Hi, it’s me, Jonah, the baritone saxophonist. Remember?

I’m at the airport.

Traveling has always been part of my career fantasies. I find it embarrassingly romantic to imagine myself out in the world, with just my saxophone and a change of clothes, wandering from place to place. The reality is sweatier.

Getting on an airplane with a baritone saxophone is rarely easy. If you know me in real life, you’ve been forced to hear about it. Did you know I have a database of airplanes with pictures of my saxophone in the overhead? It’s my life’s work. That and figuring out how to be the first one on an airplane so that the overhead bins have room.

It was with that project in mind that, in 2011, I acquired my first United Airlines credit card. The card charged an annual fee of $100 a year, and in exchange I got to board in the coveted group 2 position, just after first class, the gold passengers (who fly a lot), the platinum passengers (who fly a lot more), the 1k passengers (who fly like it’s nothing), and the mysterious global services passengers (invitation only). No problem, they all flew first class anyway so I was the first one in the back. Success. Traveling was romantic again.

Sometime around 2018, after many years of dreaming and sending cold emails, I began touring in Europe a couple times a year. This was a dream I’d carried from my earliest days of commitment to the saxophone. I was elated. Also, I was flying enough to receive Silver status. I didn’t get much in return, but I was proud. Why was I proud? I didn’t really ask myself why I was proud, all I knew was that for the first time in my life, I was elite. Gold status soon followed, and with it: perks.

My favorite part of Gold status was access to the lounges. For those who have never been, the lounge is a room that is slightly cleaner than the rest of the airport with an automatic cappuccino machine and some snacks. It was glorious. So glorious that I became determined to be a permanent attendee. That was around when I upgraded to a more expensive United Airlines credit card.

I started flying out of Newark even though it was 2 hours from my house, sometimes even though it was more expensive, just to get the maximum status qualification points. I spent hours checking every opportunity to win extra points. I took advantage of every promotion. I drank so many automatic vending machine cappuccinos. One day, my wife asked why we had to suffer through a pilgrimage to Newark when JFK was a subway ride away. I responded confidently, that the quality of life at the Newark airport was better. Free coffee. She was not convinced. Although she was patient with my project, I found her objections unsettling. What was she missing? What was I missing?

The turning point came about a year ago when I discovered that for an often nominal fee, one of the more budget airlines (outside of my airline group) would allow me to buy a seat for my saxophone. The dream at the root of all dreams. Me and my horn, carefree, not too sweaty, strolling onto airplanes, and seeing the world. To my shock, my first thought was that I would lose access to the lounge with this ticket. Uh oh. They got me.

What is it about airline status that is so appealing? I have a theory. It is about positive feedback. What does it mean to succeed? In the version of the world that we share today, it often feels like people’s only measure of success is wealth. Not only that, there is never enough of it. Billions. It’s a short word that represents an impossibly long number. At the climax of this un-winnable race, enters airlines status. A pat on the back. A gentle word of encouragement, “keep running, you can’t see the front, but look how many people are behind you.” This is especially nice for a saxophone player who is never gonna make a lot of money. It’s shockingly easy to forget what race you are running. Even in the middle.

My race was supposed to be about picking up my saxophone and dropping myself anywhere it would take me, but then I forgot, and my race became about free coffee in a members only club at the airport. Good news though, I’m recommitting, and the truth is, sitting here at my gate without lounge access, getting ready to fly to Finland to play some music to people like you, my community, I think it’s possible that I’ve already won. Even if this race came with a $4 bag of m&ms from a Hudson News kiosk in terminal B at Newark Airport.

If you live in Finland, I hope I’ll see you next week!

19.3 • Digelius Music • Helsinki FI
20.3 • Bar Kuka • Turku FI
21.3 • Pethaus • Tampere FI
22.3 • Validi Karkia Kotikonsertti • Pori FI

My latest solo album, and the music I’ll play on tour, sounds like this.

See you out there,

Jonah