playin' with the pros

Last night we, ze SHS Jazz Band, rehearsed with Chuck Findley. Dang, that guy can squeal! Probably because, like me, his favorite color is brown! -Well, that's how it appeared because he was wearing brown Levi's, a brown button-down shirt, and a brown jacket. And to top it off, he has brown hair, and a brown beard. Anyway, rehearsal went pretty smooth; we just worked him into all of our songs playin' a couple of solos, no sweat.

Today, however, was a new day.

While waiting backstage, listening to the Kayhi Jazz Band, I noticed Mr. Findley being very friendly. He was minglin' with all sorts (which seems quite uncommon for the pros). About 2 minutes prior to our performance, he approached Greg and asked, "So, what key is 'All of Me' in?"
Greg looked at him, baffled, and said, "Uhh... Yeah..." and began to pull out his music.
I, too, was staring in disbelief, thinking, "What? This guy is a pro. And this song is a well-known song, and he doesn't know which notes to play? Yikes."
As I leaned in a little closer, trying to decipher the key in which the song was to be played, I noticed the stale smell of booze on Mr. Findley's breath. The man was half in the bag!
Just before going on stage, he and I (personally) debated whether we should, "break a leg" or "blow a lip." (A bit of a brass player's inside joke...) He ended up playin' alright, minus his complaints of the lights being way too bright... And forgetting to play one time at the end of song... Other than that, he just smiled, blew his heart out, and enjoyed himself...