Many years ago my late wife and I visited Justin’s in Albany which features world class jazz musicians.  It soon became a favorite place of ours with cool jazz and hot Cajun food.  It consists of two rooms, one where people mainly drink and socialize, the other where people eat dinner and listen to a few musicians packed into a small corner near the front.  Live music always trumps recordings and this jazz is played in the traditional format of theme, individual improvisations, and finale.   It was predictable and new every time.

One time I noticed a young woman had positioned herself up close to the musicians and was sketching them.  I was surprised by what I saw on her pad.  Instead of drawings of musicians, she was showing musical notes swirling around them.  The musicians were not drawn in correct body proportions, but reminded me of something Picasso might…