“The Pianist” – a short story by J.C. Michaels

June 20th, 2024

.

.

“The Pianist” was a finalist  in our recently concluded 65th Short Fiction Contest, and is published with the consent of the author.

.

.

___

.

.

photo via PickPic

.

The Pianist

by J. C. Michaels

.

…..As I lay motionless on my back, absorbing the subtle beating sound of a late winter wind against the single-paned glass of my rooming house, a diffuse light of dawn draws a wedge of gray across my face. My shoulders rest on a thin mattress supported by a floor of worn pine boards. Clenched hands grip a thick cotton blanket just under my chin. Disjointed thoughts weave surreal images of dark figures from an inchoate past hovering around me, ideas so garbled and diaphanous no word adheres long enough to convey meaning. A warm feeling travels up my spine, across my shoulders, down my arms, flowing over me like a gently rising tide, a temptation to enjoy the comfort of just waking, but the hunger of ambition forces open my eyelids. Like trickling grains of sand through a sieve, a moment later, only remnants remain of my waking dream.

…..The walls of my room are empty except for a poster of a sixteenth-century woodcut of a robed man standing atop a great mountain, reaching outside the crystalline sphere of stars, trying to grasp what lies beyond the physical world. A desk lamp with a dark green ceramic base and yellowed shade sits atop a thick book on art theory. Scattered around the base is a cluttered arrangement of books, loose pages of music, a biography of Charles Ives. A large score with the heading ‘Liszt Sonata’ is opened to a section marked Quasi Adagio and covered with penciled-in fingerings, dynamic marks, circled notes, and the phrase: Foreshadowed Longing. The page of another opened score—the Concord Sonata by Ives—is darkened with a plethora of eighth, sixteenth, and thirty-second notes; flats, sharps, naturals, rests, and the comment: Man reflects seriously only when left alone.

…..I flick my arm outward toward a small digital clock and slap the button on the alarm. Glowing green numbers read 6:12 a.m. I am awake, three minutes early, a good sign. Bending forward from my waist like a floor mounted door being swung open, I sit upright with a slight tremble. A troubling weakness. I relax my arms, stretch my neck from side to side, breathe in deeply. I splay my long phalanges and run them through my thick, dark, glistening black hair as though I am plowing a field with an ancient ard.

…..I walk in front of a window overlooking a large open space of grass and trees, stand still and confront the source of the tethered shadows quivering on the wall: an old, thick-trunked chestnut tree with remnants of fall leaves on spindly branches. The shadows dance like torn pieces of paper twisting on strings, clinging to their tethers, flitting to and fro, struggling against an inevitable force one last time before breaking free, twirling across the wall, pausing, spinning about, floating downward and out of sight then making their final aerial display—like a grand rocket letting off a spectacle as it’s shot into the sky, a stunning rocket, a remarkable rocket … a remarkable rocket…. Never had I heard something so fantastic—talking fireworks, the thought suddenly brings back a distant image of myself as a child, my father next to me. He is holding a small book with brightly colored pictures, reading an absurdly funny story. I am almost breathless with laughter. The man with the book smiles with a forced upturn of his mouth, draws his hand across his cheek and under the lower lid of his eye. How odd that a story can make one person laugh and another cry.

…..Into my pocket, I place a small locket my father left behind for me. I exit the rooming house and continue down a wide footpath that descends through well-manicured grounds bordered by old buildings made of reddish stone with oversized windows and roofs covered with maroon, clay tiles. I walk at a moderate pace so I do not arrive before the building is open and risk stiffened joints as I stand outside in the cold. I place my hands into coat pockets, tapping my fingers rhythmically and methodically just below my ribs. I press lightly, then firmly, then in unison, then in opposition. I listen to the sounds of my stomach and feel my fingers bounce off my abdomen. I focus on the fourth finger of my left hand—weak and uncoordinated, barely having any independence of movement, tied to my fifth finger like a slave to a galley oar. The movement of the fourth causes the fifth to wave wildly in the air. I take my hands from my pockets and slowly press the palm of my right hand against the recalcitrant phalange—the David of one finger holding its own against the Goliath of an entire arm. I hold the enemy at bay until my finger begins to tremble with fatigue. I switch hands and use slightly less pressure. Balance between left and right is essential for complete mastery and control.

