Florida Keys

I have been in the Florida Keys for a few days now, working a "New York style" piano bar. Basically that means that I am playing lots of standards and broadway and the wait staff are all professional singers that come up every hour and do 15 minute sets. Just about every musician that they hire has worked the piano bar scene in NYC. Most of these people I have heard of and some I've bet before. I'm really enjoying the gig so far. They have a 7 foot Yamaha concert grand piano that seems to play itself. What that really means is that the sound is so delicious that you become more and more inspired with every passing note, that you play better and better. I use a lot of contemporary harmonies involving minor seconds and dominants with sharp 11's or sharp 9's, flat 5's, etc. that sound so complex and lush on this instrument it makes you want to explore new chord voicings and try new cadences.

The staff I am working with are great. There are two singers from New York, both of which are talented, but one is particularly noteworthy. She has a voice and a style reminiscent of the great singers of the 50's and 60's, particularly Ella. She does a version of Bewitched that made that song come alive in a way I've never experienced before. She is so talented it's really scary. I just wonder if the world we live in today is capable of recognizing such talent given the low bar that we as a culture seem to accept in our music and entertainment choices. Anyway, it's exciting to work with her, although she lost her luggage with her songbook on the plane on the way here, so I have to play everything using my own music and transpose it up a 4th or 5th for her. On one hand it's always good to stretch my abilities like that, but on the other hand, I know I'm not playing as good as I could for her since I'm focused on finding the right chords. Anyway, life is good. I'm here for 2 weeks.