Mahjong and Mezzo-Soprano Sax

he Chinese game of mahjong may have been invented by Confucius more than 2,000 years ago or, possibly, sometime in the past few hundred years. What’s indisputable is that it found its way to America in the 20th century. Among those who played it avidly were the Chicago-based relatives of a young Filipino-American boy named Jon Irabagon. The sounds and sights of the players shuffling the colorful mahjong tiles made an indelible impression on the boy, who would later become a saxophonist and composer of (the seventh album of his own music on his Irabbagast Records), to a suite largely inspired by the game. The other half is a different story altogether—sort of.