Walter Becker was one of the funniest, wittiest people I ever met, and always the smartest guy in any room—unless Donald Fagen was also present, in which case they shared that honor. The depth of his knowledge on any subject was astounding, and his curiosity about the world knew no bounds. His enthusiasm for and…Read More

Although I was familiar with Chuck’s reputation and his music, I didn’t really get to know a lot about him until we were together on a two-week tour of Russia and the Ukraine in January of 2008. With subfreezing temperatures and a lot of travel ahead of us, the difficulty of the trip brought us…Read More

My earliest awareness of Barbara was when I was working for Ira Gershwin. I was hired in 1977 to catalog his phonograph records. Among them was Barbara’s Verve LP of songs from the 1957 movie Funny Face. Every day I would play some of the records for Ira, and when we listened to that recording…Read More

He was a record man. When Joe Fields first walked through the swinging front doors of Keystone Korner in San Francisco in 1974, with a bunch of Cedar Walton Firm Roots albums under his arm, I immediately knew I was in the presence of a jazz lifer—even though Joe had only recently opened up his…Read More

I think it was the bassist Chris White who introduced me to Grady Tate, back in the ’60s, when I was with Dizzy. I hadn’t heard him before, but I knew him by reputation. Before that time he was known for doing a lot of television work, with Lena Horne and Peggy Lee and people…Read More

The first time I heard the Instant Composers Pool Orkest live was life changing. Walking into a packed venue in Amsterdam, I saw Misha Mengelberg and Han Bennink finishing up an absurdist conversation at a table in the middle of the stage, while some band members played and others looked on or shouted words. Misha…Read More

To work with Allan was a dream of mine. The first time I saw him play was in New York, with the New Tony Williams Lifetime. Fatefully, I ended up a short time later in a band that opened for the New Tony Williams Lifetime, and met keyboardist Alan Pasqua, which led to meeting and later…Read More

Back in the summer of 1965, when I was 19, I traveled out to Seattle, chasing after my college sweetheart who couldn’t return with me to Indiana University in the fall. My parents in Philly gave me the OK, as long as I supported myself and took some courses at the University of Washington. Little…Read More

When Dave passed on March 8, 2017, the first thing that came to my mind was a trip we took to Cuba in 2002. We had both been asked by pianist Chucho Valdés to be part of an elite group of musicians selected by him to judge entries for a Best Latin Jazz Composition contest…Read More