October Origins: What Made Me Who I Am

Today's been a busy one sorting a pals PC problems. By the time I'd also been to the supermarket, travelled home, fed my horse and done his feeds for tomorrow it was gone 7:30 before I even sat down again. Only ate my own dinner at 8:20, totally starving as I'd forgotten to eat anything else since my late breakfast at 11:15 (ooops!)
An emergency blip was called for so while dinner was cooking I decided to join Ponty Cyclops' "October Origins" theme.
As anyone who knows me is aware (and a few who don't but have seen sufficent of my ramblings that accompany many of my blips to have worked it out), music is the greatest passion in my life.
Well, I think I can blame my mum for that! (Though her dad and brother were also the same, and accomplished musicians too).
Mum was born and bred in London and before marrying my dad spent many nights at Ronnie Scott's club, her main musical love being the modern Jazz of her time (Erroll Garner, Dave Brubeck, Oscar Peterson to name just 3).
I can recall hearing them played on our old mono record player as far back as my memory stretches, whenever dad (who wasn't at all musically minded) was out. When dad was out, the music was on!
Mum's favourite always was Erroll Garner, and I remember her saying that Concert By the Sea was her all-time favourite album. So when she died in early '97, and dad decided to get rid of her music collection, I kept a few of what I knew were her most precious albums - this one being the most precious of all to her I know. I don't listen to it - I can appreciate his brilliance as a pianist, but it's really NOT my thing! But I couldn't bear to part with it.
I reckon anyway that hearing this all the times she played it from when I was but a babe-in-arms is a major factor in my having grown up with my passion, even though my musical taste is so much different to this.
This album, along with her other modern jazz ones, almost certainly helped make me who I am today.
Mum's musical tastes were quite diverse - much more so than mine - as she also loved Hendrix, Focus, Rory Gallagher, Led Zeppelin (my kind of music!) and much other stuff. But her beloved modern jazz always remained tops for her.