No One Asked My Opinion, But….
Man Knows Not His Time:
Musicians to see before it’s too late

By George W. Harris

Yes, I know that it’s a morbid topic, but the fact is that I’ve been perennially haunted by the fact that I never saw Ella Fitzgerald perform in concert, even though I could have seen her a dozen times. I always thought, “Oh, she’s not going anywhere; I’ll see her next time.” And then, before you can say Ray Brown, she left me in the lurch. I made it a point to see some people on what ended up being their last tour to California, such as: Benny Goodman, Earl Hines, Benny Carter, Bob Cooper, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Tommy Flanagan, Eddie Harris, Teddy Wilson, and Lionel Hampton. All I’m trying to tell you is that these below listed musicians are not going to out live Methuselah, so you’d better make sure you find them if they still show up within 100 miles of your home town.

1) Ahmad Jamal
2) Bobby Hutcherson
3) Buddy DeFranco
4) Marian McPartland
5) Gary Bartz
6) Sonny Fortune
7) McCoy Tyner
8) Howard Johnson
9) Jimmy Cobb
10) Roger Kellaway
11) Lew Tabackin
12) Phil Woods
13) Randy Weston
14) Sonny Rollins

Obviously, there are tons of other great artists out there, but you don’t want to live a life of musical regret. Happy Hunting!