Lucky Cat

Wow. I’m already on track #5 from evolution. It’s hard to believe last week I was struggling through my Internet Hejira period, trying to get my album posted on Jamendo. I guess this is the point where I actually DO look back and laugh!

“Lucky Cat” is written in 13/4 time. It was recorded July 17, 2005. The song has a similar groove to Coltrane’s famous rendition of “My Favorite Things” . . . well, except for that extra beat. But that’s where all the fun lies. The beat is divided 3-3-3-4, and this is essentially a modal jazz composition with three parts:

• In part A, the scale is G dorian (F major); the chords are variations on Gm7 and related chords.
• In part B, the scale is C dorian (Bb major); the chords are variations on Cm7.
• In part C, I switch to the key of Eb melodic minor, and the chord is D7alt

Now, this song was originally quite different. I had a tune with a similar beat called “Black Thirteen”, which was a reference to something in Stephen King’s dark tower series. That song just never came together. Finally, one day, I found myself playing an entirely different bass line–pretty catchy, really. And then the phone rang.

Back in 1990, my parents took in a stray cat who was being abused by the local kids. The kids had cut off his whiskers and tried to cut off his tail. My parents took him in, and named him Lucky–because he was Lucky to be alive. He, along with the six-fingered Andy and sleek Sabrina, were fixtures at my parents house for years, even enduring a move to a new house. But on the day I was working on Black Thirteen, my Mom called to tell me Lucky had died of cancer. Immediately I knew that event and this song would be linked in my mind forever.