Fifty-Second Street Suite

SKU: MN.CH-1291

Contains four pieces: 1. Fifty-Second Street Swing, 2. Remembering Billie, 3. On the Road, 4. Take Five. The following is a remembrance by the composer: Under the picture in my high school yearbook it said, Silence is golden. Lost my diploma on the way home from graduation but I knew what I wanted to be: A Big Band Pianist. Started hanging out in Manhattan on Fifty Second Street. There were seven jazz clubs in one block, between Sixth and Seventh. Couldnt drink at seventeen, so just nursed cokes at a dollar each. My salary was twenty a week. Sat by the great Art Tatum, the incredible blind pianist. My teacher accompanied Billie at the Onyx. Later, Dizzy and Bird appeared on the scene. This wonderful year passed, and I swapped my piano for a rifle. The Marines had plans for me. Where would I find a piano? Would I still be able to play? But, find them I did: in the States and even on some Pacific Islands. Sometimes you could even recognize what you were playing. Sometimes, had to kick someone off the bench. I told Kim Rich, the poet, my stories and somehow she made these wonderful lyrics with just a few phone conversations. Hey! Im immortal!!!