at Smalls Jazz Club:
w/ Dave Holland (left) at Birdland:
Kimiko spoke real good English:
Osaka, Japan (population roughly 3 million people):
I really wanted to talk with those girls, but I couldn’t. They spoke Japanese and I only know English. (Stupid American who doesn’t speak languages!). Aside from their names, I learned they were from Osaka, Japan in town for a fashion seminar. They were gonna be here eight days (of which two had already passed); and they wanted to see more music before they left.
To ascertain that information took over an hour; so either I’m a terrible investigator or those chicks spoke no english.
As my night ended, Nyoko produced a little booklet of a type I recognized. A club guide. She laid the glossy magazine open on the bar, playfully grabbed my hand, then guided my index finger across several of the ads. She wanted a recommendation.
I inspected the guide, but already knew the best show of the week was Dave Holland at Birdland. I turned the page and located Birdland’s logo.
“Here,” I said as I tapped the ad, “Dave Holland at Birdland.”
“Dave Holland?” she asked as she inspected his name printed in the guide. She read it aloud to herself, sounding out the letters. H-O-L-L-A-N-D.
“Definitely, “ I said. “I’m going to that for sure.” Here I tapped my chest.
“You?” Nyoko asked me.
I nodded.
“Definitely. Saturday night at Birdland. Dave Holland.”
Nyoko turned excitedly to Aiko. They spoke together in Japanese, but Aiko continued to smile in my direction.
I don’t recall much after that. Not about that night anyway. We couldn’t talk and they had their seminar. I never assumed there’d be any real story with those girls. Just the situation of that one night.
But there was a story. A real arc in fact. Saturday night came around; I went to see Dave Holland. Stood in line outside of Birdland and began to slowly shuffle in when who should approach with warm smiles but Nyoko, Aiko, and now a third girl. Kimiko. A mature woman probably as old as me. Rail thin, with jet black hair that she still wore long.
Kimiko was from the Fashion Institute--or whoever sponsored the seminar (it was a seminar at the Fashion Institute). She spoke good english, so now the girls and I could actually talk.
“You came!” I said with a laugh.
Hugs were exchanged, but before we could get settled I’d reached the door. I have a very specific table where I like to sit at Birdland and the show was sold out; so I was eager to snag it.
“Come on in with me,” I told the women, “we’ll sit together.”
Once inside, the hostess led us to my table. I sat next to Kimiko; while Aiko and Nyoko sat next to each other on their side. I asked a few desultory questions about their trip; but after a few minutes the girls began to look ‘round the room somewhat curiously. Nervously. Sort of like my dog Spiffy 'round dinner time when no one makes a move towards her dish.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
Kimiko proceeded to translate my words, at which point the girls simultaneously answered. Their eyes shifted between Kimiko and me with a sort-of pensiveness.
“What?” I asked Kimiko.
“I think they thought you were going to be playing tonight. You know,...in the band. That’s what they’d told me.”
“What?!” I said with a loud laugh. “You mean they thought I was Dave Holland?”
Kimoko shook her her head and re-conferred with the girls.
“...Maybe not Dave Holland; but...you know. They thought you play in the band. That’s what they told me before we came. They say you told them that.”
Hmmm. This was strange news. I was somewhat shocked to silence. The women looked at me with disappointed faces and seemed to gauge my reaction. After a few moments I felt obligated to speak.
“...I don’t play for Dave Holland,” I answered.
Kimoko didn’t even bother to translate.
“We’ve figured that out now,” she said.
* NOTE: Due to the the length of this post I'm going to have to split it into another part. I'll work on Part 4 this week, but I'm gonna see Jeff Beck tonight--so my recovery time may be a day or so. Thanks for reading!!
** ADD'L. NOTE: Only pics # 2 and # 3 from the top are mine (all rights reserved--ha!). The rest may have their own copyrights.
