Tag: jazz

Posted in Life

A little piano music

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I was delighted to hear piano music as I settled into a rocking chair in the arrivals area of the Jacksonville, Florida airport. The volunteer was talented, equipped with a big stack of piano music.

As I slipped a few dollars in her tip jar I asked, “Do you take requests?”

She smiled and said, “If I know it.”

I don’t know why it came to mind, but I said, “Satin Doll.”

She smiled, nodded, and said, “I’ll play that next.”

She must have pulled out her Nat King Cole book, because she followed up with “Autumn Leaves,” “Tenderly,” “At Last,” “The Girl from Ipanema,” “Stardust,” and “Saint Louis Blues.”

It had been a long time since I enjoyed some piano bar music. It was relaxing to play a little “Name That Tune” as she began each melody. She made the wait time speed by. What a great service to offer travelers and their families.

Posted in Life

Jazz 91.1

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I’ve got some new music to listen to while I’m working at the computer. It’s the live feed at http://www.jazz.fm, Jazz 91.1 from Toronto, Canada. All jazz music, all the time, an amazing variety of music and musicians, instrumentalists, bands, and vocalists. A few things I’ve heard before, but a lot I haven’t. As soon as I turn it on, it creates a very relaxing mood wherever I am. I even have the app on my iPhone.

It’s been a long, long time since I’ve been somewhere that had an actual jazz station to listen to. A long, long time ago, there was one in Philadelphia. There used to be a smooth jazz station in Jacksonville, FL, but they changed format to Latin music. So these sounds are very welcome when I find myself parked at the computer, working on sermons or letters or whatever.

It’s got me playing my trumpet more, too, especially some jazz etudes I’ve collected over the years. It would be nice to have some kind of band to play with, but for now, practicing on my own with some occasional background tracks has been a good way to clear my mind and stimulate some different parts of my brain.