'It's not just you, it's not just me; it's all around the world..'

I ran into a few musicians this evening on my way up and downtown, and it was a real National Geographic trip.

Yily Nelson - not Wille, Yily - is a guitar player originally from the Dominican Republic.



If you like Yily, you might also like Thalys Peterson Quaresma, a Brazilian player I met a couple of weeks ago.



Annette Taylor's powerful voice hits you as soon as you come down the stairs onto the platform. She was in the middle of belting out the Alicia Keys song 'I Keep On Falling' and it sounded great. Her latest CD is 'Hustlin' For Dollars, Hustlin' For Change'




There was a woman playing an African drum in the passageway at 42nd Street but I didn't get a chance to speak to her.




Finally, there's Professor Edwardo Alvarado.

He's a little hard to describe, beyond saying he's like a cross between Eddie Layton and Rod Steiger, but here's a nice piece on him from the Village Voice a couple of years ago.



Compelling as it is, I honestly have no idea what the main focus of his act is meant to be - is it the music or the slightly unsettling choreographed puppets? Does it matter?

But one thing I do know is that he gave me probably the sweetest smile I've ever had on the subway when I put a dollar in his basket.

And if I'm still making music when I'm his age, I'll consider myself blessed. (I'll probably ixnay the puppets though).