper.
For roughly half the group, it's a fantasy camp of sorts.
But instead of driving race cars or playing one quarter with an NBA team, these fantasy campers learn at the feet of some of the city's jazz legends. They jam in some of the city's most hallowed traditional-jazz venues: Preservation Hall, Fritzel's European Jazz Pub and the Palm Court Jazz Cafe. And they second-line through the French Quarter.
