Eager played frequently in the clubs on West 52nd Street in Manhattan, including with other Kerouac heroes such as saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, drummer Max Roach, and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, a musician the writer saw perform at Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem.
In the latter novel, the character Roger Beloit is based on tenor saxophonist Allen Eager, a musician who was hugely influenced by Young’s musicianship. Eager played frequently in the clubs on West 52nd Street in Manhattan, including with other Kerouac heroes such as saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, drummer Max Roach, and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, a musician the writer saw perform at Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem. Ginsberg, famed for his 1955 poem Howl, was close friends with Kerouac and song composer Jerry Newman. When Newman wrote a tune for Gillespie, he asked Ginsberg for a title suggestion and the poet said, “Let’s call it Kerouac.”