Sophisticated Lady

Not long ago I asked John Noubarian to work on a cruise ship for a few months. The trip or trips were to be up and down the coast of Alaska. This was absolutely my favorite run and I was sure John would enjoy the experience. It was a cruise I had done several times before.

Normally John doesn't take these kinds of jobs, as it's a long time away from home.  I assured him that I would put together a rhythm section that he would really enjoy.  The collection of guys I put together from Toronto turned out to be very professional and John really enjoyed working with them.

On these trips we would stop off at Skagway.  It's a small town in Alaska right out of the gold mining days. There is a club (saloon) there where musicians come and jam, as this was one of the stops on the trip going north and coming back (Seward at the top end and Vancouver at the south end).  Many times we would go to this saloon and play with other musicians that were working on other Cruise Lines. We heard some great players on these occasions. Wow!

Looking back at that "tour" it was a most enjoyable gig. We played in one of the ship lounges.  However, this particular night we played in the grand foyer. The lounge was being used for some other purpose (perhaps bingo with a five thousand dollar jackpot) that evening.  This was a rare opportunity to play in another part of the ship.   Every one seemed to be in the lounge which would explain the one passenger in the foyer who sat there listening to us.

I asked John to do a solo bit by himself.  I wanted to hear him stretch out on something special without a rhythm section. It would be a pleasant departure from the standards and such we had been playing for dancers in the lounge.

John chose Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady".  Well, it was breath taking.  He sounded like he was playing on a "concert stage" in New York. His pianistic development on that beautiful Ellington composition was a real "keeper."  There was all manner of creative development on the melody in a variety of moods and the rest of the band just listened, mesmerized in awe. His rendition was really impressive.

Finally John finished "rhapsodizing" on this well-known tune and we all commented on what we had just heard.

Just then our lone spectator (from the deep south, perhaps Texas) came up to the band. We thought he would have really enjoyed this solo of John's and would have commented on John's exceptional playing. He appeared to be sitting there and listening intently and enjoying the music.

No such thing happened.  He asked, "Do you guys take requests?"  I said (waiting for the other shoe to drop) "Yes we do. What would you like to hear?"   I can't imagine what that musical request would be to top what John had just played.  He said, "Can you guys play Alley Cat?" Hmm? That tune and a few others in my estimation belong in the trash bin and are the "spam" of pop music.  This request was like asking the guy that painted the Sistine Chapel to paint your garage.

Do you ever get that feeling sometimes that you're in the wrong profession?  Well, we did play Alley Cat but in the manner of Chick Corea. I don't thing the guy was impressed.  

We noted future requests to see if this tune would be topped meaning by something worse. Yep. We got a request for "The Old Grey Mare She Ain't What She Used to Be" a few weeks later. What next?

I guess having big bucks and being able to afford an exotic cruise isn't a background for "cultural sophistication". Then again, it never was.

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