"I remember going to hear Michael play @ various venues around Sarasota,
and being very moved by his music......As time went on I would have the desire
to lie down under the piano so that I could feel the vibrations of the music
while he played.....I would tell my friend who was there with me and he would
say "well you just can't do that !!"......I realized that it was
impossible for me to have my wish come true @ that time, but as time went
on and I got to know Michael better and he invited my friend and I to come
with him to a place I came to call "piano heaven" (which was a wonderful
house with two Steinway pianos nested closely together.....), I began to think
that it might be possible.....I finally got up my nerve to ask him to play
for me after my friend said" well you pay to have massages done and so
why not ask Michael to play for you ...he is rearing children and could use
the money ....". When I asked him I think he was surprised, but agreed
to meet us there one day .......I was so excited about going and really looked
forward to it......When we got there he asked me what I'd like for him to
play......I hadn't thought much about any special requests...I just wanted
to have the experience of feeling the music......I took a pillow from the
sofa and slipped under the piano.....when Michael began to play, it was just
as magical and wonderful as I had expected !! It felt like being in a bell
tower....not too loud for me, but louder than being next to the instrument
.......however the most incredible thing was feeling the vibrations of the
music......I wish I could remember the exact tunes that he played that day,
but the only ones that have stayed with me are "The Ash Grove",
which had a pleasant memory for me......and "The Mother Goose Suite"
by Ravel.....During one of these I realized that I was crying tears of joy
which felt very freeing....I hadn't anticipated being this moved, and so was
surprised, but I was so thankful to have this experience and knew @ that point
that I would do it again and again......I felt relaxed and as healed as one
does after a physical massage........ Since that time I have had the dream
of my lifetime come true, and have gotten my own grand piano....Michael agreed
to "christen" the piano for me and came up to play in Atlanta......I
had put pillows under the piano from the very start because I knew that I
wanted my friends to experience the same "healing vibrations" that
I had.....Many of them thought that I had lost my mind, but others were curious
and wanted to try it......Some of them are in the nursing profession (as I
was for many years.....)and so were open to finding new ways to approach healing.
When they experienced it, many liked it and said it was a wonderful way to
"feel " the music......they would comment that it felt relaxing
and healing......one said that even though she was tired before coming to
hear the music and had almost stayed home, that after lying under the piano
she felt refreshed and renewed...... I have continued to have jazz nights
@ my house now for four years and have had Michael to play for other soirees.......there
have been lots of other people who have had the wonderful experience of being
under my Petrof grand, including children and adults......all have enjoyed
the feelings.....the only time that I've heard someone comment in a somewhat
negative way is that ..."it was too much for me" offered in the
sense of having too much of a good thing........otherwise it seems to be quite
pleasurable........and addictive........ I recently went to a jazz workshop
in Arkansas....while there my friend told the group that I liked to lie down
under the piano to feel the music.....they all were curious, but had never
had the experience before.....during one of the performances I took my pillow
and crawled under the Bosendorfer grand while the music was going.....immediately
one of the other women come to join me and said "I'm so glad you did
this....I love to hear the music this way !".......later I found out
that she was gradually losing her sight and so it was easy to understand why
she gravitated to this way to "hear" the music......After this night
one of the other participants talked with me about incorporating this way
of experiencing the music at their church ...she said they had a new Steinway
grand and she thought that the children would love it...... I always encourage
people to try this way of listening to the piano because I fully believe that
it is a more direct way to feel the vibrations which we know are healing......"
My name is Marvin Jolly from Buffalo, NY. As a musician, who incidentally,
had the distinct pleasure of playing with Mike years ago, I can testify from
a musician's point of view that Mike's Salon Concerts are a special treat.
When Mike lived in Buffalo and was founder and president of The Western New
York Jazz Society, he experimented with that venue even back then and I was
his drummer. There is no doubt about the intimacy and the relaxed ambiance
of a Salon Concert when Mike performs either solo or with a group. The audience
can partake of the music in a very personal way because the interplay between
the performer and the individuals listening are in close proximity in a home
setting. The audience gets the cozy feeling of having the music being played
just for them and the performer (or performers) receives the undivided "attentional
intensity" of a concert hall for which any artist, worth his salt, craves
for and, as a result, the artist is compelled even more to give his very best.
Mike knows how to play to any room and customizes each concert to accommodate
the emotional and spiritual needs to each engagement. And of course, he is
flexible for requests which adds more satisfaction to an already win-win moment
of quality heartfelt entertainment. You really feel that the concert is a
sacrament.
Mike is also well versed in his knowledge of music and his listeners can walk
away with new insights as he interjects gems of jazz or classical history
or anecdotes about the music he is playing, sharing with his audience and
bringing them "into the fold." In short, the Salon Concerts is a
wonderful way to spend an evening for everyone involved and leaves you feeling
lifted and a little more connected to your heart and soul.
