Playing for a crowd of friends and strangers was such a treat! I fulfilled a dream that day and am so thankful that we were able to capture the entire concert on video.

I learned this song on the ukulele and had never ever played it on the piano before. I was visualizing the uke chord changes in my head and translating them to the piano.

Thank you to Luke Jerram, Sing for Hope, and all the volunteers. Thanks to Norberto Briceño for the camera and to Kenny Gordon for operating. I brightened, sharpened, and color corrected the picture in Final Cut Pro.

In the beginning, I set out to play all five boroughs, but soon realized my day job wouldn’t easily accommodate all the travel and logistics involved. So I reset my sights instead on playing every available Manhattan piano (and a few in Brooklyn and Queens). By the end of two weeks I had achieved my goal.

My pieces are all improvisations, so playing on the streets of New York allowed me to share my spontaneous, energetic music with a city whose rhythms and tones have informed and influenced my music for years. The chance to publicly give back to a city whose people, music, and spirit have brought me joy for decades was the opportunity of a lifetime. Thanks for watching and listening.

From the heart,

Sandy Santra