…..I approach the sprawling, two-story brick building, arriving just as the custodian is winding down the metal push bar. I give him a friendly nod. In the past three years, he has become very familiar with my routine. I cross the threshold into the music building. With a deliberate pace, I walk through the main vestibule of the newly refurbished performance center, down an empty and dimly lit hallway lined with numerous closed, heavy wooden doors. Halfway down, I enter a code into a lock and enter another hallway illuminated only by a dim incandescent light. On each side of the short, dead-end corridor are six doors spread about ten feet apart, each with a small viewing window that requires those below average height to stand on tiptoe to see inside. As I pass each one, I peer into the inviting yet disconcerting black space half-expecting to find someone inside. Practicing in the dark is not uncommon.

…..At the entrance to the last room on the left, I pause and reach inside, brushing my hand up and down the wall until I find the light switch. The door opens less than a body width before being stopped by a seven-foot, four-inch, polished black, Bösendorfer. Like a ship inside a narrow-mouthed bottle, the instrument seems to have been set in place before the room was built. The history and mystique of Bösendorfers extends back in time to 1828 when a young craftsman founded the eponymous company in Vienna. Driven by the goals of the Romantic tradition to push the limits of both art and artists and transcend the ordinary, his pianos were far larger and more durable than any others. Before me is model #225, which has ninety-two keys instead of the usual eighty-eight. It is known as the half-concert grand in deference to the Imperial Grand, model #290, which stretches almost ten feet in length, six feet in breadth, and uses eight complete octaves for a total of ninety-seven keys.

…..I retrieve my music from my backpack and carefully set these on the closed piano lid. I sit down on the bench, rest my shoulders against the wall, wriggling until comfortable. But I cannot find the proper position. The bench has been switched. I let out an exasperated grunt. I can endure practicing with the wall two inches from my back, but having my seat rest too far under my thighs is intolerable.

,,,,,I drag the offending, four-posted plank from underneath the piano and out the door. I walk up and down the practice-room hallway flipping on lights in each room, looking for the narrow bench that belongs with the Bösendorfer. There it is, resting sheepishly beneath an inferior Baldwin. I squeeze into the room and hastily lift the stolen bench up and over the top of the piano—adding a new, and indifferent scratch to the Baldwin’s lid.

…..Once more I sit motionless and silent in the tiny practice room, frustrated that the first use of my hands this morning has been as a furniture mover. I exhale and feel the perfect positioning of piano, bench, and body. I close my eyes, relax my shoulders, arms, hands, and then listen to the ambient sound. I adjust my posture slightly, stretch out my arms so they hover above the keys, rest my hands symmetrically on the white notes, and then center my left little finger on an A. As I depress a B with the fourth finger of my left hand, I carefully listen to the quick rise in volume and subsequent decay, challenging myself to find the point when sound fades to silence, trying to match the volume and length to the decaying quality of the preceding sound with the next note.

…..I continue with my right hand and then work through various combinations: fourth of the left with fourth of the right, then four and five, four and three, four and thumb, and then finally four and two—the index finger, always coming last as this digit already possessed a mastery and independence of spirit—innately having more control than all the other fingers combined.

…..As the volume of each note grows, from pianissimo to fortissimo, the force of the key against its bed is transferred from my finger through my hand, wrist, forearm, shoulder, and into my entire upper body. Precise muscular control is essential to avoid fatigue and overuse, especially in long, loud and fast works where a slight miscalculation can leave the forearm burning with pain. The effort and exertion must be properly dispersed throughout the length of the work so the ending will not pale due to fatigue. After a brief pause, I suddenly thrust my left hand downward like a hammer against an anvil, stiffening my digits into arc-like projectiles, holding a perfect curve as my finger pad hits the smooth white surface of the key. A powerful resonance envelopes the room, then dissipates into a thin layer of soundproofing tiles lining the walls and ceiling.

…..The work of one-note is just the beginning of the interweaving complexity of technical mastery. To achieve fluidity and speed of execution, allowing compound movements of hands and fingers to be executed with a single intention, I work through Duvernoy’s School of Mechanism and then Czerny’s School of Velocity. The former trains fingers in a variety of intricate patterns, moving chromatically upward through the entire range of the piano, the latter trains the machine to be not only precise, but capable of lightning-like execution.

…..I pause and place the fingertips of my left hand just below his right elbow. As I move my fingers on the keys, I feel the flexor digitorum profundus—a large muscle used for grasping—appropriate for some passages but too big and clumsy for lyric melodies. These large muscles need to be held in reserve so they will not become fatigued. The goal is to increase the use of my hand’s smaller interossei muscles and change their secondary and supportive role into being the prime movers of the fingers and thus reverse the roles nature has developed for the hand. This endless practicing of scales, arpeggios, double thirds, trills, octaves, leaps, and jumps of the hand allows for the perfect physical execution of a mental desire. Like a dancer who develops perfect motor memory from innumerable repetitions, the more refined and fluid the technique, the more time can be spent focusing on musicality leaving the imagination unconstrained by physical limitation.

