July Project - Abu the Flutemaker
Here's my new friend Abu, playing a saxophone-like contraption that he makes out of plastic pipe and fittings. Now here's what I find amazing - it sounds pretty good - at least when he plays it.Abu is a street entertainer, licensed by the city of Baltimore. Besides his music, he has a bright and happy personality. While we were with him, he gave me and another admirer each a straw, then proceeded to teach us how to "play" it, including showing us several ways to get various sounds out of it.
Abu entertains at the nearby Medical Center Plaza each Tuesday; I'll try to catch him for some more photos in the coming weeks.
Labels: Portrait, Project Jul. 2010
posted by Steve Rosenbach at 7:06 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Nice shot, Steve. He looks like a DPW worker smoking a hookah :P.
--WT
Dan,
I was thinking the same thing as Warren....government worker taking a break and getting high. Couldn't you see this in the Bay Area and the lights going off. ;)
**Dolph
You guys are right! In fairness to Abu, I should take some more photos ;-) I sent him the 3 I took, and he was very happy with them and said I could take more any time.
It turns out he's famous in Baltimore - he makes instruments out of just about any discarded old thing. His biggest pleasure is speaking and demonstrating to school-age children to get them interested in music.
Here's a 12-year-old article I found about Abu - it's really heartwarming.
Very cool portrait! People are amazing! :)
Nice streetcape capture Steve. The tightness of the image really works
Dan
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