The cover of my upcoming album Music Sounds features a photo of my dearly-departed friend Amy Bierman-Zwicker (used by permission).

Amy grew up in Oak Park, IL in the 1950s and 60s. She was super smart and skipped ahead a grade in grammar school.

We met at Oak Park River Forest H.S. in 1966. I was a freshman and she was a sophomore. We immediately became friends through our passionate love of music and art.

Amy was a free spirit who knew what she wanted. I was enchanted by her beauty and personality. To me she was the ideal girl: tall, brunette, and doe eyed. We were very good friends.
The cover photo of Amy was shot in late ’68 at the School of The Art Institute, Chicago by a MFA student friend of Amy’s who was in need of an example of the beauty of the female figure. Of course, Amy fit the bill perfectly. The photo was shot with a Hasselblad 2 1/4 camera.

Soon after, Amy moved to L.A., did a pilgrimage to India on a “find the meaning of life” trip, and settled in San Francisco with her husband Paul. There she managed the Walter Kuhlman Art Gallery for many years.

One of the best gifts I ever received in my life was from Amy. She gave me an authentic harmonium and I have used Amy’s harmonium on dozens of recordings throughout my career. Every time I play it, it feels like there is part of Amy right there at my fingertips. She will never leave me.

Unfortunately, I lost my beautiful longtime friend to cancer on April 12th. 2016.