Eartha Kitt?

Diki, I thought about her, especially with Mo's "sex kitten" reference, but I just never thought of her as a great singer.

chas

Mo never said she was a 'great' singer...

Just that he wanted to meet her

I said she was the BEST JAZZ SINGER i have heard since ella and sarah..better by far than Diana Krall and Dianne Reeves..who are probably the best around today. At the Ct jazz fest, people hung around (like me)to catch a couple of tunes for laughs, and wound up wandering from the parking lot back into the tent, and staying thru the whole set, standing ovations, and nobody could believe that this campy celebrity could be that great..but she was...and her band blew away every other band in the festival..

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Miami Mo

The only thing WE are good at is hijacking posts .

chas

OOPS.... forgot the first post, Mo, just looked at the second before I replied. Sorry

Hi Rikki:

Let's see:

I got to meet Rosemary Clooney & Michael Feinstein at a gala party, and took a music class where I got to perform (sing) for: the late blues singer: Joe Williams. Arranger players I got to meet include: Martin Harris, Chris Halon, Phil Leader, and Chris Anthony. All talented & great guys.

Most of the legends I'd love to meet are already gone, but of those still alive who I'd love to hear play live & pick their brains include:

Elton John
Billy Joel
Brian Wilson (Beachboys)
Paul McCartney
Ray Price

Scott

I can't agree that she's the best jaz SINGER since Ella and Sarah, but I defintely think Eartha Kitt a fantastic entertainer. Interestingly enough, I actually had a accidental opportunity to meet her, of all places in a Chinese dim sum restuarant, on Broadway in San Francisco back in the 70's . I was visiting SF with my mom and dad & having dim sum and she was sitting (by herself) in an adjoining booth and asked us what dishes we recommended. She had been performing at a club (Hungry I?) across the street the night before and had dropped in for dim sum lunch. I later learned she regularly enjoyed dining at that restaurant ( Yang Sing Restaurant) when performing in SF.

Scott

[This message has been edited by Scottyee (edited 08-22-2007).]

All of the above!
Actually, I don't think I would necessarily want to have a chat and coffee with any of the mega talents mentioned. If I had my ‘druthers, I would love to see them perform again - like when they were in their prime. I would like again see Brubeck with Desmond, Brown and Morello. They were unforgettable musical experiences. And many years ago, I saw a guy named Stan Kenton with a 23 piece (pre-melaphonium) absolutely kick butt band. What an experience! Amazing arrangements, voicings, musicianship … Love to see that again. If I had the opportunity to meet Brubeck, Kenton, Peterson et al, I’m sure I’d react like Rikki – I mean - what would I say?
Ciao,
Jerry

Meeting Tony Bennett was great and he really is as nice as everyone says he is.

But my real story is meeting Peter Nero in the early 70's when I was in my early 20's. I was attending Florida State University in Tallahassee and playing 6 nights a week at the rooftop lounge of the round Holiday Inn. This was one of the nicest clubs in town. Peter was in town to play a concert. My wife went, but I had to work so I didn't go. It so happened that he was staying in the hotel, and he and his trio walked into the lounge at around 11:00 PM. He nodded to me as I was playing. During the break I went over and introduced myself to him and said something like, it's nice to finally meet you Mr. Nero. To which he replied, please call me Pete. He stayed the whole rest of the night and he the bartender and me were there until 4 in the morning. It's an evening I've never forgotten.

Well, about 5 years ago he was in town, (Baltimore), conducting the Baltimore Symphony and I went backstage to see him. I told him the story and he was a gracious as he could possibly be. He said, how have you been? Now I know he couldn't have possibly remembered that evening so long ago, but he played right along. He's an incredible pianist, conductor and all around good guy. These days he conducts the Philly Pops. You guys in Philly are really lucky.

Ciao,

Joe

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Songman55
Joe Ayala