Miles Davis, at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, KY circa 1961. Of course Miles couldn't actually STAY at the Brown, given the racial tone of the day, and even though Louisville was/is not Deep South, but the Northern Gateway to the South--those prejudices exsisted strongly back then.
The evening was more than a little bit interesting for a fledgling Alto Sax player such as myself--Miles arrives almost two hours late because of flight delays as we were told. We're all waiting patiently, when off stage right, I hear these incredible tones coming forth--chromatic scales. For those of you who aren't musicians, that is an excercise that you learn early on...all notes of a scale, sharps and flats, going from lowest to highest, then back down, quick, quicker, fast, then as fast as you can. It is good for the 'chops' AND allows your fingering to be mastered for adlibbing quickly.
Of course Miles' doing it was almost like "Music Magic", (sorry Chick) moreover it was a lesson, I never forgot...if Miles can play chromatic's I should sure as hell do it.
They played for a couple of hours--some guy in the back wanted to hear, "Bye Bye Blackbird" and screamed out his request at the end of every song. To his incredible patience (though not known for it), Miles played it--he and the whole group did a fantastic job--and oddly it was a personal highlight for me.
Miles was already a legend of sorts and certainly worth the $5.00 (if I remember correctly) for the ticket.
Later that fall, on New Year's Eve, I played my own first professional job, at a Catholic Church Dance, earning, what for me at the time was a fortune...$40. for a 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. job.
For a 12/13 year old boy, this was a launch pad for a love of music that's lasted a lifetime...and,he was pure magic.
Larry
