To the listener: This 74 minute body of work with 10 compositions was recorded live in a living room May 12, 13 and 14 of 2014 in Durango, Colorado. I found a gorgeous Steinway Grand piano for Jack Maynes to play, and Ely Rio on her upright bass and myself with my tenor sax, harmonicas, and flute, set up around the piano. There were 6 mics to capture the live sound while we performed "Alchemy" Alchemy: Over the centuries in all societies, magicians, sorcerers, chemist, and philosophers have put their minds and spirits toward discovery, innovation, individuation, and esoteric philosophy. They hunt for, discover, and collect unique ingredients, throwing them into the magic pot, heating the potion to the exact temperature, stirring carefully, adding just the right pinch of the special herbs, spices, magic, and prayers. Cooked to the perfect point, the elixir is ready to be ingested for individual and cultural transformation. The music composer with the help from the muses and the universe, grabs wisps of energy, emotion, feeling, experience, and organizes the 12 notes of western music into structure and shape, continually stirring the creative juices until the melody and the harmony solidifies into a song. Jazzer’s go one more step further and create their improvisation in the moment, never repeating it again. I am astonished that I’ve become a musician and been able to live artfully and creatively over my adult life. It has been quite the wild adventure and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. “I may not have gotten wealthy but I sure have gotten rich.” Now I pass this body of work “Alchemy” on to you, and I hope that you enjoy it. I am very grateful for your continued support. “Find the way, listen to the source, be the light”. Technology has Alchemized the world. Daunting at times, over the top at other times, these inventions have given musicians the ability to produce high quality recordings that allow us to get our music out, literally to the entire world, with out a Warner Brothers, RCA, or Sony (who still have not called). Solon is a self-taught musician, who plays saxophone, clarinet, flute, harmonica, and piano. He is immersed in the music of jazz as a soloist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and teacher. He began his professional musical adventure as a street performer, playing his way through Central and South America (1980 – 1985), and has continually performed extensively throughout the southwest since 1985, with his duets, groups, and 8 piece swing band. He has been a yearly grant recipient (1993 –2014) from the Durango Friends of the Arts for his public school assemblies and workshops, and has won several awards from the Colorado Council on the Arts, and The Fort Lewis College Foundation. He has led three tours for the U.S. Embassy in Latin America, produced and released 15 recordings, and teaches jazz studies at Fort Lewis College. www.jeffsolon.com - for performance schedule and audio/video clips