Here’s a review of "Alley Cat Strut" by Oscar Holden, keeping in mind that this is often attributed to the early jazz/blues pianist and composer.
He picked up his trumpet case. He had a rehearsal in the morning, a bunch of young kids who could play fast but didn't know how to tell a story yet. They needed to learn the strut. alley cat strut oscar holden
"Alley Cat Strut" is a fictional jazz record by the real-life musician Oscar Holden Here’s a review of "Alley Cat Strut" by
For decades, this track has lived in the shadows of mainstream jazz standards, yet it remains a cornerstone for collectors of "taxi piano," West Coast ragtime, and early territorial band jazz. If you have never heard the name Oscar Holden or tapped your foot to the lazy, predatory swing of the "Alley Cat Strut," you are about to discover one of the most flavorful pieces of American piano history. They needed to learn the strut
The Alley Cat Strut became less a record title and more a philosophy: move lightly, listen harder, make room for silence, and use your craft to answer what your community needs. Oscar Holden aged into a local elder—still able to hold a note that made people stop in their tracks, still teaching, still mending little holes in the city’s music. When he could no longer carry his trumpet across the plaza, younger players would lift it for him, a ritual that felt like passing on a compass.
As the city changed—gentrification painting old brick with glass and signs—Oscar adapted without surrender. He recorded a second album years later, this one with field recordings: the clip of a bus door, the murmur of a fishmonger, distant church bells. The album was called Strut & Murmur and was lauded for capturing urban life as a living, breathing arrangement. Younger critics framed Oscar as a guardian of a vanishing sound; older listeners simply felt more at home.