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THE BERNARDS-RIDGE CONNECTION
FEB/MARCH 2018
The ECTory www.connectory.theconnectionsnj.com Scan Here to Visit BE SEEN ON Recently, one of the guys on my team recommended that we have one of his former associates, Paul, give us some help. I did a quick linkedin look- up on Paul and noticed that he attend- ed the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston for many years, acquiring two degrees in jazz. I won- dered if he studied under Fred Hersch, my childhood friend, a world class jazz musician, and an instructor at the Conservatory. I checked with Fred. They did not overlap but our conversation reminded me of a connection about 15 years ago. Back then, there was jazz radio sta- tion in New York City, which became a sports talk station, WFAN. Until then, it branded itself as a smooth jazz sta- tion, CD101.9. Periodically, CD101.9 would run promotions where listeners called into to win a spot to meet a prominent musician. One morning I was driving to work in Parsippany, when the station announced that the 10th caller would win a ticket to meet saxophonist David Sandborn. I just happened to be at a stop light, dialed the number of the station on my car phone, which back then was literally bolted to the center console. I was the correct caller. A couple days later I received the details for the event. The excitement of meeting David Sandborn was quickly dampened when I arrived at the meeting place, a bar on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. We were asked to pay for our own drinks while we waited an hour and a half for Mr. Sandborn to arrive. After waiting almost 90 minutes, we were told that we should get in line so each of us could get an autograph. I’m not a big autograph seeker and simply wanted to meet the artist and talk for a minute or two (i.e., to make a connection, as my readers might expect from me). When I clarified with one of the event organizers, I was told I had to get an autograph. The woman ahead of me in the line, heard my interaction and turned to the organizer and said, “No problem, he is with me and I am getting an autograph.” That satis- fied the organizer so off he went. I thanked my new best friend and we chatted for a couple minutes before we arrived at the front of the line. She got an autograph and I asked David Sanborn if he knew Fred Hersch. His response was along the lines of, “Of course, we played some venues together many years ago.” We contin- ued talking for no more than a minute as there was still a substantial line behind us. As I walked away with the woman who so graciously let me join her, she said to me, “Small world, my husband used to be Fred’s drummer.” ANOTHER JAZZY ONE By: Dan Rosenberg www.theconnectionsnj.com