Tom Brier Tribute Set Excerpts

With Tom's accident happening just a week before the 2016 Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival, it was too late to change the schedules, so for Tom's first scheduled set, it was decided that several musicians would come up and play either something composed by Tom, arranged by Tom or that they have played with Tom in the past. In this video you see the four Brier compositions that were played in this set -- "Perryville" (played by Larisa Migachyov), "Razor Blades" (played by Brian Holland and Danny Coots), "Coriander Rag" (played by Will Perkins) and "Meditation" (played by Kylan deGhetaldi). All the while, a rootbeer float waits on a table next to the piano. Tom always ordered a rootbeer float here at the Ice Cream Emporium, so one was ordered for him as a symbolic gesture.

If you haven't been keeping up with the daily updates on Tom's condition posted by his brother at https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/to... here's a quick update: Yesterday he was taken off the ventilator briefly and he was able to breathe on his own. He has a punctured lung and is on antibiotics to stave off infection. He is off the paralysis medication and today responded to touch. However he is still being kept sedated, though the amount of sedative is slowly being reduced day by day in the hopes that eventually he will wake up. His condition is stable. No reports in recent days of brain swelling, so that finally may be under control.

If you missed the initial news last week and are wondering what happened: While stopped at the end of the line of cars on an off-ramp on August 6, Tom's car was struck at full speed by a Chevy Silverado. His car "accordioned" between the truck and the cars ahead of him. He suffered severe head trauma, broken ribs and a punctured lung.

The entire ragtime community is pulling for him to come through this without permanent brain injury. Only time will tell.

Before you ask why the Japanese text: I have thousands of Japanese subscribers who adore my videos of Tom, so I thought it important to make sure they know what has happened too.

トムさんは危篤状態でいました。今、状態が改善しています。鎮静剤は少しずつ軽減しています。脳圧が安定しています。頭部外傷に加えて、トムさんの肋が壊れていると肺を穿刺します。