A Passage for Trumpet - Recap

Trumpeter Joey Crown is in a back alley outside a club, listening to the trumpeter. Finally the owner, Baron, comes out and Joey comes over and offers to play. Baron reminds him that the last time he played, he loused it up because he was drinking. Joey insists that he's on the wagon and can be a number one boy. However, as he moves his trumpet case, a bottle of whiskey falls out. Baron gives him some money for old time's sake and asks what happened, and Joey explains that the only time he can forget his miserable life and overcome his shyness is when he's drunk. Joey walks away and then angrily throws away his case and sits down, and then starts playing.



Joey goes to a pawnshop and the owner, Nate, comments that he's back again. Joey says that he's selling it this time and the owner offers him $8.50, the best he claims he can do. The trumpeter has no choice but to take what he can get. After visiting a bar, a drunk Joey walks out and watches as Nate puts the trumpet in his window and marks it for $25. When Joey taps on the window, Nate says that he won't get that price, and he's got responsibilities that Joey can't understand. Joey staggers off and leaps in front of a truck, and is hit by a truck.

That night, Joey wakes up and gets to his feet. There's no sign of the truck and a police officer is calling in a report. Joey tries to get his attention to explain he wasn't drunk, but the officer ignores him and walks off. Puzzled, Joey goes to a movie theater and tries to get a light, but the patrons ignore him. He tries to explain to the ticket taker what happened but she ignores him even when he yells at him. Joey goes to the mirror and discovers that he has no reflection. Desperate, he tries to get someone to notice him without success and realizes that he's dead, and that he's been successful at something for the first time in his life.



Joey goes back to the bar but no one notices him. He pours himself a drink and remembers how the former bartender, Charlie, used to put his song on the jukebox... when he was alive. Joey goes back to the club and listens to the player, and then hears someone above playing trumpet. He turns around and finds an older man in a suit playing. Joey congratulates the man on his playing, and the man responds. He knows Joey by name and isn't surprised when Joey explains that he's a ghost. The man offers Joey his trumpet to play, and Joey realizes the man knows who he is. Joey plays and then asks the man how he knows who he is. The man says that neither one of them is dead, and the people in the bar are the ones that are dead, and "they" let them continue with their normal lives. Joey doesn't understand, and the man explains that Joey is halfway between life and death, and asks which one he prefers. In response, Joey says that he used to think he was getting dealt from the bottom, but he's realized that he had good friends and good times. Somewhere along the line, he forgot them. The man tells Joey that he has a choice, and Joey says that he wants to go back. The newcomer says that he can, but warns him that he'll have to take the bad with the good. As he leaves, Joey asks his name and the man says that his name is Gabe... short for Gabriel. Joey runs after him but discovers that he's vanished.



Returning to the pawnshop, Joey sees himself reflected in the window, laid out on the sidewalk. He wakes up seconds after he was hit by the truck, and the driver runs over and apologizes. He pays Joey for any medical bills he has so it won't ruin his spotless reputation as a driver. Joey takes the money and buys back his trumpet.

That night, Joey is playing on a rooftop and a woman, Nan, comes over to compliment him on his playing. She introduces herself and says that she's new to the city, and asks him to play some more. Joey tells her that she'll like it in New York, and she asks him to show it around. Astonished, Joey quickly agrees.



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