Two times, I sang at a jazz jam session at Twain’s in Decatur, Ga., a suburb of Atlanta. Trumpeter extraordinaire, Joe Gransden led the evening, and he was nice enough to have me on stage. One time, I sang ‘It Had to Be You,’ the Harry Connick Jr version. I told the band the wrong key. Big mistake! But at the bridge, we met in the middle, and I was able to deliver a strong bridge section with, ‘Some others I’ve seen…’ I walked off to courtesy applause and vowed not to make that mistake again.
A few weeks later, I gained enough courage to go back to do another song, ‘Beyond the Sea,’ the Bobby Darin version. I approached Joe and apologised for the wrong key thing the time before. He was kind and said no big deal and I could come up and sing another song. Instead of showing disappointment in my performance, he said, ‘I liked the Harry Connick thing you did.” I didn’t even know I was doing a thing! But to be compared in any way to Harry Connick Jr., I will take it!
Carrying those positive words with me to the stage, I felt confidence. I gave the band the correct key. I spoke to the crowd just before the song began, speaking about what a great city Decatur was and how fortunate and lucky we all were to live there. I said the song, ‘Beyond the Sea,” reminded me of a girlfriend who lived overseas. With that, Joe chimed in about, ‘If’s she’s out of the country, you have a pass,” or something to that effect, which the crowd enjoyed. We then started off into the song, and it went very well. My voice was there. I remember connecting with the eyes of the people in the audience, not glazing over, but relating to them through the song. And I remember their focus on me and my performance. They were feeling it. At the end of the ‘No more sailing” section, Joe and I played well off each other, me with my voice and he with his trumpet. Following the song there was sincere, spirited and congratulatory applause.
As I shuffled to the back of the room to grab a celebratory drink, a man, probably in his 40s approached me. He reached out his hand to shake mine and said, ‘Thank you.’ I thought it would be fitting for me to say thank you for his compliment, so I said, ‘Thank you,” to which he replied, “No.” He continued and said, ‘No, thank you for singing that song. That was great.”
The instances when these kind words were said to me happened over 10 years ago, but I remember them as if they were yesterday. The memory of these interactions and others serves as such inspiration and motivation to me, even now, although years and great distance now separate me from those occasions. If you enjoy the performance of an artist, musician or performer and you can pay them a compliment, do it. You have no idea the impact it may have on their lives or their art. It is something I have done and will continue to do. I hope you do too.
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