Bix, Mary Kate Olsen, Peru! Who knew?

From Odd Harbor, a 2006 novel by Jonathan Shipley:

Therto Bordy, still dressed in his Mary Kate Olsen costume, amazed everyone on the boardwalk at the pier. He, though asthmatic, could play the cornet! Who knew?! Agave knew, for one. That was what got her attracted to Therto in the first place. In Peru, when Therto was in the Peace Corps, he’d play his cornet, just like Bix Beiderbecke, wowing local Peruvians who a) had never heard a cornet before, and b) had no idea who Bix Beiderbecke was. One of those wowed? Agave Montave, a young fresh beautiful girl whose father worked as a chicken plucker in Quito. Therto played Halloween tunes, and Thanksgiving carols, as well as impressing all those who witnessed his musical mastery. The cornet! Who knew?