Journal Entries
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Note: Background images in December 2002 and January 2003 journal entries are selected from Frances Ku's collection of her original watercolours.
Bon Journal
Saved by Dan Coates
After running around all day, I got to the local library about two hours before I had to get ready to play.
Panic! What am I going to play tonight?
The beverages manager had asked me to play a variety of music. And I've interpreted that to mean a sort of "Thousand and One Arabian Nights" - a different story each night, a different piece each evening.
By sheer coincidence, I found Dan Coates' Advanced Piano Solos in the library. I had bought that book about two years ago in Manhattan. It was a great book until I got sick of the mushy love songs and the same arpeggio accompaniments over and over again. In an act of generosity, I gave it to my friend Helmut on my last visit to Muenster.
Tonight, I had no choice but to sightread every single piece in this volume. I didn't have time to prepare. Amazingly, I managed to fill all three hours with Dan Coates' arrangements.
A few people in the bar clapped after I finished his arrangement of Pachelbel's Canon in D.
Later, I tried to sightread Miss Celie's Blues (from The Colour Purple). One gentleman gave me an applause afterwards. I didn't realise this was such a fun piece!
The mushy love songs after awhile do get on my nerves. But interweaved with swing and jazz improvisations of well-known oldies, Coates' arrangements are just fine for an evening at a well-known hotel.
Thanks Mr Coates! Now, will I be cheeky enough to call my friend and ask for the book back?
