Trinidad’s Piano Lady: ‘Music Is My Life’

“If music be the food of love, play on.”

– Duke Orsino, Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night”

Music brings life to a community, and people living in and around Trinidad are fortunate to have their own piano lady — Jackie Hogan.

When she was just 3, Jackie played “God Bless America” by ear on a neighbor’s piano in Malden, Mass. That — and her perfect pitch — prompted her parents to buy her a baby grand.

When she was 5, Jackie performed her first recital; she remembers her new green dress with black patent leather shoes. When she was 10, she played Bach’s two-part inventions, something she still plays.

In high school, she played the third movement of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata.” She fell in love with the music of Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Carmen McRae and Errol Garner, among others. Her favorites are the standards of the 1940s and 1950s.

Every week, Jackie plays for the Trinidad Song Circle as well as for events from art openings to celebrations in the Town Hall to fundraisers. Al Macy, a local jazz pianist, started a group called Al’s Gal Pals — including Jackie.

She was part of the Village Keepers Trio with Maria Bartlett and Ned Simmons. She has played for the Trinidad Civic Club’s fashion show, played with the Barbershop Quartet in Eureka and at the Westhaven Center for the Arts.

In 2010, the Trinidad Civic Club awarded her a certificate of recognition for her restoration of music and harmony for Trinidadians.

When the Trinidad Library had a fundraiser, Jackie was on the piano. She played at Darlene Marlowe’s photo opening at the Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center and has been a fixture at birthday celebrations for Bea Stanley, Connie Butler and Penne O’Gara. Recently, she has played at local care facilities and at Moonstone Crossing winery.

Over the years, since serving as music director for 10 years at a preschool in Massachusetts in the 1980s, Jackie has given private piano lessons to many people, from a 4-year-old to Trinidad neighbors in their 90s.

Playing for and with friends in Trinidad brings her joy.

“I’m in love with my piano and have been since I was 3 years old,” Jackie said. “Music is my life. When I see a piano anywhere, when I see the keys, I feel ecstatic. It always triggers a lifetime of memories about my relationship with music.”

Michele Francesconi lives in Trinidad.