Who did you miss when they were alive

[Justin V]

I'll preface this by saying that I have been very, very fortunate to see a large number of the music's greatest musicians, some of whom have since left us.  I only started listening to jazz in 2001 or 2002, so I obviously never had the chance to see some people.  I'm not going to beat myself up too much over faraway gigs that I may not have even known about, but there are a few missed opportunities that haunt me:

1. Cedar Walton: He was playing an art museum in Buffalo, but my school schedule made it too difficult to attend.  
2. Mulgrew Miller: He was playing an early gig with a university (MSU?) big band at the Detroit Jazz Fest, but my wife and I got off to a late start leaving the hotel that day.  We missed another Mulgrew gig, a duo with Kenny Barron, later that day because we hadn't dressed appropriately and left early.  I've since had the opportunity to see Kenny Barron, a personal favorite, 4 times, but that was my last chance to see Mulgrew.  Although I have many albums that are enriched by his playing, I wish that I hadn't taken it for granted that I'd get another chance to see him.
3. Von Freeman: He was playing a gig in Millennial Park in Chicago with Steve Coleman (and perhaps other special guests), but an expensive car repair that month forced us to scuttle our plans.  Considering that Chicago is relatively close to Cleveland, I also wish that I had caught him at the bar where he had his weekly gig.
4. Gerald Wilson: I am normally good about seeing the older legends when I get the chance, but I missed one or two opportunities to see Wilson at the Detroit Jazz Fest, although I'm not 100% sure that he played on days that I attended.

 

 

Edited June 23, 2016 by Justin V

[Homefromtheforest]

1 hour ago, clifford_thornton said:

Sam Rivers. Should have seen him but I was not in Kansas anymore when he played in Topeka, and I was not able to get to NYC for the trio reunion. Probably should've just flown down to Florida!

Sam Rivers, along with Ornette Coleman, is one of the few "legends" of the music I saw live.

I thought of two more instances that fit this topic - I missed Derek Bailey because he fell ill and could not make the Company gig in Vancouver around 1993 or 1994.  The silver lining was that Gunter Christmann rose to the occasion and sort of stole the show.  A final example is AMM.  They performed in 1994 but that very same night a New Zealand band called "bailter space" was performing as well.  I had enjoyed Bailter Space albums long before I discovered AMM so I chose the NZ band.  Neither came to Vancouver again, though I did see Eddie Prevost on many occasions in different settings in later years. I also got to meet and interview him as well...

[sidewinder]

2 hours ago, clifford_thornton said:

Sam Rivers. Should have seen him but I was not in Kansas anymore when he played in Topeka, and I was not able to get to NYC for the trio reunion. Probably should've just flown down to Florida!

Caught him a couple of times on his last UK tour (JohnS was there as well on one of the nights I think) and got to chat with him after one of the gigs. Priceless !

AMM - never seen them as a band but have caught Lou Gare a number of times with Mike Westbrook.

Too bad I never caught a tour by Max Roach. Same thing applies for Mingus and Monk - although they were largely inactive when I started getting into jazz. Caught Blakey a few times though.

Edited June 23, 2016 by sidewinder

[sidewinder]

Must add Horace Tapscott to the list. Missed a low key and rare solo performance in a public library he gave in Alberta circa 1995 (I could have gone but it didn't click at that time exactly who he was or his significance). In 1999 I did catch what was scheduled to be an LA benefit gig but that one turned out in the end to be a memorial gig with the Arkestra and various guests.

Edited June 23, 2016 by sidewinder

[GA Russell]

On 6/22/2016 at 6:42 PM, Chuck Nessa said:

Yes, I meant if they were alive and you missed them. Geography doesn't matter, but opportunities do.

LOL!  Chuck, I think we all can now agree that you are losing your mind almost as quickly as I am!  What you have said here and in the thread title is a famous Yogi-ism (as in Yogi Berra):  "He must have done that before he died."

In 1982, I had the opportunity to see Buddy Rich with Steve Marcus in Baltimore.  I've always been sorry I skipped that.

In 1969, I passed on seeing Count Basie in Washington, but I have read that his band wasn't very good then, so I haven't lost any sleep over it.

In December of '69, I passed on the opportunity to see Miles perform for what became known as The Cellar Door box.  But it was the week of my semester finals, so I never gave it a second thought.

Edited June 24, 2016 by GA Russell

[Utevsky]

When Thelonious Monk came to town, I was under 21 and tried to use a friend's i.d. to get in.  I was turned away and I never had another chance to see him.

[BillF]

On 6/27/2016 at 7:35 AM, Utevsky said:

When Thelonious Monk came to town, I was under 21 and tried to use a friend's i.d. to get in.  I was turned away and I never had another chance to see him.

Cruel!  I was 21, but saw him on premises where there was no age requirement.

Edited July 10, 2016 by BillF

[JohnS]

Two names stick out - John Coltrane and Gerry Mulligan.   I didn't know about the Coltrane gig until the day after it happened.  I don't know how I came to miss Mulligan.

[Don Brown]

I missed Hank Mobley. When Art Blakey brought his Jazz Messengers to Toronto to play at the Canadian National Exhibition. Blakey's group was one of about twenty booked for a three-day Newport Jazz Festival-type show produced by George Wein. When Blakey's group came on stage it was just a quartet with Lee Morgan the only horn. Apparently Mobley had been stopped at the border and was not allowed into the country. A real bummer for Mobley fans.

[Dan Gould]

And those who thought that Mobley-Morgan was the best front line of all.

[JohnS]

On 6/23/2016 at 6:36 PM, sidewinder said:

Caught him a couple of times on his last UK tour (JohnS was there as well on one of the nights I think) and got to chat with him after one of the gigs. Priceless !

