One of the most wonderful evenings of my life was spent in Abravanel Hall at Christmas. If I remember correctly Craig and I were able to obtain tickets to see Mel Torme in December of 1995. We were young and broke and the tickets were kind of expensive for us, but it was worth every penny. The hall was packed with fans of every age all there to see a legend perform. His performance was electric and his voice was crystal clear and better than ever that night. His drum solo was amazing.
During the evening, he made the comment that real music appeals to everyone and lives forever. It is interesting now to see artists like Rod Stewart and others making albums that rely on the appeal of old standards.
On August 8, of 1996, just about 8 and a half months later, the great Velvet Fog suffered a stroke that ended his career. Now, I would pay 20 times the amount of the first ticket to see him in concert again. There are so many things that I have put off doing until I could more easily afford them, and I believe there is great wisdom in that, but just that one time I'm so glad I didn't wait. What a night, what a sound... Mel, we're still listening.
No comments:
Post a Comment