I saw him at the Hamakua Jazz Festival in Honokaa (Big Island, Hawaii) when he was just 16. We lived about 20 minutes down the coast. Man, he just blew everyone away with a Wayne Shorter tune. Even then he was very engaging with a big smile and a sort of typical teen-age social awkwardness. We had a chance to 'meet and greet' after the concert at the local 'Tex-Mex' (if you can believe that) restaurant up the road. It's a tradition at the Festival which also features the local high-school jazz band (they were terrible but we clapped anyway). Also on the ticket were David Benoit and James Moody (who was 80 at the time). I never forgot him because even in an age of prodigies, this kid was just mind-blowing. Glad to see he didn't just fade into the sunset (as some prodigies do).
chas
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"Faith means not wanting to know what is true." [Nietzsche]
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