h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

You know, one of the things that, in my mind, seperates jazz from other fields of music is the many varied relationships that can arise between the performers. There's not a single jazz musician who can say that he or she has met everyone, and yet it's also true that not a single one of them is impossible to approach by other artists. As such, it's not uncommon to hear of drummers who've played under lots of great names, and great names who go into amateur nights to play with the up and coming stars.

Before going on: yes, I know that it DOES happen in other styles of music, it's just more common here. Dizzie Gillespie and Arturo Sandoval are very different musicians, yet they've forged such relationships, etc.

Lorrayne "Sugar" Banghart was one of the only jazz artists who felt very professional that I was able to perform with semi-regularly. I used to play my sax with a university jazz band at a little restaurant/bar called "Goodfellas", which I believe is now called "Martinis". We would play, and if "Sug" was in town, she'd come up and sing. I can still remember how she would sing "Ja Da" or "Bill Bailey Won't You Please Come Home."

She passed away in August, and I just found out....

Later, Sug. Next time I meet a musician that you've met, oh the stories we'll tell.