"Like Dizzy Gillespie's Cheeks" is a humorous look into the life of Sam Greene, a Chicago jazz pianist, stuck playing dingy bars, museum benefits and Nordstrom’s half-yearly sales.
December 1999 is filled with global uncertainty. But in Chicago, musician Sam Greene is certain to play piano at any dingy establishment that will hire him. Typically, he can count on his longtime mentor, jazz great Ben Webster, to join him for a late night set on the piano. Irritable and not just because he’s in his seventies, Ben leaves the club before playing a single note. The next morning, Sam is devastated to learn that his best friend is dead. As a result, Sam’s perspective on life takes an abrupt change.
He notices how pathetically insignificant ones life can truly be. He stumbles through some interesting yet awkward situations, both funny and sad, including being conflicted about whether he should allow himself to fall in love with Kate Buckley, the reporter trying to get a story about his friend for Esquire, or continue his unhealthy relationship with Liz Brightwater of the Brightwater Marble fortune. In the end, Sam realizes that life is happening now. It’s admirable to respect the past, but he must also learn to trust his future.
Excerpt
I quickly accepted the fact that loud, obnoxious drunk people weren’t the best
audience for classic jazz piano, as well as accepting the fact that my tip jar was
filled to the point of being mistaken for one of those “Guess-how-much-money-is-
in-this-jar-and-win!” games. What I wasn’t ready for was the fifty-year-old woman
with floppy breasts, dressed in what looked like her teenage daughter’s baby doll
dress, tossing a fifty in my tip jar and requesting a Garth Brooks song called “The Dance.”
A humorous look at the world and life through my eyes.
Follow the author and his wife, as they travel the world …. several times over.
Laugh at their funny stories, self-inflicted crazy events, strange observations, wacky zoo facts and snippets
