Using the backstage mike, Mr. Proilet took a deep breath and said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, may I have your attention? I have the privilege to introduce to you, fresh from their successful engagement at the high school Christmas concert, Jim Crittenhouse and the one and only Oogie Woogie Impromptu Jazz Band!”
That was our cue to come on stage and set up quickly. I took my spot behind the podium, facing the audience. It was Camille’s job to get the signal from Mr. Proilet and to signal me when the group was ready.
I started my prepared speech. “Thank you, everybody. Our first four numbers are standards that everybody should know from the inimitable Henry Mancini. Those will be followed by a love song and our final number will be something that will really rock the house. Those of you over the age of thirty have been warned.”
Camille gave me her nod and I smiled. I turned around and tapped my baton four times.
Amy, Sam, and Gerry started playing the ”Peter Gunn“ bass line and I smiled. Things were sounding very nicely.
When Roy took the solo for ”Moon River,” it actually brought tears to my eyes. His voice wasn’t the same as Andy Williams’, but he handled the lovely Johnny Mercer lyrics just fine.
Stacy did the lead for ”Romeo and Juliet,” and Lynn joined her in harmony for the bridge, their voices intertwining beautifully together, like angels.
For the next song, ”Pink Panther Theme,” I signaled Amy to start the song. The woodwinds really liked this particular number, and I got a very funky rendition. It was our most polished piece, since the band played this many times before.
During the ”Pink Panther,” Roy came over with the microphone. I originally hoped that I could sit and hide behind the piano as I did on Thursday, but it wasn’t to be. Besides, I couldn’t take Amy away from her rightful place behind the ivories.
Mr. Proilet took over the conducting for ”Lollipops,” and Roy and I sang the first verse. Unfortunately, our mikes weren’t live, but that was quickly fixed by somebody in the sound crew. We kept singing anyway, knowing that the set needed to be done in one take no matter what.
Toby’s solo during the bridge was extremely nice and melodic and I was secretly proud of him. The duet on the repeated final verse sounded very nice to my ears as well.
After that song, I was ready to take over the podium when Mr. Proilet abruptly signaled the chorus, which started the “Ouga Chaka” changes. I forgot that Mr. Proilet told me that he was going to conduct during my solos.
During ”Hooked on a Feeling,” Roy kept looking at me strangely. For some reason, our voices weren’t as together as they were during ”Lollipops.” Both of us knew there was a problem, and it took me a few moments to realize what the problem was.
I closed my eyes, but kept looking where I knew Camille and Patty were standing. Instead of them, however, I imagined Kristen standing there, smiling at me with that loving look in her eyes.
During the final verse, Roy and I were together again. I felt infinitely better and we finished the song very strongly.
As soon as the song ended, I signaled to Camille and Patty to stop their watches. They did, and came up to me.
Before they arrived, Mr. Proilet said, “I’m glad Kristen showed up, even if only in your mind, Jim.”
I knew exactly what my music teacher was referring to. I simply nodded.
“Twenty-six minutes, Jim!” Patty and Camille said.
“Cool. Just under a half hour. A standard set is, what? Forty five minutes? That gives us time between numbers.” I turned to my music teacher. “’Hooked on a Feeling’ sounds better with the winds dragging, Mr. Proilet. That was a great suggestion!”
“What do you have when they ask for an encore?” Mr. Proilet asked.
“Huh?” I asked.
“When you do a set like that, you must always be prepared for an encore. Even if you’re not asked, it’s best to have something ready.”
Gerry, who came up to the podium, agreed.
“Hmmm, most of what we’ve been doing last semester was Christmas music,” I said. “Most people don’t associate ’Linus and Lucy’ with Christmas, but…”
Bill offered a suggestion. “The orchestra is doing ’Porgy and Bess’ later this year. We have a few members of the orchestra and some of the chorus people know the songs as well.”
“Hmmm,” I considered. “How about ’Summertime?’ Wrong season?”
“Not bad. Pretty jazzy, actually,” Mr. Proilet said. “I’ll see if I can get copies of the orchestral version to you on Monday. How about Cole Porter? The band did ’Anything Goes’ a couple of years ago.”
I actually forgot about that. At the time, I was “on loan” to the high school band for that performance where Mr. Proilet originally thought of me as a prima-donna. “Cool,” I said, smiling.
“Sorry, dude,” said one of the seniors that was working the sound. “I accidentally kicked out the cable.”
“You fixed it quickly, though,” I said, smiling.
“You can be damn well sure it will work next weekend.”
“Cool,” I repeated.
I was looking at the timings that Camille and Patty compiled. I noticed the longest gap between songs was when Mr. Proilet took over before ”Lollipops.”
My music teacher was looking over the timings as well. “Do you think we should put a couple of the Mancini songs last?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “They are all part of a matched set, so to speak. Even though I’m not behind the podium at the end, I think we should end with the rocker.”
Most of the people with me agreed with that. I think Mr. Proilet thought it would have been better with me behind the podium at the start and finish of the set. I didn’t think it was that necessary. This was just a small gathering of friends and relatives.
We did the set a couple more times, each time playing through from start to finish. Camille and Patty checked the timings, but the set didn’t vary by more than a minute either way.
Chapter 15—Party!
During lunch on Thursday, the subject of Kristen’s birthday party came up.
“How many people will be there?” Sherry asked.
“Well, from this school, there will be Patty and Toby, Camille, Wendy and Gerry, me, you, the rest of the cheerleaders and their boyfriends.”
“Jim’s family will be there,” Kristen said. “Patrice and Jack and what’s-her-name, his girlfriend.”
I nodded. “Doreen. Kristen’s family, too.”
“Not many people there,” Kristen said.
I smiled. Kristen’s brother was making a surprise visit, but Kristen didn’t know that.
“Sounds like a party,” Sherry said with a smile.
Patty seemed a bit quiet. Kristen picked up on that immediately. “Anything wrong, Patty?”
“No. I was just thinking about what I was going to wear.”
“I’ve got a lot of stuff,” Kristen said. “We’re about the same size. Would you like to borrow something?”