One more reminiscence (if you'll indulge me) - this time about Ella. Having grown up in Southern California in the fifties, I had a lot of chances to see Ella perform live. But the greatest was at Zardi's in Hollywood on my graduation night from high school in 1956. It was Ella's opening night of a 7-night run, and as she always did in those days in her first set on opening night (when she was about to do an impersonation of Louis Armstrong) she would say, "Is Pops here?" And as she said it, to her surprise, and ours, we heard a gravelly voice from the rear say, "Hear I am, baby!" and Louis emerged from the back. They embraced and then proceeded to sing duets for close to an hour. We were sitting less than 20 feet away. God was that good! No two jazz instrumentalists could have done more with their instruments than Ella and Louis did with their voices that night. I for one wouldn't dare try to compare Ella and Lady Day. Each was unique, each was sensational. I feel privileged to have seen and heard both of them -- experiences I will never forget.

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