Ellen Welters Sanchez “…. music was who she was” “Miss Ellen”, as many of her piano students called her, was born on Smith Lane (now Appelrouth Lane) in 1902. She was so tiny and frail her mothered feared for her survival. Her father, Frank Welters, was the band leader of the Welters Coronet Band, a […]
I love Key West history, especially the music history. There aren’t many Key West historical music figures larger than Fats Navarro. Navarro learned piano at age six and picked up his first trumpet at age thirteen. He graduated from Fredrick Douglas High School and soon left for Orlando, Cincinnati, Kansas City, and on to ‘big […]
Bobby Nesbitt Key West lost its piano bars At ten years old, Bobby Nesbitt could already play the trumpet and read music. He started taking piano lessons, learning classical music and style early on, but his passion soon became the Music Masters of the 20th Century like Irving Berlin, Ira Gershwin, and the Great American […]
Dave Burns – Jazz piano and private eye By Ralph De Palma Dave was from Providence, Rhode Island. He was raised by a single mother who was constantly working so his grandmother, Alice McKenna, watched over him. She taught piano all over town so naturally, Dave started piano lessons at three years old. Due to […]
