Book excerpt: Modecai Jefferson is a young, dynamic 1940s jazz musician who carries his piano on his back, hears music every second of the day, and enjoys playing for his lover and biggest fan in Way City, AlabamaDelores Bonet. To Modecai, he and Delores are like black love notes on a musical page. But all of that is about to change the day he hears a recording of up-and-coming Harlem jazz trumpeter, Bunny Greensleeves. If he wants to make a name for himself, Modecai needs to find a way out of Alabama and to the jazz capital of the world. Bunny, who is driven to overcome his impoverished Mississippi upbringing, desperately wants fame, fortune, and power. Meanwhile after Doloress ex-con boyfriend returns and threatens Modecais life, he heads for New York sooner than expected. After Modecai eventually meets up with Bunny, the two musicians struggle to overcome the obstacles in a city where success is marginal and failure is predictedall while attempting to leave their mark with their dynamic talent and inventive jazz compositions. Now only time will tell if they will ever achieve all their dreams. Black Love Notes chronicles the journey of two young jazz musicians as they strive for fame and fortune amid a 1940s Harlem where hurt and regrets, crooked deals, and murder lurk in the shadows.