"Thanks so much for posting my drawing and the news about it on your blog! I really appreciate it.
Also, want to tell you that Chet Baker is one of my all time favorites. I have the album. He was the best. The first time I went to Berlin, in spring 1985, I was staying in West Berlin at the Kempinski and went to a very late show of his at Quasimodo, Berlin's oldest and greatest jazz venue. It is a cellar club and Chet's show started at midnight. The room is small and I was sitting at a table - like from your kitchen table to your range was how close I was to him. He played for THREE HOURS. He took a couple of breaks, but he was into it. High for sure, but so incredible, he sang, he played. Breathtaking. After he stopped, finally, I walked up onto the street at about 3am, it was pouring and I had no idea where the hotel was by then. I saw a light on inside the Paris Bar, across the street, went and banged on the door, though the bar was closed. Thought maybe they would help me find a taxi. A man came to the door and invited me in, asked me to share a nightcap with him and his two friends. That's when I met my friend Christina and her husband-to-be, Bernd Koberling the artist (google pls) and of course, Michael, who owns the Paris Bar. That night was only a couple of months before Chet got tossed out of a hotel window up in Amsterdam and died, he got in trouble with the drug dealers up there, they had enough of his shit and just gave him a shove. Too bad, he was some talented dude.
Thanks again,
Best to you,
jjj"
No comments:
Post a Comment