Rats! Swinigin’ with Gillespie! Double book?! Was this a plot? This appeared to be a sinister foil near the eleventh hour to my nearly perfectly orchestrated plan. Nah! We can let our imaginations run wild with conspiracy theories when something doesn’t go our way. However, there is often a silver lining hidden deep in that cloud somewhere.
To be completely honest, my biggest disappointment to our exciting entrée on Saturday August 17 for Rad Jet’s (my band) inaugural NYC performance at House Fest – Governors Island’s largest annual outdoor festival – was I had planned the perfect perfunctory introductory comment for our precocious drummer: “On drums, here you go! Here’s someone who wants you to know, ‘No, I’m not related to that guy with the big puffy cheeks!’”
Mind you, proud as hell was I for landing him to play on our gig – I had gained the services of Jerome Gillespie, a fabulous in-demand and seasoned drummer who plays with jazz up-and-comers and luminaries around the country and NYC Jazz circuit, and for two weeks he was securely (ahem!) booked and confirmed on my Rad Jet gig.
Then on Aug. 5, the gauntlet came crashing down. Gillespie called me to let me know he made a terrible mistake. He was somewhat embarrassed. He told me he previously double booked himself to play in a restaurant near Juilliard where he stores his drum kit, about the same time we would be playing but forgot to write it in his calendar. He couldn’t get out of it, as the restaurant client advertised the event.
The Silver Lining in the Cloud
Hurry! Now totally drummer-less and with the gig approaching I needed to act fast. But suddenly I had even bigger problems. Four excellent Taiwanese singers from the AMDA Choir were joining my band during the latter part of the performance. They were to accompany me during my insane yet noble attempt to phonetically sing in Taiwanese – a difficult language I do not speak a word of – the important and historic anthem for the 10th Anniversary of the Sunflower Movement Island’s Sunrise by FireEX.
Now adding to all the stress, Governors Island just told our client (The Taiwanese American Arts Council) that they couldn’t deliver four additional mic stands and the microphones we needed to Rad Jet’s stage area as they originally promised. That’s when it occurred to me we were now short four mic stands and two mics. And the client told me they did not have extra budget to rent them.
My First Drummer Search
After umpteen calls and no luck, I have to admit I was getting quite discouraged. A few close calls. One was my old drummer who I played with for years, he initially told me “yes,” but when reality sank in that this gig was on Governors Island (a logistical load-in nightmare for a drummer), within hours he called me back and bailed.
Another drummer showed promise, but he lived in an inaccessible area of Brooklyn and didn’t have a vehicle. What he did have was a bad back and needed help loading his equipment into an Uber. So much for this drummer search. I definitely needed to take a break and regroup.
Gillespie Swinging with Williams at Mezzrow!
This title could’ve been on a Village Vanguard marquee in 1963. Still lacking a drummer, two days later while walking up Seventh Avenue I happened to see a sign showing that Jerome Gillespie was playing a late night haunt with pianist Wilfie Williams on Aug. 7 down at one of my favorite jazz spots, Mezzrow on W. 10th Street in the West Village.
Wilfie is a great jazz pianist and composer, fueled by Gillespie’s drumming. I knew this definitely could be a promising show to check out. There is a special excitement as you spiral and descend down to Mezzrow’s dark underground space – a narrow old stone staircase below an overarching stoop. It quickly gets dark, and soon you are in hallowed ground. As you enter the space, there are candles lighting the vestibule area.
Once I settled in, within five minutes, I was not disappointed. These cats were laying down some serious swing! And when they weren’t swinging, Wilfie’s winding pianistic journeys framed by Gillespie’s highly syncopated grooves were both beautiful and introspective to listen to and watch. I stayed for the entire first set, chatted with Jerome a bit during the break, and then “jetted” home.
A Happy Ending – but Rain?
The next day, success! Down to the last three calls, we found our drummer. But it turned out to be so much a better deal than that! Brennen offered up his own studio for the band to rehearse for free. However you are not going to believe the final capper. Remember those missing mic stands and microphones I needed?
Well, Brennen had all the missing pieces, and even offered to bring them to the gig! We hit the Jackpot! This convinced me there are no such things as accidents in life. But was there rain, as they stated there was a 70 percent chance in the forecast? We dodged a bullet there too – no rain!
On Saturday Aug. 17 with a full line of equipment, Rad Jet absolutely rocked Governors Island House Fest 2024! And for the last song, I got it together and sang Island Sunrise in Taiwanese accompanied by the AMDA Choir. And the Taiwanese in the audience all thought I did a good job.
Swingin’ with Gillespie at Mezzrow to Rockin’ with Rad Jet on Governors Island