Fast--“Blue at the Keyboard (Happy Birthday, Lou)” Lou Barbieri By Bob Santero Big-Band-Fast

Описание: A Big-Band-Fast birthday salute to Lou “Blue” Barbieri — sailor, storyteller, keyboard man, and the warmest presence in the room.

🎶 WHY I WROTE THIS SONG

I wrote this song because Lou Barbieri wasn’t just a musician — he was a fixture.

From March 2023 through July 4th, 2024, Lou and I made music together, laughed together, and shared more stories than anyone could count. And even when he told the same story again — and again — nobody ever stopped listening. We leaned in, because with Lou, the joy wasn’t just what he said… it was how he said it.

Lou — or “Blue,” as everyone knew him — was a big man in every sense of the word. Big smile. Big laugh. Big heart. He talked about World War II the way only someone who lived it could: serving on ships carrying oil, gas, and supplies across dangerous waters to keep everything moving in Europe. No bravado.

Just quiet pride and unforgettable detail.
After the Navy, he settled into civilian life, working in a bank and living in Staten Island — where, as Lou liked to say with a wink, “everybody was Italian… and some of them were very Italian.” His wife was a hairdresser to some well-known families, and Lou had endless, hilarious stories about neighborhood characters, Sunday dinners, and encounters that always ended with laughter.

Back at the A-F-R-H, Lou became the birthday-dinner man. Month after month, year after year, he sat behind his Yamaha Tyros4 keyboard and played for everyone’s celebration. Old standards. Swing. Big band.

Songs that made people smile, tap their feet, and remember who they used to be.

When Lou passed away on July 4th, 2024, his family did something incredibly generous — they gave me his Tyros4. I took that instrument and carried on the birthday dinners for two more years, never missing a month, playing in Lou’s memory. Every note was a thank-you. Every chord was his presence still in the room.

This song is my way of saying:
Lou, you’re still here.
Still playing.
Still telling stories.
Still making birthdays better.

🎼