I had the good for­tune to be able to attend a rehearsal of my friend’s band the other day; the Fire­cracker Jazz Band. They are eas­ily one of the best bands play­ing reg­u­larly in Asheville right now, and it was an incred­i­ble learn­ing expe­ri­ence to be able to lis­ten to such tal­ented musi­cians work on their sound. Very fas­ci­nat­ing. Then, as an extra treat, the trum­pet player heard an oboe on the street below us and he yelled to them to come up and play. Turns out she was just half of an oboe/accordion duo that was trav­el­ing back to Ver­mont from Florida. And they were bad-ass, I might add. They played a cou­ple of tunes for us in the old French Musette style before we parted ways, but the ran­dom­ness of the meet­ing is what struck me. If there was any doubt before, I have decided Asheville is a good place to be.