Episode 21: New Orleans!

https://youtu.be/Zq3HDQr7xWw

https://youtu.be/BO8T2iELYDw

https://youtu.be/ylXk1LBvIqU

A/N: Hope you all enjoy the jazz music selection! 

"All right now y'all, finish your plates!" Professor Joe Gardner called out. "We gotta be at the venue in the next hour!"

Kousei gulped down his third glass of lemonade...Louisiana cooking was much heavier on the spices than anything he'd ever tasted!

"Is it really that bad?" Kaori chuckled as Kousei wiped the remnants of the Cajun seasoning from his lips.

"Oh lay off already!" Kousei growled back as Kaori laughed again.

"Dang, Arima!" Mr. Gardner exclaimed with a beaming smile as he walked over to their table. "This yo first time trying Cajun chicken?"

"Sorry sir, I don't mean to insult the cooking!" Kousei apologized. "I guess I just wasn't expecting that much seasoning!"

Joe Gardner reared his head back as he laughed aloud. "Nothing like some good ol Popeyes before a performance, brother! However, make sure you hit the restroom before we go onstage. That was quite a bit of lemonade you drank!"

"Sure thing, sir!" Kousei nodded.

The tantalizing aroma of Cajun fried chicken and fries dominated the quaint Popeyes joint, and Kousei would've bought more food if it weren't for the heavy-handed application of Cajun seasoning. The small red and brown individual seats provided a nice contrast to the black booth seats by the windows, and one shelf at the front of the restaurant was lined entirely with spices ranging from salt to the iconic Cajun seasoning! And yet, despite being a mere fast-food joint, every single table was freshly cleaned and the floor was nearly spotless save for the few crumbs from customer meals.

The nineteen-member ensemble began filing out of the restaurant's front door—Professor Joe reminded them to thank the workers—and onto the bus. Normally, there would've only been eighteen of them. However:

"I still can't believe you managed to nail that audition for the violin solo!" Kousei said as he and Kaori took their seats in the middle of the bus.

"Well yeah, I don't want to study only classical music!" Kaori grinned. "Besides, how often are we gonna get to go to the place where Louis Armstrong was born?"

"And Jelly Roll Morton!" Kousei added.

"Speaking of him," their professor's voice spoke up as he sat in the aisle across from them. "I hope you're ready to wow the crowd with that piano solo from his piece, Arima!"

"You know it, sir!" Kousei said, giving him a thumbs up.

"And you!" Professor Joe pointed at Kaori with a big smile. "Violinists usually have a hard time with jazz, but you absolutely nailed it!"

"Thank you!" Kaori smiled back. "Jazz has so much more freedom than the classical stuff I usually practice!"

Joe Gardner's brown eyes twinkled with delight behind his glasses as he itched his mustache. His hair, though starting to gray, was perfectly combed beneath his gray bowler hat, as always, and his black shirt and tie were a perfect match to his blue suit jacket and slacks. His dark skin was surprisingly clear for someone who lived in the dusty, gritty metropolis of Manhattan. Whether it was during rehearsal, or a one-on-one review session during his office hours, the jazz professor had never failed to make Kousei feel at home over the past two months. As such, rehearsal with the Jazz Orchestra was Kousei's favorite part of the day.

"I must ask, what inspired you to begin playing the violin the way you do?" Professor Joe asked Kaori as the bus began to move. "I don't think I've ever heard someone play the way you do!"

Kaori twirled a lock of her hair, just a tiny bit flustered by the professor's praise. Nevertheless, as she recounted the details of her brush with death in the car accident all those years ago, Professor Joe listened with great sympathy. Then suddenly, he smiled.

"I may not look like it, but I know what that's like."

"Oh, really?" Kaori replied. "What happened?"

Kousei and Kaori nearly jumped out of their skin as the jazz professor recounted his story of how he'd fallen into a manhole cover due to his absent-mindedness while walking to a gig.

"With Dorothy Williams, no less!" Professor Joe laughed. "Never walk while talking on the phone!"

"Oh goodness!" Kousei exclaimed. "I'm glad you're alright!"

"So am I!" Joe Gardner grinned. "It was a rough patch, sure. But—it taught me something very important."

"What's that?" Kaori said.

"How to enjoy every moment of this precious thing we call life."

Kousei's face grew warm with affection as he turned to look at his girlfriend.

"A certain special someone taught me that very same thing, sir," Kousei replied. "And I will forever be grateful to her for doing so."

"Ahhh, now that's what I'm talking about!" Professor Joe laughed as Kaori leaned into Kousei's shoulder.

"You're a smooth talker, aren't you?" Kaori joked as she snuggled up to her boyfriend's side.

"Nah, I'm more of a jackass," Kousei answered, grasping Kaori's hand.

"You got that right!" Kaori giggled.

"Twenty minutes to the venue!" the bus driver called out.

"Oh hell yeah!" Derek proclaimed from his seat behind Kousei and Kaori. "Time to bring this house DOWN brotha!"

Before long, the bus hissed to a stop at the curb outside of the jazz orchestra's performance venue:

The Jazz Playhouse at The Royal Sonesta!