…..Perfect technique is essential because of the irony inherent in the piano, and in all percussion instruments. The rank amateur can play a note as well as the greatest performer. No one can tell if a single note comes from a concert virtuoso or a child chosen at random from the street. With non-percussion instruments, the shape of the mouth against a reed, a fingertip pressed against a string, the angle of a bow, the motion of the hand, all conspire to determine the quality, pitch, and ultimately the tone. But the piano is like a drum. The extent of the pianist’s refinement is loud or soft, long or short—nothing more.

…..The tradition of believing the manner of depressing a key can affect the tone came from the clavichord, a two-hundred-year-old vestige in which a brass tangent remains in contact with the string and the movement of a finger actually did alter the timbre. In a conservatory, old beliefs linger and die very slowly, if ever. I regularly see pianists make pointless attempts to alter tone by adding some sort of nuance by gently wavering a finger on a depressed key, or by making undulating movements with their upper body.

…..Old professor Harmel has mentioned several well-known concert pianists who are quite vocal about stating that the physical state of the body can directly influence the sound. I wince at this magical thinking. The unwavering laws that affect the stars in the heavens also affect sounds from the piano. The mechanism of the instrument does not allow for any soul channeling. No matter how many times I hear talk about a pianist’s bel canto style, exceptional tone, or orchestral sound, I hear nothing from a piano but hammer against string—no oboe melodies weaving through the texture, no horns announcing a recurrent theme, no double bass carrying through a contrapuntal line, no voices singing a lyric melody. There is no inner life force, no psychic energy contributed by the performer. The laws of physics offer no exceptions for the musician. Regardless of how well each component of the instrument was manufactured, despite how much tender caressing and bodily nuance the pianist incorporates into a performance, regardless of emotive gesticulations or calm reservation suggesting some ecstasy may be forthcoming; after a key is pressed, the hammer is thrust upward of its own accord without any direct control. Sound from a piano comes from a body set in motion, its trajectory and outcome determined solely by events of the past.

.

.

“The Piano” is an excerpt from the author’s novel  Dream and Deception

.

.

___

.

.

J. C. Michaels is an award winning, internationally published novelist from the U.S. currently living and working as a literary writer in Taiwan.

.

.

Listen to Carl Czerny’s “The School of Velocity, Op. 299, No. 1” (performed by Andrei Vetrov

.

.

___

.

.

Click here to help support the continuing publication of Jerry Jazz Musician, and to keep it ad and commercial-free (thank you!)

.

Click here to read “Ballad,” Lúcia Leão’s winning story in the 65th Jerry Jazz Musician Short Fiction Contest

Click here to read more short fiction published on Jerry Jazz Musician

Click here to read The Sunday Poem

Click here for information about how to submit your poetry or short fiction

Click here for details about the upcoming 66th Jerry Jazz Musician Short Fiction Contest

Click here to subscribe to the Jerry Jazz Musician quarterly newsletter (it’s free)

.

.

.

___

.

.

 

Jerry Jazz Musician…human produced (and AI-free) since 1999

.

.

.

Share this:

Comment on this article:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Your Support is Appreciated

Jerry Jazz Musician has been commercial-free since its inception in 1999. Your generous donation helps it remain that way. Thanks very much for your kind consideration.

Site Archive

In This Issue

photo of Rudy Van Gelder via Blue Note Records
“Rudy Van Gelder: Jazz Music’s Recording Angel” – an essay by Joel Lewis...For over 60 years, the legendary recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder devoted himself to the language of sound. And although he recorded everything from glee clubs to classical music, he was best known for recording jazz – specifically the musicians associated with Blue Note and Prestige records. Joel Lewis writes about his impact on the sound of jazz, and what has become of his Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey studio.

The Sunday Poem

photo via RawPixel

”Bebop Salvation,” by Tobi Alfier


The Sunday Poem is published weekly, and strives to include the poet reading their work.... Tobi Alfier reads her poem at its conclusion


Click here to read previous editions of The Sunday Poem

Poetry

photo via pickpik.com
And Here We Are: A Post-election Thanksgiving, by Connie Johnson

Short Fiction

Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons/blur effect added
Short Fiction Contest-winning story #67 — “Bluesette,” by Salvatore Difalco...The author’s award-winning story is a semi-satirical mood piece about a heartbroken man in Europe listening to a recording by the harmonica player Toots Thielemans while under the influence of a mind-altering substance.

