Part 17: Blackwell Unbound - Update 3
Update 3So now we have a ghost playing a saxophone on the Roosevelt Island Promenade, and claiming to be on the stage at Johnny Ivory's, but we don't know anything else about him. Let's see if we can change that.
Johnny Ivory's 
Lauren and Joey find themselves in a atmospheric little jazz bar. A pianist plays the blues, but there is absolutely nobody else here, not even a bartender.
Lauren: He seems to be enjoying himself, even though there's nobody here to listen to him. This place is empty. Good. The less people, the better.
Much as for the promenade, the track for Johnny Ivory's contains only one instrument, to fit the character present. It's a neat touch, though I personally prefer the sound Regin makes with multiple instruments.
Apparently Lauren is fairly keen on the pianist, as Joey notices.
Joey: There she is. Eyeing the bar. And that piano player. He's a swinger past him prime. Not bad on the piano, though. I just wish he'd keep his eyes on the keys.
The jealousy is very evident in Joey's voice here.
Before speaking with the pianist, Lauren checks out a photo on the wall.
Lauren: That's him. The jazzman ghost from the promenade. Looks like we're on the right track.
Immediately, she recognises the saxophone player in the photo as the ghost from Roosevelt Island. He played here, alright. Rosa also notices the girl.
Lauren: The only thing holding up that dress is fate. Pretty girl, though. I wonder who she is.
The important clue here is down the bottom on the plaque.
Lauren: Courtesy of Jambalaya Records... Hm. Might be worth checking out.
We'll be ducking back off to the apartment to look them up soon, but for now, Lauren stops to chat to the pianist.
Lauren is not above turning up the charm when it suits her.
Pianist: Yes?
Lauren: Got a minute?
Pianist: For a pretty thing like you, I got several.
Joey: Hmph.
Apparently neither is the pianist, much to Joey's displeasure.
C: So what brings you here on such a sad night?
Lauren has three choices of how to respond, though all three are basically to flirt with the pianist. She can tell the truth:
Lauren: I'm on a case.
Pianist: Is that right?
Lauren: Oh yes. Very top secret.
Pianist: Sounds dangerous.
Lauren: Very.
Pianist: A guy could get into trouble, hanging 'round a girl like you.
She can say she's looking for a company (complete with amusing dig at Joey):
Lauren: Just looking for good company.
Pianist: Is that right? Have you found it yet?
Lauren: Not yet. You could say that bad company always follows me around.
Joey: Oh, ha ha.
Or she can pretend she's here for the music:
Lauren: I just love music.
Pianist: Well how about that? I just happen to make music. It's a match made in heaven.
The pianist has a fantastically smooth, deep voice that just drips with confidence. With the ice sufficiently broken, Lauren introduces herself.
Lauren: I'm Lauren. What's your name?
Pianist: Pleasure's all mine, Lauren. You can call me C.
Lauren: C.
C: You got it, sister.
"C"? That's clearly not his full name, which Lauren queries him about.
Lauren: Is that "sea" like the water?
C: That's C like the chord. It's the first chord I played, and you never forget your first.
Lauren: Ain't that the truth.
C continues to play as he blatantly flirts with Lauren.
Lauren: It's okay for me to talk to you like this?
C: I don't hear anybody else complaining.
Lauren: Dull night, huh?
C: You could say that. But I think it just got a bit more interesting.
Lauren: Is that right?
C: These lips don't lie.
Joey is less impressed with C's lines than Lauren is, to say the least.
Lauren: You know any other musicians?
C: I do run in those circles, yeah.
Lauren: Any of them play here?
C: Sometimes we get major gigs here. But me? I'm what you call the dependable type. These fingers can go all night long.
Lauren: Can they now?
Hahaha, C has a fantastic knack for making every single line sound smooth, no matter how ridiculous it looks in words.
It's not really made clear here whether Lauren likes C, or if she's just flirting with him to get information. I like to imagine it's both.
C: Well, I'll try to help you out. Who is he?
Lauren: I don't know his name. I think he's a sax player.
C: I know lotsa sax players, sister.
Lauren: Big guy? Kind of chubby? Has a beard?
C: Nope. Doesn't ring a bell.
Surprisingly, once Lauren starts asking questions about the saxophone player, C is suddenly short on words. This strikes Lauren as odd, given there is a photo match the description on the wall right behind C.
Lauren: About that sax player...
C: Yeah?
Lauren: He's in that photo behind you.
C: Is he now?
Lauren: Yeah. Do you know him?
C's answers are definitely getting short now.
C: That picture is old, sister.
Lauren: It's not that old.
C: Old enough. Before my time, is all. Don't know who that is. Sorry.
Lauren: Are you sure you don't recognise him?
C: Yeah.
He's clammed up now. We'll need to get more information from elsewhere before we get anything out of him.
Lauren: See you around.
C: Any time, sister.
Lauren's Theme (Alternative) 
Joey: Yeah, Doll?
With C suddenly tight-lipped, and nobody else at Johnny Ivory's to question, Lauren and Joey head back to the apartment to work out their next move. First up they have a bit of a chat.
Lauren: I need a change in my life, Joey.
Joey: A change? The day-to-day grind of freeing tormenting spirits getting to boring for you?
Lauren: No. I'm thinking of changing the wallpaper. How does pink sound to you?
Joey: Pink? You're not a pink person.
Lauren: It would brighten up the place.
Joey: No. Pink.
I really do love their banter
Lauren: I am so tired. I just want to relax and smoke a cigarette.
Joey: Since when do you need an excuse to smoke a cigarette?
Lauren: Good point.
Sure enough, Lauren immediately whips out a cigarette and smokes it. Way to be an enabler, Joey
Lauren: I guess we'd better get out there and finish this thing.
Joey: After you.
