Alley Cat Strut Oscar Holden ~repack~ 〈EXCLUSIVE • 2025〉

“A sly, good-natured musical cartoon of a stray cat owning the night—low on drama, high on charm.”

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Oscar Holden didn’t mind the damp. It was better than the dry, dusty heat of the watermelon patches back in Tennessee, the place his accent still hinted at despite forty years of living in the Pacific Northwest. He pulled the collar of his wool coat tighter, the damp wool scratching against his neck, and adjusted the grip on his battered trumpet case. It was late, or early, depending on who you asked. The tourists were gone, leaving only the ghosts of the Gold Rush and the night-shift workers. “A sly, good-natured musical cartoon of a stray

Because the song was fictional, composer was commissioned to write an actual musical arrangement for "Alley Cat Strut" as part of the "Panama Hotel Jazz" project in 2014. It was late, or early, depending on who you asked

Because Oscar Holden never actually recorded "Alley Cat Strut," there is no historical audio of his version. However, the title often leads to confusion with other famous "cat" themed jazz songs:

While Holden was a legendary figure in Seattle's actual jazz history, known as the "Patriarch of Seattle Jazz," the specific recording of "Alley Cat Strut" exists only within the narrative of the book as a central symbol of friendship and memory.

Oscar Holden’s rendition of the "Alley Cat Strut" wasn't just background music; it was a showcase of his technical brilliance. His left hand thumps out that signature "oom-pah" stride rhythm, while his right hand dances across the keys—playful, precise, and full of that distinct Northwest jazz flavor.