In A Sentimental Mood

Duke Ellington. Need I say more?

For background, his song (the title of this post) was born in Durham, North Carolina. In his words:

“We had played a big dance in a tobacco warehouse, and afterwards a friend of mine, an executive in the North Carolina Mutual Insurance Company, threw a party for Amy. I was playing piano when another one of our friends had some trouble with two chicks. To pacify them, I composed this there and then, with one chick standing on each side of the piano.”

Having just returned from North Carolina (which included a trip to Durham), I was introduced to contrapuntal harmony through the Roger Taylor Quartet’s rendition of this piece (can catch them live the first Friday of the month from 7:30-9:30 PM at Kora Restaurant in Crystal City).

Roger Taylor Quartet in a sentimental mood

There was more than one reason we were in a sentimental mood that night.

The evening celebrated Paul Sikora's life and work as a professional artist who produced mobiles after being inspired by Alexander Calder’s work.

The jazz evoked the era when the livin’ is easy, which is often lost in the shuffle.

The day felt long yet the hours felt short. The scotch had a soporific quality yet felt reviving.

You know how it goes.

Today is a blue skies and sunshine day in D.C. The sentimental mood of last night has lifted and summertime feels right around the corner.