Mickey Muennig by Mickey Muennig

Author:Mickey Muennig
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gibbs Smith
Published: 2014-03-18T04:00:00+00:00

—Mark Sullivan, Big Sur Woodworks

Michel Petrucciani Residence, 1983

Big Sur, California

Michel Petrucciani was my dear friend from France, the most interesting person I have met in my life. He was considered a wizard at jazz, and I loved the music he played.

I met him when he was seventeen years old and three feet tall. He had a disease called osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as “brittle bone disease,” which left him very fragile. If he went over a large bump while riding in a car, for example, he would likely break a bone. His father was a musician, playing jazz guitar in between odd jobs that he took to put food on the table for his family. Michel played piano, employing a special box so he could reach the pedals.

He married my caretaker, Erlinda Montano, who was a full-size young lady, full of kindness and love. I went to France with them, acting as his roadie. Erlinda and I took turns carrying Michel up and down the subway stairs on the way to his concerts.

He decided to build a house in Big Sur. The design required a place for his piano, of course, and a kitchen where he could cook and be comfortable. We raised the floor in the kitchen so he could see eye to eye with people standing on the other side of the counter. He wanted to feel normal around other people. There was to be an interior island terrace where Michel could sit and compose music.

That summer, he played fourteen festivals in America and abroad.

Michel and Erlinda eventually parted, and the home was not built.

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