My wife’s grandfather was Barnet’s attorney. The piano came from Barnet’s office where he used it while composing.
We live in a condo and we’re trying to cut down on the amount of junk we have in our limited space. We’ve decided the piano has to go. It never gets played and it’s taking up too much room.
We have no documentation on the piano. If we really had to we could establish the family connection, but there’s probably no way to prove the piano’s provenance.
The piano needs repairs. Some of the keys aren’t working. It hasn’t been tuned for at least ten years.
My question: Is this thing of any value to jazz collectors? Should we even be trying to find somebody who might care about its history? Or should we just find a place in L.A. that buys used pianos?
I’m thinking this may be a tough sell, since Charlie played sax, not piano. Sure, he could have had one around the place, but would it be worth any more than, say, his armchair?
Charlie Barnet played sax, but was also trained in piano. Barnet holds a certain cachet in jazz history, as he was an earlyproponent of including important Black artists with white jazz bands. He had the luxury of being independently wealthy, so could have more leeway about those choices. Here’s another bio
Pochacco, I definitely wouldn’t haul the piano off to the nearest bidder without checking first with an archivist/collector. Here’s an address forThe Los Angeles Jazz Institute. I would think they would be able to help you find the best way to get the piano to an appreciative owner.