Reverie

Because of the mellow jazzy character of the music, it was very tempting to embellish this performance with a few theater-organesque "stylings" (e.g., a short chromatic gliding between two notes of a melody). After a fair amount of experimenting, however, it became clear to me that any improvised flourishes of unwritten notes would only sabotage the melodic clarity of this lovely work.

Because I was born in Los Angeles, and received much of my musical training and education there, I am puzzled that I somehow never sighted the eminent African American composer William Grant Still (1895-1978) in the city where he spent the latter part of his life. I'd certainly like to find out more about his years in L.A., but if I want to do that, I had better get on the phone ASAP to a couple of VERY elderly friends in L.A., who could likely tell me something about him (but only if I don't wait too long).

UPDATE (April 4, 2020). For those whom it might interest, I have uploaded a copy of Nicolas Slonimsky's bio of William Grant Still, as published in The Concise Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians (8th ed.).