Interview

Interview with James Kaplan, author of 3 Shades of Blue: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans and the Lost Empire of Cool...The esteemed writer tells a vibrant story about the jazz world before, during, and after the 1959 recording of Kind of Blue, and how the album’s three genius musicians came together, played together, and grew together (and often apart) throughout the experience.

Community

Nominations for the Pushcart Prize XLIX...Announcing the six writers nominated for the Pushcart Prize v. XLIX, whose work was published in Jerry Jazz Musician during 2024.

Publisher’s Notes

photo by Rhonda Dorsett
On turning 70, and contemplating the future of Jerry Jazz Musician...

Essay

“Gone Guy: Jazz’s Unsung Dodo Marmarosa,” by Michael Zimecki...The writer remembers the late jazz musician Michael “Dodo” Marmarosa, awarded Esquire Magazine’s New Star Award in 1947, and who critics predicted would dominate the jazz scene for the next 30 years.

Community

Notes on Bob Hecht’s book, Stolen Moments: A Photographer’s Personal Journey...Some thoughts on a new book of photography by frequent Jerry Jazz Musician contributing writer Bob Hecht

Feature

Excerpts from David Rife’s Jazz Fiction: Take Two – Vol. 8: “Jazz’s International Influence”...A substantial number of novels and stories with jazz music as a component of the story have been published over the years, and the scholar David J. Rife has written short essay/reviews of them. In this seventh edition of excerpts from his book, Rife writes about jazz novels and short stories that feature stories about jazz music's international influence.

True Jazz Stories

Brianmcmillen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
True Jazz Stories: “Hippie In a Jazz Club” – by Scott Oglesby...The author relates a story that took place in San Francisco's jazz club the Keystone Korner in 1980 that led to his eventual friendship with the jazz greats Sheila Jordan and Mark Murphy…

Book Excerpt

Book Excerpt from Jazz Revolutionary: The Life & Music of Eric Dolphy, by Jonathon Grasse...In this first full biography of Eric Dolphy, Jonathon Grasse examines Dolphy’s friendships and family life, and his timeless musical achievements. The introduction to this outstanding book is published here in its entirety.

Playlist

“‘Different’ Trios” – a playlist by Bob Hecht...A 27-song playlist that focuses on non-traditional trio recordings, featuring trios led by the likes of Carla Bley, Ron Miles, Dave Holland and Jimmy Giuffre...

Interview

Interview with Larry Tye, author of The Jazzmen: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie Transformed America...The author talks about his book, an intensely researched, spirited, and beautifully told story – and an important reminder that Armstrong, Ellington, and Basie all defied and overcame racial boundaries “by opening America’s eyes and souls to the magnificence of their music.”

Poetry

John Coltrane, by Martel Chapman
Four poets, four poems…on John Coltrane

Feature

photo of Art Tatum by William Gottlieb/Library of Congress
Trading Fours, with Douglas Cole, No. 22: “Energy Man, or, God is in the House”...In this edition of an occasional series of the writer’s poetic interpretations of jazz recordings and film, Douglas Cole writes about the genius of Art Tatum. His reading is accompanied by the guitarist Chris Broberg.

Short Fiction

photo by Jes Mugley/CC BY-SA 2.0
“The Dancer’s Walk” – a short story by Franklyn Ajaye...The world-renowned saxophonist Deja Blue grew up a sad, melancholy person who could only express his feelings through his music. When he meets a beautiful woman who sweeps him off his feet, will his reluctance to share his feelings and emotion cost him the love of his life?

Feature

photo of Lionel Hampton by William Gottlieb/Library of Congress
Jazz History Quiz #177...This saxophonist’s first important jobs were during the 1940’s with Lionel Hampton (pictured), Fletcher Henderson, Louis Armstrong’s big band, and Billy Eckstine’s Orchestra. Additionally, he was a Savoy Records recording artist as a leader before being an important part of the scene on Los Angeles’ Central Avenue. Who was he?

