Who Did You See?
Dexter Gordon in the ’70s. When he played the Vanguard, I would go every night.
This will be fun (for me, at least). It’s a new thing: Who Did I See? And the flip side: Who Did I Not See? I’m 68, born in 1953. I got into jazz at age 17 in 1970. I’ve told that story: Song for My Father. I was born too late to have seen Bird or Fats or Clifford or Pres or Billie or Art Tatum. I grew up in New York and have spent most of my life in New York. When I was a kid, my dad used to drag us to afternoon jazz shows in Manhattan. There was an organization called Jazz Interactions and they used to do Sunday concerts at the Village Gate and other venues. I remember going to the Five Spot on St. Marks as a kid. So I have two lists of Who Did I See. One is Who Did I See before I had any appreciation for who I was seeing. The second list is Who Did I See after I got into jazz and was making my own decisions and spending my own money. BTW, this is jazz only. I did see Cream and I did not see Hendrix, but that’s another list and another web site. These lists are not complete. I don’t remember every drummer or bass player or pianist. I don’t remember everyone I saw. It’s just a list of highlights off the top of my head. The nice thing about Jazz Collector is I can add to, subtract from or amend in my own time and at my own discretion. Here goes: Read more