"Let's get a move on, folks!" Professor Joe instructed as the students rose from their seats. "Grab your instruments and start taking your place on the stage!"

As Kousei entered the venue behind the rest of the ensemble, he found himself at a loss for words once again! The spacious interior of the playhouse was filled front to back with luxurious seats set around dark, oak wood tables. Some of the VIP seating had white recliners and sofas! Kousei leaned his head to the side and spotted the stage where they would be performing. And not just any stage—a stage with spotless scarlet carpeting and grand red curtains behind it!

"Let's keep it moving, people!" Professor Joe's voice sounded, snapping Kousei out of his daze.

The Jazz Playhouse had a full house tonight, and applause rang through the venue as Professor Joe and his ensemble took the stage. Under normal circumstances, Kousei would've worn the new navy blue suit and tie Hiroko had bought him back in high school. Uniformity was of utmost importance, however, so this time Kousei was in his ensemble uniform of a black tux, slacks, and shoes with a bowtie beneath his chin. Kaori and the other female members of the ensemble wore black dresses as well. After the players tuned their instruments, Professor Joe thanked the crowd for their attendance and began his opening remarks.

"These students of mine have worked hard, as they do every year, and I'm very excited to bring y'all this show tonight!" Professor Joe announced. "And this year, we actually have two special guests with us! Please welcome our foreign exchange students, Kousei Arima and Kaori Miyazono!"

Kousei and Kaori bowed as the crowd applauded, then took their place onstage. Kousei cracked his knuckles as he sat on the piano bench. He and Kaori couldn't say it out loud, but as they looked at each other and closed their eyes, their customary prayer sounded in their head.

"Elohim Essaim, Elohim Essaim, most humbly I implore you..."

"Now, I hope you're all ready for a treat—as we play a Jazz Ensemble arrangement of Stop and Go by Jelly Roll Morton!"

The crowd was more than ready for the treat, for as the notes began to sound from the stage, some patrons began to get up and dance almost immediately. From one solo to the next, every ensemble member had their time to shine. Especially Kousei, who rendered the entire venue speechless once he played his piano solo! Every grace note, every blue note, every alberti bass progression...Kousei nailed every note, and Joe Gardner gave him an approving smile.

"My father back home—Kaori's parents—Hiroko and her daughter—will I reach them?"

"Will we reach them?"

Soon, it was Kaori's turn for her solo, and she gave Kousei a playful smirk as she raised the violin to her shoulder.

"Don't think I'll let you take number one so easily, Promoted Friend A," she challenged silently.

The crowd was again at a loss for words as Kaori took control of not just her solo, but the entire stage! The trills, tremolos, and pizzicato parts of her solo were like nothing to the disciplined virtuoso. Joe Gardner's smile grew wide...Kaori had promised him to deliver a killer solo, and she'd delivered!

"I've never though violin could even be incorporated into jazz!" the professor marveled as he conducted his ensemble. "But she made it work!"

Their next piece, Charlie Parker's Anthropology, was every bit as good, and Derek wowed the crowd with his exquisite cornet solo. From there it was on to Blue Monk by Thelonious Monks, and then Mile's Davis's iconic piece So What. Kousei's hands were slick with sweat as he played every chord, glissando, and more. But he had never been happier.

"Let it reach them...let it reach them...let it reach them!"

And then suddenly, the finishing drum roll sounded, and Kousei took deep breaths in and out. Was it over already? All of their pieces, their playing—it had all happened so fast!

The audience's applause resounded so loud that Kousei could've sworn the entire country could hear them. As he and the ensemble bowed, Kousei stole a glance at Kaori, who was beside herself with joy at the audience's reaction. Kousei felt warm affection fill his heart as he gazed at her long, blonde curls.

"Well played, my darling virtuoso," Kousei thought, wanting to hug her tightly. "I will never stop loving you and your playing."

..........................................

"Dude! That trip was wicked!" Derek clapped Kousei on the back as they unpacked their luggage in their dorm room. "You and Kaori played so well!"

"Thanks!" Kousei grinned. "It was awesome getting to go down to New Orleans!"

"Yeah, except for when you almost pissed your pants after all that lemonade," Derek snickered.

"Haha very funny," Kousei laughed back, giving Derek's shoulder a light punch. "At least I didn't gorge myself on Burger King five seconds after greasy Popeyes!"

"Ay, I was hungry alright brotha?!" Derek said, throwing his hands up. "Big dogs gotta eat!"

The next day in class, Professor Joe thanked his students for their dedicated performance before going into announcements.

"And don't forget, we have to start preparing for our Christmas concert soon! For those of you who want to play both in this ensemble and the Symphonic Orchestra, be sure to talk to me!"

As Kousei listened to the words of his professor, something caught his eye. One of the girls who played a soprano saxophone was poking the guy sitting next to her, who gave her an irritated look and mouthed "Stop!" to her multiple times. Kousei also saw the girl giving the guy a very flirtatious look...but not in a good way.

Had this been going on for some time and he just hadn't noticed?

He made a mental note to bring it up with Professor Gardner and his RA, then resumed listening to the lecture.