Poetry

“Revival” © Kent Ambler.
If You Want to Go to Heaven, Follow a Songbird – Mary K O’Melveny’s album of poetry and music...While consuming Mary K O’Melveny’s remarkable work in this digital album of poetry, readings and music, readers will discover that she is moved by the mastery of legendary musicians, the wings of a monarch butterfly, the climate and political crisis, the mysteries of space exploration, and by the freedom of jazz music that can lead to what she calls “the magic of the unknown.” (with art by Kent Ambler)

Interview

The Marvelettes/via Wikimedia Commons
Interview with Laura Flam and Emily Sieu Liebowitz, authors of But Will You Love Me Tomorrow?: An Oral History of the 60’s Girl Groups...Little is known of the lives and challenges many of the young Black women who made up the Girl Groups of the ‘60’s faced while performing during an era rife with racism, sexism, and music industry corruption. The authors discuss their book’s mission to provide the artists an opportunity to voice their experiences so crucial to the evolution of popular music.

Short Fiction

photo by The Joker/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
“Second-Hand Squeeze Box” – a short story by Debbie Burke...The story – a short-listed entry in our recently concluded 66th Short Fiction Contest – explores the intersection of nourishing oneself with music, and finding a soul mate

Art

photo of Johnny Griffin by Giovanni Piesco
The Photographs of Giovanni Piesco: Johnny Griffin and Von Freeman...Beginning in 1990, the noted photographer Giovanni Piesco began taking backstage photographs of many of the great musicians who played in Amsterdam’s Bimhuis, that city’s main jazz venue which is considered one of the finest in the world. Jerry Jazz Musician will occasionally publish portraits of jazz musicians that Giovanni has taken over the years. This edition is of saxophonists Johnny Griffin and Von Freeman, who appeared together at the at Bimhuis on June 25/26, 1999.

Short Fiction

bshafer via FreeImages.com
“And All That Jazz” – a short story by BV Lawson...n this story – a short listed entry in our recently concluded 66th Short Fiction Contest – a private investigator tries to help a homeless friend after his saxophone is stolen.

Essay

“Like a Girl Saying Yes: The Sound of Bix” – an essay by Malcolm McCollum...The first time Benny Goodman heard Bix Beiderbecke play cornet, he wondered, “My God, what planet, what galaxy, did this guy come from?” What was it about this musician that captivated and astonished so many for so long – and still does?

In Memoriam

Hans Bernhard (Schnobby), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
“Remembering Joe Pass: Versatile Jazz Guitar Virtuoso” – by Kenneth Parsons...On the 30th anniversary of the guitarist Joe Pass’ death, Kenneth Parsons reminds readers of his brilliant career

Book Excerpt

Book excerpt from Jazz with a Beat: Small Group Swing 1940 – 1960, by Tad Richards

Click here to read more book excerpts published on Jerry Jazz Musician

Community

photo via Picryl.com
“Community Bookshelf” is a twice-yearly space where writers who have been published on Jerry Jazz Musician can share news about their recently authored books and/or recordings. This edition includes information about books published within the last six months or so (March – September, 2024)

Contributing Writers

Click the image to view the writers, poets and artists whose work has been published on Jerry Jazz Musician, and find links to their work

Coming Soon

An interview with Larry Tye, author of The Jazzmen: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie Transformed America; an interview with Jonathon Grasse, author of Jazz Revolutionary: The Life & Music of Eric Dolphy; A new collection of jazz poetry; a collection of jazz haiku; a new Jazz History Quiz; short fiction; poetry; photography; interviews; playlists; and lots more in the works...

Interview Archive

Ella Fitzgerald/IISG, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Click to view the complete 25-year archive of Jerry Jazz Musician interviews, including those recently published with Judith Tick on Ella Fitzgerald (pictured),; Laura Flam and Emily Sieu Liebowitz on the Girl Groups of the 60's; Tad Richards on Small Group Swing; Stephanie Stein Crease on Chick Webb; Brent Hayes Edwards on Henry Threadgill; Richard Koloda on Albert Ayler; Glenn Mott on Stanley Crouch; Richard Carlin and Ken Bloom on Eubie Blake; Richard Brent Turner on jazz and Islam; Alyn Shipton on the art of jazz; Shawn Levy on the original queens of standup comedy; Travis Atria on the expatriate trumpeter Arthur Briggs; Kitt Shapiro on her life with her mother, Eartha Kitt; Will Friedwald on Nat King Cole; Wayne Enstice on the drummer Dottie Dodgion; the drummer Joe La Barbera on Bill Evans; Philip Clark on Dave Brubeck; Nicholas Buccola on James Baldwin and William F. Buckley; Ricky Riccardi on Louis Armstrong; Dan Morgenstern and Christian Sands on Erroll Garner; Maria Golia on Ornette Coleman.