The Piano Player in my Dreams is Named Phineas?

Though I have little acuity on the keys, when I dream I am often a gifted jazz pianist. I wake and feel certain that if I were to have a piano placed in front of me I would be able to play; that the unconscious ability would remain for at least a moment. They are vivid and joyous dreams.

the best men wear glasses

Today I realized that when I am dreaming, my piano playing sounds like that of Phineas Newborn, Jr.

Now I admit I have heard the name, and even heard some of his music but I never really heard it until today. That is, I never heard it while I was awake...

I read a great article at Jazz Profiles that prompted me to listen to his album 'Here Is Phineas' that features the great Oscar Pettiford on bass and Kenny Clarke on drums. The fact that the album is subtitled 'The Piano Artistry of Phineas Newborn Jr' should give you some idea of the breathtaking nature of the 23-year-old's recording debut. It's an incredible display of virtuosity that I can't recommend highly enough to fans of jazz piano.

Phineas, like Monk, Oscar Peterson and Art Tatum (quite the list of names to be placed with!) has a unique voice that will surely become instantly recognizable to me after a few more listens. I suspect my collection of Phineas (pronounced by him as 'Fine as' by the way) will be growing in the coming weeks. Lucky me!

I hope when I sleep tonight I will again sound like this.