PREZ SEZ - March 2026
By Terry Rogers
As most of you know, I have played traditional jazz for a long time. The Ain ‘t No Heaven Seven has been in existence since October of 1983. David Gilbert on piano and Al Rustad on tuba and I are original members, and we meet nearly every week with Gene Silberberg on banjo to play a few tunes and tell a few stories. After a while we can tell the same ones, because we can’t remember if others have already heard it or if we have told it at some time in the past.
Well, this week I had a story to tell that I knew they had not heard before. In addition to playing traditional jazz, I play in another group led by Joe Ross (who played drums for us at the January meeting), and that group is called The Birdwatchers. Full disclosure: We do play some trad jazz tunes (a few), but also play mainly other styles, such as country, rockabilly, and early rock. We usually have four members: piano, acoustic guitar, string bass, and saxophone.
Well, this Tuesday, we played at a retirement home in Bothell for a Fat Tuesday celebration, where we have played many times before. When I arrived to set up, I noticed a very young man by the doorway carrying a small black case. I thought maybe he was a grandchild of one of the residents. I then learned that the well known and very talented man who was scheduled to play piano with us had to cancel at the last minute. His replacement, and recommended by him, was none other than this young man, who had never played with us before. And did I mention that he was but 12 years old? And he had yet to experience a growth spurt, thus his head barely cleared the top of the grand piano. It would be incorrect to say that we were not a little skeptical about how this was going to turn out. Well, we couldn’t have been more wrong.
In short, this 12-year-old simply killed it. He just ripped.
It was truly impressive how he quickly figured out the tunes and the chord progressions. Most of the tunes he had never played or heard before! And he never backed off of taking a solo. In short, it was a wonder to behold and a pleasure to be part of. I just can’t imagine what his future holds.
I would love to have him come and play with a small group at one of our Sunday meetings, maybe during one of the main band’s breaks. I know that you would all be as impressed as I was. This young man is a star in the making.
It is so great to know that the future of jazz is in such good hands. Wow!
And about that black case he brought. It was a Melodica, an air-driven handheld keyboard, on which he played a couple of solos. Just amazing!
