This great jazz pianist has been making modern music for most of his 92 years, but he denies it, quoting Duke Ellington: “There’s no such thing as modern music.” He reconciled this paradox in our conversation at the piano at the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center. We spoke, he played, and then: birthday cake!

• •  PERSON: his father
  •  PLACE: Music Inn
  •  THING: the piano
  •  RANDY’S PLACE: Cal Arts