Dean and I went to see Shearing at Birdland in the midst of the long, mad weekend… Shearing began to play his chords; they rolled out of the piano in great rich showers… They rolled and rolled like the sea. Folks yelled for him to “Go!” Dean was sweating; the sweat poured down his collar. “There he is! That’s him! Old God! Old God Shearing! Yes! Yes! Yes!”

I remember that moment and that passage. It was one of those moments where you occasionally skip a beat and have to read the section or page 2 or 3 times to get a good grasp of it. I hadn’t heard of the old blind Shearing yet. Honestly probably because he was white (hehe, reverse discrimination)..

But I remember the quote. I remember old Dean Moriarity, I could see him rippin and roaring in that jazz club, the tunes coming out and the sweat…

If you’ve ever been down to the village in New York, Birdland is a jazz club in New York named after Charlie “Bird” or “Yardbird” Parker, the alto saxophonist, who a lot attribute as the “father” of Bebop. Bebop is that slower, smoother, more powerful jazz music. Less instruments, 3 to maybe 6 guys, smooth, more free flowing. If you ever get a chance to go down there, check out this place and maybe see a show or two. It’s still there, as awesome as that is, know that the greats shed their sweat down there too…