When I approached editor Andy Senior offering to write an occasional column about light hearted musical musings all and sundry he gave me his blessing, so it is my privilege to herein present my inaugural column to you.
I paraphrased the title from one of my favorite tunes, Bob Haggart’s delightful “My Inspiration,” composed for the great clarinetist Irving Fazola who recorded it with the Bob Crosby Orchestra. Haggart conceived his musical journey in three parts. The first section is in the key of G minor; brooding low-voiced chords rumble underneath a sobbing, repetitive six-note motif in the melody. The tempo is contemplative, the beat subtle. Staying in the same tempo, Haggart moves to his next theme: a 12-bar blues in the parallel major key to the first section (so, G major). While the feel is still melancholy, this simple change of key offers a brighter sound, a ray of light peeking through the clouds. An abrupt halt to this section catapults us into the third theme, introduced by a four-bar drum with brushes. The tempo is doubled for this final section; over the chords and structure of the first two sections, Fazola and the band wail away in joyful abandon.
I find meaningful parallels between this jazz tour-de-force and the past 16 months of my life. When my wife Anne and I safely returned home from an extensive tour in CA on March 16, 2020, we knew it was time to hunker
