Sax in the City

This busker plays in Canterbury some evenings, perhaps once a week. Each time I hear him I'm delighted. He plays popular standards but like all able jazz musicians he often kneads the tunes adding in intricate harmonies or diverting the melody into an unexplored backwater. Sometimes he will make a tune like Gershwin's Summertime the basis of a 10 minute improvisation. He looks pretty rough and I think he's living on the street so I always try to give him something. I know I might be feeding a drugs habit or helping him waste his talent but I've come to believe that guys like this don't want to be patronised.

I'm beginning to feel more comfortable taking portraits on the street. Usually, if you ask, the subjects are only too happy to be blipped. If they object to being photographed I simply apologise. Usually I get shy smile in return.