Our starting piano player at klezmer class told us two weeks ago that she had just been diagnosed with breast cancer. Not only did she tell us, but when our 80-something violinist, who’s a little hard of hearing, asked what was going on, the pianist had to repeat it, twice, louder and louder. I couldn’t imagine. I just tried to type it, in all caps, to give you the effect, but it’s not easy to type and it wouldn’t have been easy to look at.
The surgery is next Tuesday. It was caught very early and the prognosis is good, but still. Our pianist was there last night, in pretty good spirits. We played two numbers secially for her, one that our flautist says was very important to him when he was very ill a couple of years ago, “Abi Gesundt” (a-BEE ge-SUNDT), “So Long as You’re Healthy”. It’s probably from the ’30s, by Molly Picon, the great star vocalist of Yiddish theatre. “Zei nor gesundt” (“just be healthy”) and “abi gesundt” are common phrases to say to a person on parting, like saying “take care” or “be well.” The song goes, “A little sun, a little rain, a quiet place to sleep, so long as you have your health, you can be happy”. I sung it in Yiddish the first time through, and then we all took solos. Tears were coming to my eyes on the piano solo.
The other song is one we didn’t have music for, and just tried to remember and fake as best we could. The woman said that the morning after the diagnosis she woke up and found herself singing “Can do” from the musical “Guys and Dolls.” The name of the song is really “Fugue for Tinhorns”. “I’ve got the horse right here, the name is Paul Revere, and there’s a guy who says that if the weather’s clear, can do, can do…”