Irving Fields is a 97 year old pianist who plays at Nino’s Tuscany on West 58th Street. “I’m the oldest piano player anywhere,” he proclaimed during a recent set break. Irving plays and sings rather standard pieces. One of the more common piece is “My Kind of Town (Chicago Is)”. However, if he gets a good enough tip, he can be more adventurous and take on “Miami Beach Rhumba,” which is a hit for legendary Cuban bandleader Xavier Cugat.
“I play better now than ever before. I play with more feeling. I do things I couldn’t do years ago. I take chances. I play more classical music, and my fingers are like lightning. I have arthritis and carpal tunnel in these two fingers. It’s difficult to button a shirt, but they work when I play the piano. Music keeps me young. If I play one note I get five years younger. If I play two notes I get 10 years younger. If I play a whole concerto, I’m not even born — like Benjamin Button (the F. Scott Fitzgerald character who ages in reverse),” explained the 97 year old.
Irving has a rather vast fan base that ranges from Regis Philbin to Nino’s neighbor Donald Trump, whom he played for from 1988-91 in the Palm Court at the Plaza Hotel. During that period of time, Donald Trump was something of a Irving groupie. In return, Irving wrote songs for Ivana Trump. After Donald’s divorce and sales of the hotel in 1995, Irving became available once again.
“I started playing when I was 8 years old and I didn’t like it because I had to play boring scales. I wanted to play a melody. So I wrote a little song and it gave me a sense of responsibility. I took part in something,” he stated. Max, his father, was a carpenter. His dad decided to move the entire family to Coney Island when Irving was still relatively young. His father also sang in cantors choirs. “I had a good voice too. But my voice changed. I became a laryngitis baritone,” said Irving. In 1930, Irving even took the first position on “The Fred Allen Amateur Hour” radio program, which included a prize of $50 and a week’s gig at the Roxy Theatre; entitled the “American Idol” of its day. For the full story, you can check it out here.
If is never too late to learn and play the piano. If a 97 year old can do it, so can you! For more details, visit Piano Lessons SG to find out more about Piano Lessons For Adults in Singapore.