Alley Cat Strut Oscar Holden: Best

The Panama Hotel, designed by Sabro Ozasa, was a hub for Japanese immigrants. During WWII, many families left their belongings in the hotel’s basement before being sent to internment camps, some of which were never reclaimed.

Before Keiko’s family is sent away to an internment camp, she gives Henry the 78 record of the song as a symbol of their love.

Jamie Ford included Holden in the book to ground the fictional romance in the authentic, vibrant atmosphere of the 1940s Seattle music scene. Can You Listen to It? alley cat strut oscar holden

In the novel, the song serves as a vital symbol of the bond between the protagonists, Henry Lee and Keiko Okabe.

a secret anthem for those who lived by their own rhythm in the shadows of the Northwest. Oscar Holden’s influence on the Seattle jazz scene or should we dive into the history of the Jackson Street clubs The Panama Hotel, designed by Sabro Ozasa, was

: Henry and Keiko first hear Holden perform the song at a jazz club. Keiko later buys a 78 rpm record of it titled Oscar Holden & the Midnight Blue: The Alley Cat Strut .

Before diving into the "Alley Cat Strut," it is essential to understand the man behind the music. was not just a performer; he was a pioneer. Jamie Ford included Holden in the book to

Furthermore, the environment that Holden helped build laid the direct groundwork for the next generation of Seattle icons. A young Ray Charles arrived in Seattle in the late 1940s specifically because of the city's reputation as a wide-open music town—a reputation built on the backs of musicians like Holden. Quincy Jones, another Seattle native, honed his early arranging and playing skills in the very same Jackson Street clubs where the echo of Holden’s stride piano still lingered. The Legacy of the Strut