Helen Plum Library

"In December 1969, legendary jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk ended his European concert tour with a performance at the Salle Pleyel in Paris. Before the show, he was invited to appear on a French television program to perform and answer questions in an intimate setting. Using newly discovered footage from this recording, director Alain Gomis (F⁹LICIT⁹) reveals the disconnect between Monk and his interviewer, Henri Renaud, whose unwittingly...

"Mahani Teave grew up on Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, one of the most remote islands in the world, where moai statues stand and music is everywhere. When she began taking lessons on the island's only piano, she proved to be a great talent. She left Rapa Nui when she was just nine to continue her music education, wishing she didn't have to leave such a beautiful place to pursue her dreams. She became an internationally acclaimed classical...

"A tell-all memoir of a rock and jazz sensation and former pianist of the legendary Beach Boys. Cutting his musical teeth in a Puerto Rican jazz club in the 1960s, Carli Mųoz came of age during the countercultural flowering of that era; he lived for music, knowledge, and the mind-expanding magic of LSD. Wanting to expand creative horizons for his successful psychedelic rock band, Mųoz flew to New York on a whim with $11 in his pocket and embarked...

"A former prodigy refuses to believe her best years are behind her in this sparkling debut about second chances, unexpected joys, and the miraculous healing power of art and connection. It's a lot of pressure being compared to Mozart. Especially when you're only five. Prudence Childs was once the most famous kindergartner on the planet. She played at the White House, appeared on talk shows, and inspired a generation of children to take up piano. But...

For Lizzie Bennett, a music scholarship student at Connecticut's exclusive, girls-only Longbourn Academy, the furor over prom is senseless, but even more puzzling is her attraction to the pompous Will Darcy, best friend of her roommate's boyfriend

"When a young boy begins to play on his family's piano, reveling in the fun of plunking the keys, his father signs him up for lessons so that he can learn to play properly. With his father's encouragement, Raj learns notes, then scales, then songs, and finally classical pieces that his father can recognize and be proud of. But the more Raj practices and the more skilled he becomes, the less he enjoys playing, until he grows up and stops playing altogether....

"One of the most popular and memorable American musicians of the 20th century, Nat King Cole (1919-65) is remembered today as both a pianist and a singer, a feat rarely accomplished in the world of popular music. Now, in this complete life and times biography, author Will Friedwald offers a new take on this fascinating musician, framing him first as a bandleader and then as a star. In Cole's early phase, Friedwald explains, his primary task of keeping...

"Rival pianist Geoffroy and five kittens have taken up residence at Mr. Kanda's house, and things are livelier than ever. But when an outrageous young woman who claims to be Mr. Kanda's daughter comes calling, Geoffroy is bewildered and has no one to turn to with Mr. Kanda away. What will become of Geoffroy when a visiting Hibino joins the fray, and cats and (found) family collide?"--

"Sophie Roseingrave hates nothing more than a swindler. After her family lost their piano shop to a con man in London, they're trying to start fresh in a new town. Her father is convinced Carrisford is an upright and honest place, but Sophie is not so sure. She has grave suspicions about silk-weaver Madeline Crewe, whose stunning beauty doesn't hide the fact that she's up to something. All Maddie Crewe needs is one big score, one grand heist to properly...