Lauren: Here we go. Jambalaya Records. 240 Essex Street. I'll jot that down.
Quickly looking up Jambalaya, Lauren finds a record studio which seems a likely candidate.
I like the way the phone book is used in the game. It's not a puzzle as such, but it does require the user to stop and think about what needs to be looked up. My suspicion is that Gilbert received a lot of complaints about Rosa not making obvious logical deductions until the player combined notepad clues together, and so he wanted to include more puzzles where there is an obvious next step you need to take after making the logical deductions. Figuring out that Jambalaya is the next place to investigate immediately clues you in to look in the phone book.
Jambalaya Records 
Surprisingly, Jambalaya Records has a man still doing paperwork at a desk at this time of night.
Joey: Burning the midnight oil, eh? He's either really dedicated, or has nothing worth going home to.
Joey likes the jazz/reggae music here, but apparently Lauren doesn't think much of it.
Joey: Look at her. Not a flicker of interest on her face. She wouldn't know good music if she was slapped with it.
Contrary to the written dialogue, Joey's actor voices this line as "She wouldn't know good music if it kissed her". I'm not sure if Gilbert changed the dialogue later, or if Abe Goldfarb who plays Joey just decided to adlib. Probably the former, since the spoken line doesn't really make any sense.
Dwayne: Good evening to you. I'm Dwayne.
Lauren: Lauren Blackwell. I was hoping you could help me.
Dwayne: I'll do my best. What can I do for you?
Dwayne has the kind of "Ya mon!" Jamaican accent you can only get from an American trying to put on a fake Jamaican accent. This is one issue that Gilbert ran into with these games - whenever he had to cast anyone for a role with an accent, or a particularly old/young role, he didn't have the budget to do it, so he usually got his standard young adult, white voice actors to just put a voice on. From memory, he mentions that in later games he just stopped writing parts for those characters since the voices never worked out that well.
Lauren: So what is this place?
Dwayne: This? This is a music agency. We manage bands, do promotions, things like that. You know? Well, by "we" I really mean "me."
Lauren: You do this all by yourself?
Dwayne: Yep. One man operation, that's me.
Lauren: What sort of music do you manage?
Dwayne: Mostly jazz and reggae. Nobody famous. Most small timers have trouble getting their foot in the door. Getting gigs in small clubs, helping with recording sessions, you know. The basic stuff that musicians don't want to deal with.
A one-man operation is a good sign. We're almost certainly speaking to the man who managed the band the saxophone player was in.
Lauren: You're open late.
Dwayne: Really? Yeah, I suppose I am. I learned to work musician hours, you know. YOu play a gig at night and have a problem, you want someone to call.
"Like turning up as ghosts on some promenade, perhaps?"
Dwayne: Don't get me started.
Lauren cuts to the chase.
Lauren: I'm looking for a sax player.
Dwayne: Well, I can definitely help you there. You looking for a stand in? Or something more long-term?
Lauren: Oh, no. Sorry. I'm not with a band. I'm looking for a specific sax player.
Dwayne: Well if he's a client of mine, I can help you. What's his name?
Now this is an issue. We don't know his name, but we do know he was in the photo at Johnny Ivory's.
Lauren: That's the problem. But he's in a photograph that your company took.
Dwayne: Really? Can I see it?
Lauren: I don't have it.
Dwayne: Then I don't know what to say.
Lauren's solution is for Dwayne to just leave his work and waltz over to Johnny Ivory's, which probably isn't going to happen.
Lauren: I'll show you that photograph I told you about.
Dwayne: I wish I COULD, you know? But I have a ton of work to do. Maybe another time?
Lauren: Yeah, sure. Thanks for the help. I might be back later.
Dwayne: No problem.
Dwayne is another of the four people who can be photographed in the game, unlocking another set of hidden features.
Come to think of it..... the camera is how we can solve this puzzle.
Oh, first of all, let's photograph Cecil, the third of four people who unlock hidden features. These get knocked off pretty early.
Before photographing the picture, Lauren can try just asking for a copy of the photo...
Lauren: Do you have a copy of that photograph anywhere?
C: Nope. Sorry.
...but that goes nowhere.
So we just take a snap instead.
Armed with a photo of a photo, Lauren marches back to Jambalaya Records.
Lauren: Do you know this band?
Dwayne: Oh yeah! I remember those guys. The C-Sharps.
The C-Sharps... that's a pretty distinctive name.
Lauren: That was the band's name?
Dwayne: Yeah. I used to manage them.
Lauren: You used to manage them... but not anymore?
Dwayne: Nah. Been about... eight? Ten years? Time flies, you know?
Perhaps C was right about the photo being old, then. Lauren keeps hitting Dwayne up for information.
Dwayne: Oh, they were strictly lounge jazz, you know? But I saw 'em doing more. They really gelled, you know?
Lauren: Gelled?
Dwayne: In-tune with each other. And that lady had a voice like velvet.
Lauren: What happened to them?
Dwayne: Dunno. They disappeared. Got them a few gigs, and cut a record, and that was it. They moved on, or just broke up. It happens, you know?
Well, that's some information at least! With any luck, Lauren and Joey will be able to determine the ghost's identity soon. Head on back tomorrow to see the next update!
Bonus Easter Egg!
If you take the Case List and use it on the chair in the foreground several times, C's head literally detaches itself from his body and shoots off cackling into the air. I'm not kidding. Look:
In the Steam version, this act unlocks a "Floating Head" achievement. The explanation for this existing at all is that Gilbert decided to have artist Robinson animate C's head separately from his body, so that he could continue playing the piano as normal while altering facial expressions without needing to have all those animations separately. Robinson jokingly commented that he would need to be careful to ensure the head doesn't end up floating off the body, and therefore the Easter egg was born.