Derek, musical genius

[Robert]

Derek is blind and autistic. He is severely disabled yet he can play and remember any tune he has ever heard. Born three and a half months prematurely, Derek Paravicini miraculously survived, but his twin sister did not. Technically, he died three times in the hospital and his eyesight was destroyed by an oxygen overdose. He has been left completely blind, partly autistic, can't tell left from right and cannot count to ten, but despite his disabilities he has an incredibly acute sense of hearing, and is a musical genius.

Now 26 years old, Derek has the I.Q. of a 4 year old. His family had little hope that Derek would ever be able to communicate meaningfully, until at the age of two, his mom discovered his talent for piano.

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[marnold]

The whole concept of the "idiot savant" (a term that, for obvious reasons, is falling out of usage) is absolutely fascinating to me. I saw a show where they were doing research with a very rare savant. He was rare in that he could communicate well, so he could tell researchers what was going on in his head.

[tjcurtin1]

A VERY similar story here in the Boston area (below): BTW, What does 'his brain is a perfectly programmed musical computer' mean? I think that that is hogwash and a really poor - and inaccurate - metaphor!

Music for Life
Tony DeBlois was born blind, mentally retarded, and autistic, but he was also born a jazz savant. Today, he plays 20 instruments, knows 8,000 songs, and is forging a career in the music industry.

By Jack Thomas, Globe Staff, 10/26/2003

It was Sunday morning at the jazz brunch at Skipjack's on Clarendon Street, and even the staff was groovin' to the Winiker Band and a spirited rendition of "All the Things You Are." Bill Winiker recalls that he was snaring drums and that his brother, Bo, with his sweet trumpet, was trading fours with a blind guy at the keyboard whose chord changes and rolling improvisations were so imaginative that when he finished with a flourish that included a snippet from "Rhapsody in Blue," folks stopped eating their eggs Benedict to applaud with gusto. Rising awkwardly and turning toward an audience he could not see, the young man rocked back and forth, his hands twitching nervously, and then he smiled, raised his arms, and said in a voice loud enough to be heard above the applause: "Aren't I good?"

Meet Tony DeBlois of Randolph, the best jazz pianist you probably never heard of and a one-man band who plays 19 instruments -- no, make that 20, because he took up the saxophone last December and plays it now, along with the keyboard, when he jams with the Winikers at Skipjack's. http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2003/10/26/music_for_life/