I am at an open mic run by the Boston Association of Cabaret Artists (BACA) in an elegant UU church in Watertown, MA.
Steve Heck — a wonderful local pro — is playing the grand piano, and I am singing “Over The Rainbow.”
It is one of the songs in a new show about Harold Arlen which I have recently begun performing with pianist Joe Reid.
After Steve takes a piano solo, I re-enter at the bridge of the song (“Some day I’ll wish upon a star…”) and then I hear elevator doors opening behind me.
Three women — friends of Steve Heck, I later learn — appear on stage with me.
They did not realize that the elevator would deposit them there.
I turn and — still singing — welcome them so that I can escort them across the stage and down into the audience.
But as I do this, I realize that they probably love music and very likely know the words to “Over The Rainbow;” so I encourage them to stay with me onstage and sing — which they happily do.
One woman in particular catches my attention because she is adding a beautiful harmony in a great big, belting voice.
We make eye contact as the song builds to a dramatic climax of “Why oh why can’t I?” — each of us singing at the top of our lungs, my microphone completely unnecessary.
The entire series of events lasts less than a minute, and the entire room is happily caught up in the moment.
Afterwards, during a break period, I am asked how I managed to time their arrival so perfectly.
I explain that I had never met them before and that the entire experience was utterly spontaneous — unfolding moment by moment with no guidance other than the lyrics of the song, Steve Heck’s solid accompaniment, and our shared love of music.
Ahh, music!
Ahh, spontaneity!
I have been experiencing a lot of spontaneous musical moments in the past few months.
Joe Reid and I put together our hour-long Harold Arlen program in one rehearsal that lasted about two hours.
He is a jazz pianist who is very comfortable making music in the here and now.
I brought a bunch of Arlen sheet music to his house plus a rough idea of a song run order.
We double-checked the keys for all the songs, played each one through once or twice, and Joe was ready to take it public.
So far we have performed at two retirement communities with very enthusiastic audiences (and we did get together for another hour-long rehearsal between our first and second performances…)
I also spent many additional hours making sure I knew exactly how the song was originally written, reading several books about Arlen I ordered from my local library, recording practice piano tracks with Doug Hammer, memorizing lyrics, and writing the “patter” to lead from one song to the next.
All of this preparation helps me to surrender to the moment when we are performing these wonderful songs.
I have also begun leading Music Together (MT) classes in Arlington and Belmont (a neighboring town where Mitt and Ann Romney used to live).
MT is a very-well-researched and very-well-planned program to introduce small children — along with their caregivers — to the joy and fun of active music-making.
Although participants are encouraged to learn 30 new songs accurately — each one carefully selected to include a wide variety of keys and rhythms — per semester, we teachers are given free rein to be spontaneous and improvisatory during class.
I am sure my training during the past six months to become a MT teacher helped me to go with the flow at the BACA open mic when those three women appeared onstage.
And I have experienced many moments of musical connection with children and caregivers during my first two weeks of MT classes which have given me a similar jolt of delight.
I think this might be what I am supposed to be doing here on planet earth…
The song in the player at the beginning of this blog post is a Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer classic called “Accentuate the Positive” which I recorded with pianist Doug Hammer during a rehearsal for the “Mostly Mercer” show that singer Bobbi Carrey and I created last year.
Thank you to Doug Hammer, Joe Reid and Bobbi Carrey for being important musical collaborators.
Thank you to the generous and skillful photographers at Pixabay.
Thank you to all of the families who have signed up for my Music Together classes.
And thank YOU for reading and listening to another one of my blog posts!
Deep breath in.
And deep breath out.
amusicalifeonplanetearth 
Loved the anecdote and the snippet of “accentuate”. Thanks for sharing your joy. Hope to catch your new show. Warmest regards, Jon-Daniel
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Dear Will, Thanks for sharing your upcoming concert. Sadly, I am too far removed to come and listen. Living currently in Nicaragua on the border with Honduras, volunteering in a rural community. I have often shared with others, but never with you, a spontaneous moment 18 months ago in Mendoza, Argentina. I was learning Spanish, struggling to get my aging head around a foreign language in a complete immersion program. I had decided to connect only with people who spoke Spanish, since I was on a mission to get as close to fluent as I could. A somewhat misguided mission, as it turned out. I didn´t speak enough Spanish to connect and became incredibly lonely. So much so, that I seriously considered throwing myself off a 5th floor balcony one Saturday morning. I thought better of it (I liked the doorman too much to put him through that!) and I went for a walk. I popped on my headphones and listened to a CD of yours I had bought at one of your concerts some 7 or 8 years ago. Up came the song “Forgiveness´ Embrace” while I was walking in Mendoza´s central park. All of a sudden I was sobbing like a child. Looking back, that song and listening to you sing it, saved me that day. Spontaneous? Perhaps not in the sense you meant it, but the forgiveness that embraced me sure felt like it! Thank you, Richard.
Hi, Richard. How dear to hear from you and read about your personal experience with the power of music! Were you by any chance listening to the CD I burned for you of the “Will Loves Steve” show I did in Harvard Square? I am honored that you brought a recording of me singing on your global travels. Hurrah for daring to immerse yourself in another language and other cultures!
Nice, Will. And you are right, it was a bit magical for us in the audience. There was certainly a moment in there during which I thought “is this part of the act?” It was joyous.
We plan to come hear you in Brighton today
Hurray!
There is nothing like live music! Thanks for this inspirational post.
What a beautiful moment.
I’m addicted to a singers night at a local pub in Cornwall, where I live. It’s both organized and not organized at all. People jump in when there’s an opening, and songs with choruses that people can join in on are the ones that go over best. It brings music back to its core, which is the absolute magic that comes when people sing together.
Hurrah for singing with other people! Is this Cornwall in England, which I once visited as a teenager? I agree about songs with choruses which everyone can sing if the spirit moves them. They have become my favorite to perform/share with others. I used to want people just to listen to me when I sang at an open mic or a performance. More and more, however, I prefer when people sing-along — so that everyone’s vibrations become part of the musical mix in the room. THANK YOU for finding time to read — and listen to, and maybe sing-along with! — one of my blog posts.
Hurrah for singers’ night at your local pub. I totally agree songs with opportunities for everyone to join in. They have become my favorite to perform in hopes that everyone will join in…
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I love this musical spontaneity–a magical moment and memory to be cherished. I also like seeing the photo of you and your MT friend. I prefer that sort of real-life photo to the Pixabay ones.
I am not a “takes-lots-of-photos” person. I have a friend who documents everything with at least a quick “selfie,” and one of my sisters is a great photographer. I am grateful that they do this. Maybe if I ever get a cell phone I will take more photos. Ps: The child in that particular photo, who shall remain nameless to preserve her privacy, used to get up during our first song in class (“The Hello Song”) and start dancing. It would set a wonderful, joyful, enthusiastic tone for everyone else to be inspired — and delighted — by. Luckily her mom took this photo of us when I provided music at one of her birthday parties.
Yes, cell phones have such great cameras now. My brother also doesn’t have one.
The child sounds like a total delight.