Blue Songs in an Open Key

by Arya F. Jenkins

The engaging, colorful stories in Blue Songs in an Open Key explore the hopes, longings and struggles of unforgettable characters who are musicians, artists, writers, junkies, alcoholics, outsiders, in settings as diverse as Ithaca, New York City, Lenox, Provincetown and Paris. They share a common pulse and legacy that is the love of jazz and their adventures are guaranteed to stir the reader’s heart.

176 pages, Unknown Binding

Reviews

[Literary Redhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 13 short stories in this poignant collection weave jazz and emotion in a blue key. The author captures loss and longing with a musician’s dissonance, a painter’s navy hues, a poet’s despair, but hope as light through a cloud breaks through too. Perfectly representative is the heartbreaking story of a young woman whose father deserts the family but gifts her with his love of jazz. There is a wistfulness at heart to which every sentient being can relate.

Arya’s Acknowledgements sum up the feeling tone of her beautiful book: “Jazz, hard bop in particular, is an experiment, a leaning over the edge of time with sound. Thanks to the artists who ventured to do this with music and who inspired this collection.”

This jazz lover was thrilled to have a review copy to read and savor!

[C.L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories of disenfranchised jazz musicians, music aficionados, and fans rollick on the page. Jenkins has brilliantly crafted 13 stories that center on the theme of jazz, but at their hearts, these are stories about connection. A gentle giant no one seems to love. A musician trying to rebuild his life after alcoholism. A young woman who loses her father but gains his love for music. These characters are improvising their own beat in a 4/4 world.

[Arya-Francesca Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

A diverse, eclectic collection of jazz-inspired stories set in locales that are themselves characters. Recommended.

[Judy Ferrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Music makes interesting stories. Blue Songs In An Open Key is a beautiful collection of stories. Arya F. Jenkins uses music to help her characters deal with their everyday lives. And each story has a very unique ending. I loved it.