[SloaneView did not exist on April 8, Carmen mcRae's birthday.
The following true story is just one of many precious memories of her I will forever hold dear.]
Kyoto, April 8, 1983 ...
The Japanese promoters labelled the tour "The Three Pearls": Chris Connor, Ernestine Anderson and me. We appeared in concerts and also performed singly in clubs. On this date, Ernestine and I had the night off while Chris pulled the duty with Norman Simmons playing for her.
Our hotel rooms were adjacent, and each provided mini-bars among other amenities. As girl friends will do, we sat in E's room, talking and laughing and sipping Japanese Sake. When we depleted that beverage, we repaired next door to my room for a fresh supply.
I suddenly realized April 8 was Carmen's birthday. "Let's call her up and sing "Happy Birthday", says I, terribly pleased with myself for coming up with such a thoughtful gesture. "I happen to know she's in D.C., and I know the hotel where she likes to stay. AND it's perfect timing: she'll just be getting ready for the gig.
The phone in her room rang three or four times, and then a typically abrupt "Yeah?" came through. Ernestine and I burst into a lusty version of Happy Birthday and waited to hear her laugh. Silence. Long silence. And then a low growl which escalated into a perfect screech: "Do You Bitches Know WHAT TIME IT IS???"
When Norman Simmons returned to the hotel, I told him what had taken place. He offered this profound advice: "There are three things one should never do: Never spit into the wind, never step on Superman's cape, and NEVER call Carmen McRae at 6 o'clock in the morning!"
The next day I had a headache, I paid a very expensive telephone bill, and I bought a clock that displays the world's time zones.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Recommended Blogs
Links to two Blogs I visit regularly are now posted at SloaneView. Rifftides belongs to prolific journalist Doug Ramsey. Taken directly from his site, the following blurb provides valuable information about the gentleman:
"...Doug Ramsey lives in the Pacific Northwest, where he settled following a career in print and broadcast journalism in cities including New York, New Orleans, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, San Antonio, Cleveland and Washington, DC. His writing about jazz has paralleled his life in journalism.
Doug's most recent book is Take Five: The Public and Private Lives of Paul Desmond.He is also the author of Jazz Matters: Reflections on the Music and Some of its Makers. He contributed to The Oxford Companion to Jazz and co-edited Journalism Ethics: Why Change? His next book is a novel that has almost nothing to do with music."
Devra Hall's Blog "DevraDoWrite" is a running commentary on "Music, books, good works and other reasons for living." Devra is the daughter of renowned jazz guitarist Jim Hall, and she is married to legendary musician/talent agent John Levy, the man who successfully guided the careers of many famous jazz artists including Cannonball Adderly, Joe Williams and Nancy Wilson.
"...Doug Ramsey lives in the Pacific Northwest, where he settled following a career in print and broadcast journalism in cities including New York, New Orleans, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, San Antonio, Cleveland and Washington, DC. His writing about jazz has paralleled his life in journalism.
Doug's most recent book is Take Five: The Public and Private Lives of Paul Desmond.He is also the author of Jazz Matters: Reflections on the Music and Some of its Makers. He contributed to The Oxford Companion to Jazz and co-edited Journalism Ethics: Why Change? His next book is a novel that has almost nothing to do with music."
Devra Hall's Blog "DevraDoWrite" is a running commentary on "Music, books, good works and other reasons for living." Devra is the daughter of renowned jazz guitarist Jim Hall, and she is married to legendary musician/talent agent John Levy, the man who successfully guided the careers of many famous jazz artists including Cannonball Adderly, Joe Williams and Nancy Wilson.
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