He Died In Harness

One of MrQ's dearest musician friends has died. He was the best technical musician he knew, a piano teacher and he played in a classical orchestra. They used to play together in a dance band in the 1950s. I offered to make a sympathy card and initially was going to photograph a daisy outside the back door for it. Most musicians 'die with their boots on' or 'in harness' so I then had the idea of picturing his two principal instruments placed as though for the last time. I've found a quote in the Oxford Dictionary Of Idioms from Harper's Magazine in 1922. "Don't overly concern yourself with the union pension fund. Musicians mostly die in harness."

I've photographed MrQ's Selmer Mk VI alto sax and Buffet Bb clarinet.