Alley Cat Strut Oscar Holden ✧

The song matters because it represents a specific time and place: It is the sound of a black artist creating culture in a frontier town, far from the bright lights of New Orleans or New York.

In the book, the song is a dedicated jazz piece performed by Holden for the protagonists, Henry and Keiko, after he finds them listening in an alleyway. It becomes a symbol of their friendship and a rare recording that survives the turmoil of WWII and the Japanese American internment. From Fiction to Reality alley cat strut oscar holden