A few weeks in the life of a young trombone player is an initiation, not only for Bernie Bell, into the somewhat special life of the jazz band- and in love, and while a pretty complete score- there are probably very few wrong notes. Duke Osborn lived it for a time. Bernie wears his hair a little long for this world-he really wants to write serious music- but when he is hired to play in a ballroom outside L.A., he can earn the money to study under a famous teacher. He falls in love with Claire, the wife of Coke whose dogged devotion to her is a sad thing to watch, and whose notions of being an ""artiste"" as a dancer prompt Coke to get further in debt by borrowing money for some lessons, and Bernie to write some music for her. Claire's dancing days are numbered- by a baby to come, and while Bernie does manage one night with her, the next day she tries to get rid of the baby- lands in the hospital. Jimmy, the manager, who has been Coke's watchdog for many years, runs interference for his sake, fires Bernie and sends him home.... There's a lot of music here- and momentum- but it's also something of a literary jam session- loose and undisciplined.