Good point, Chas. Often it is a regional thing. My area has the highest sales of arranger keyboards, but there are only a handful of us playing them professionally.

I'm not complaining, as it means I get lots of work, for in spite of some musicians turning their nose down at the arranger player, we still manage to be very popular in certain venues.

My buddy (the guy I go to hear) and I have to turn down jobs, because there's just not enough time to do them all. I've decided to take the winter off and rest up and smell the roses, rather than go through another hectic season.

There seems to be less of a stigma towards the arranger player in Europe, and, in the case of Canada, the more cosmopolitan cities like Toronto, Montreal and St.John's NL.

Ian