Memories from a Santa Fe piano bar

Igrew up in Española. Most of my life, I played piano dust to dawn. Throughout my teenage years and to this day, I compose music. After all these years, I still feel the intrigue of New Mexico calling me.

In 1983, at age 20, when I worked at the Hilton Santa Fe Historic Plaza hotel, I ran into a piano player by the name of Doug Montgomery. He played at a small piano bar and restaurant called Vanessie in downtown Santa Fe. His large, angled mirror over his majestic piano reflected his crowded audience. This was more than this piano player could ever imagine, and I stood there in amazement.

Back then, Montgomery, a Juilliard School graduate, was a premier new talent in the Santa Fe area. He played jazz standards and an array of classics from composers like Mozart to Chopin, Beethoven to Tchaikovsky. I was floored when, at times, Santa Fe Opera singers would suddenly join in on the spot and sing an opera classic piece with him. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.

Fast to forward to 1989 — my rock ’n’ roll, heavy metal band days.

I arrived at Vanessie with my long, bleach-blond hair, and asked Doug if I could play my rendition of “Bennie and the Jets.”

He said, “sure,” and then introduced me to the packed crowd. I said, “Yeah, oh my God,” and played my heart out!

Living in California these days, I miss Santa Fe for this reason — especially when I sit at my piano and write song after song.

Currently, I perform small, intimate home concerts. My hope is that one day I will play there again in my retirement years, and I look forward to returning back to New Mexico — back to my birthplace in beautiful Santa Fe, reuniting with old friends and making new ones as well.