From the opening bars of the “Sweet Georgia Brown” intro, we can hear there’s a new kid in town on piano: twenty-three year old Hal Schaefer logs his one and only appearance on The Bob Bain Show, holding his own alongside Bob, Jud DeNaut on bass and Ralph Collier playing drums. Schaefer would later go on to fame as arranger and vocal coach for (among others) Marilyn Monroe (and his liaison with her was the cause of an infamous “wrong door raid” perpetrated by Joe DiMaggio and Frank Sinatra). Here he plays mainly by the book and defers to Margo Powers for “Ah But It Happens” and giving Bob ample support on “Frenesi”. His skills as accompanist are plain in “At Long Last Love”, and for the closer “Dark Eyes”, his soloing chops are beyond dispute. Nice work for a sub! Next week Ray Sherman will return for nearly the duration of the show. Nice to hear you, Hal!