Richard Jacobson and his ‘trumpet of fire’ returned to Dedham Square earlier this week to play for all those who passed by.Jacobson, a troubadour and Christian evangelist, travels on his bicycle playing music and “proclaiming the second coming of Christ.”
As he played on the corner outside the police station, pedestrians stopped and motorists pulled over to give unsolicited donations to the musician.One woman even bought Jacobson lunch.Russ Poole was having lunch at the High Street Café across the street.
“The door was open and the music was coming in,” Pole said.“They should have been charging a cover.”
Before beginning to play his trumpet Jacobson blew on a shofar, or a ram’s horn.
“This was what they blew down the walls of Jericho with,” Jacobson said, referring to the Biblical story from the book of Joshua.“But I use it as a spiritual weapon.”
Jacobson travels from place to place, playing for a few hours at a time.He said he camps out most of the time, but is also sometimes invited into listener’s homes.He plans to stay in the area for a while longer, before returning to his home in New York.
Jacobson has been riding and playing all over the world for more than a decade.This was not his first visit to Dedham. Last December he played Christmas carols on the same corner
He says he mainly plays Christian and patriotic songs, but his repertoire is far larger.On Monday he could be heard playing everything from “He’s got the whole world in his hands” to “Oh, Danny boy,” to “I could have danced all night,” from My Fair Lady.He even sang a medley of “The House of the Rising Sun” and “Amazing Grace.”
“This is a great little village,” he said.“I like playing here.”