AMM - never seen them as a band but have caught Lou Gare a number of times with Mike Westbrook.

Too bad I never caught a tour by Max Roach. Same thing applies for Mingus and Monk - although they were largely inactive when I started getting into jazz. Caught Blakey a few times though.

Yes,  I was there Bob.  A memorable evening, you and Rivers.

[sidewinder]

Thanks John. Your post about it in 2004 is on page 1 of the 'Live Gigs' thread so is a regular reminder of a great gig ! Looks like The Cookers are coming up at Turner/Sims in the Autumn so I will be back down again ..

[Ken Dryden]

This could be a long list!

Bud Shank: He was playing IAJE in Long Beach in 2003, but my wife was with me and wanted dinner immediately. That's the closest I ever got to seeing him play.

Eubie Blake: He was part of a Palm Beach Jazz Festival on a Sunday evening in the late 1970s, but my parents had already gotten me a ticket to see Vladimir Horowitz in Miami Beach, there was no way to make both performances. My mother tried to console me and said, "He's getting up there and probably will only put on a token performance." The review in the paper the following day noted the Blake played a long set, followed by 8 encores.

I never made it to E.J.'s in Atlanta but was living in the vicinity between 1978-1980. I missed a lot of artists who played there: Milt Jackson, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Dexter Gordon and Teddy Wilson for starters.

Gerry Mulligan was part of a Fox Theatre concert in Atlanta in the early 1980s, but my hellacious schedule and distance from Atlanta at the time made it impossible to attend.

Dizzy Gillespie was scheduled for an outdoor festival in our city in the early 1980s but was rained out by a furious thunderstorm.

Benny Goodman was scheduled for that same festival in 1986 but died less than a week before his set. Lionel Hampton was a last minute replacement with his big band and wowed the crowd with his energy.

Charles Mingus played the New Orleans Jazz Festival while I was at Tulane, but it was right in the middle of finals.

 

 

 

[JohnS]

12 hours ago, sidewinder said:

Thanks John. Your post about it in 2004 is on page 1 of the 'Live Gigs' thread so is a regular reminder of a great gig ! Looks like The Cookers are coming up at Turner/Sims in the Autumn so I will be back down again ..

That's right.  All being well I'll be there.

[bertrand]

This is the first time I have seen an explanation given for Mobley's absence at the Canadian gig. A few days later, Lee recruited Wayne.

I wonder what the Messengers quartet sounded like. Was that recorded?

Bertrand.

 

[Don Brown]

The "Art Blakey Quartet" sounded good with Lee Morgan in fine form. But none of the guys looked very happy about having to make do without their tenorman. They did make the best of a bad situation though.

I don't believe any of the concerts were recorded - not officially anyway.  I saw Miles Davis, Ben Webster, Sarah Vaughan, Blakey, and the MJQ. Miles premiered the music he'd recently recorded for the Kinda Blue album which wasn't released until about a month after these concerts. We expected to see Coltrane and Bill Evans with Miles but they'd already been replaced by Jimmy Heath and Wynton Kelly. Cannonball and Jimmy Cobb were still in the band though.

[danasgoodstuff]

Art Blakey and Art Pepper - both of them I had plans to go see at scheduled gigs and then they died.  James Brown I wanted to go see in LA when I was there on vacation when I was very young - probably not a good idea/realistic and then missed here in Ptld when it would've been easily done.  The Stones I wasn't in a position to see during the Brian Jones or Mick Taylor years and the Who I missed in Saskatoon when locals outdrew them in '66 or '67.  No interest in seeing the Stones or Who current ghost bands.

[jlhoots]

Dolphy

[fasstrack]

Miles, Wes, Ben Webster, Duke, etc., etc. (I only got interested in jazz and going to events in the earliest '70s)...

I also went intending to hear Chet Baker at a short-lived club, Lush Life, but didn't go in for some reason. Around '82 or '84... I remember he fired Kenny Kirkland and got Hod O 'Brien (who told me 'I hope I don't get fired. Chet is so hard to comp for')...

[kh1958]

2 hours ago, fasstrack said:

Miles, Wes, Ben Webster, Duke, etc., etc. (I only got interested in jazz and going to events in the earliest '70s)...

I also went intending to hear Chet Baker at a short-lived club, Lush Life, but didn't go in for some reason. Around '82 or '84... I remember he fired Kenny Kirkland and got Hod O 'Brien (who told me 'I hope I don't get fired. Chet is so hard to comp for')...

I actually went to Lush Life once (1983 or 1984) --Bobby Hutcherson was performing. Do you recall where that club was located? 

[fasstrack]

6 hours ago, kh1958 said:

I actually went to Lush Life once (1983 or 1984) --Bobby Hutcherson was performing. Do you recall where that club was located? 

Off of Bleeker St., near where the Village Gate used to be. Can't recall the cross street, but you get the general idea...

Edited July 6, 2016 by fasstrack

[Michael Weiss]

10 hours ago, kh1958 said:

I actually went to Lush Life once (1983 or 1984) --Bobby Hutcherson was performing. Do you recall where that club was located? 

Lush Life was on the corner of Bleecker and Thompson Streets. I worked there with Jon Hendricks in 1982 and sat in with Chet around 1983/1984 when Hod, Dennis Irwin and Leo Mitchell was the rhythm section.

[kh1958]

That was the first time I was in New York as an adult, on a work trip but with a couple of free evenings--first, to the Village Vanguard to see George Coleman, the next night to Lush Life for Bobby Hutcherson--Fantastic!

Edited July 7, 2016 by kh1958

[Utevsky]

I'm also sorry to have missed Dewey Redman, Don Cherry, and Paul Bley. 

[Don Brown]

I saw Dewey Redman on three occasions with Ornette but I never caught Don Cherry. I also missed Paul Bley.