stayin’ in and playin’ a tune

In 1959 a performance of the Herman Bloch musical Apartment 4D by San Francisco’s Panhandle Players caused the song “Stayin’ In (And Playin’ A Tune)” to become a standard of the Jazz improvisation repertoire. This was somewhat of a relief for Bloch, since on his first attempt in 1954 to get Apartment 4D off the ground the show died at the Broodmoor Theater after a run of only two days. 4D takes place on a sweltering afternoon in the tiny studio apartment home of Earnest, a frustrated musician at the end of his rope, and Jane, an aspiring actress. Earnest, hopelessly insecure and discouraged with his life an music, refuses to leave the apartment, putting a remarkable strain on their relationship. In the last scene of the play, after Jane has left in tears for a party and Earnest is alone, hep lays the song “Stayin’ In (And Playin’ A Tune)” on the piano before sticking his head in the oven, lighting a match, and blowing up the apartment and himself. Bloch drew inspiration for his fueling, emotionally charged musical from Long Day’s Journey into Night, Eugene O’Neill’s searing drama about the Tyrone family. Critics, even those who were fans of O’Neill’s play, lambasted Apartment 4D. A review in the Guardian reads, “If O’Neill’s play was written ‘in tears and blood,’ then Bloch’s musical was written in piss and bath water. Surely Mr. Bloch only penned Apartment 4D to remind us to give thanks that the former never wrote a musical.” Years after that first disastrous performance, Bloch, clinging to the possibility that the show might have something, turned it over to his longtime friend Guy Owens, Artistic Director of the Panhandle Players. Owens suggested reworking the play to include a “whacky neighbor.” Bloch agreed, and lucky for him; in the late 1950s and early 60s, San Francisco was riding the wave of cool, or West Coast jazz. This movement, as popularized by artists like Miles Davis and Chet Baker, sparked an enthusiasm for down tempo, minimalist balladry. Thought the play again flopped, “Stayin’ In (And Playin’ A Tune)” caught the ears of many around San Francisco’s cool jazz circles. Disappointed by the play’s reception, despite the success of the song, Bloch stuck his own head in an oven and blew up his apartment block on Geary St. in 1961.

Vocals: Michael Johnson
Piano: Michael Johnson
Drums: Derrick Trost
Bass: Nate Halloran
Trumpet: Cory Gray

Recorded in 2002 at Type Foundry in Portland, OR. Engineered and mixed by Adam Selzer. Mastered by Michael Johnson and Chad Crouch.