Hard-working Young Busker Gets Unexpected Reward

This story is too happy not to share.

Buskers who play the piano are, by definition, a hard-working group. The instrument, whether acoustic or electronic, is big and awkward to carry and set up, which is the starting point for busking.

So this thirteen-year-old kid in New York City, Jason Cordero, already gets my vote. And, he's playing classical music (though it may be a bit on the approximate side) and not just making up his own new-age drivel.

Plus, he bills himself as "the world's happiest boy." He's only played used keyboards, and it sounds like his family is not affluent.

And then, out of the blue, an executive from Casio sees him playing and gives him a brand-new eighty-eight key instrument. Here's the report from Gothamist. 

It's a great story.

Just Waiting. What Will Happen?

I've always loved the sight of an empty stage, set up and all ready for the musicians to appear. I guess it's just the potential for creativity, the promise (and the hope, of course) that something good will happen. This picture is keyboards, but I really like the sight of a nice drumset, too, with light reflecting from golden cymbals.

The process, after all these years, is still mostly a mystery to me. Some nights the music flows and seems new, and maybe even pretty good. Other times it is more difficult, and nothing "really happens." Why? Don't know.

This scene of the workplace was from a recent pool party in Atlanta. The music, with Del and Jen, was special. Who knows why? Maybe something in the air. The realized potential of the untouched instrument . . . .