A copper saxophone sweeps up the side, a strip of piano keys runs along the bottom, and gold notes drift across midnight teal paper. The message sits on a tall ivory panel with a beveled edge. It is a birthday invitation that looks like the cover of a record, and it looks just as good printed.
The card is set for a forty-fifth, but it belongs to anyone who would rather have live music than a DJ, at forty, fifty or sixty.
Book a trio, or a friend who plays piano, and host it in a dim room with candles and small tables. Serve an old fashioned as the house drink, a cheese board, and a chocolate cake with a brass-colored topper. Ask guests to come in something a little dressed up; the music will do the rest.
