I'm feeling a little low - been this way since Mel passed - I don't even know if I can still call the Dek-tette a dek-tette without Mel......
(Ed. Note: Marty Paich was a legendary pianist/arranger/composer/conductor who, along with Mel Tormé and the Dek-Tette, helped set the lounge music world afire and were 2nd in hipness only to the even more legendary Rat Pack who's last remaining member, Joey Bishop died earlier this week)
Marty it's great to hear from you and sort of a shocker as well because honestly, I thought you were dead. If you'd gone into hiding and had your people send out a false press release I'd certainly understand what with the court ordered castration but seriously, from what I remember of you in the steam room at Caesar's it was no great loss. Like I used to tell the guys; "Marty's balls were the only thing about him that didn't swing!!"
Anyways, your letter certainly brings back a lot of great memories. How many nights did we hit the 3rd set out of the park and then close the bar at the Monte Carlo room (I'm still waiting for you to spring for a round of martinis, you cheap bastard!) and the time trumpeter Jackie Sheldon spiked your PuPu platter with ex-lax at KonTiki's Polynesian...we all laughed so hard, well let's just say you weren't the only one who crapped your pants that night! And dear old Mel, what a lady killer eh?.....if that guy's dick was an inch less than a foot then I'm the f***ing queen of England. (Remember when I got dressed up as the queen of England and convinced the staff at the Aladdin to comp me the presidential suite for 2 nights...you were my man servant and the 3 hookers were ladies in waiting or something. What a lark!!)
BTW Marty, we all miss Mel. What a talent, what a singer, what a musician!! Lot's of people loved him but few knew his dedication to charitable causes and in particular the World Wildlife Fu
nd. Because of this (and also because of the uncanny resemblance) a recently discovered frog species was named after him posthumously.
nd. Because of this (and also because of the uncanny resemblance) a recently discovered frog species was named after him posthumously.Thanks again for keeping in touch and for letting me hang with you guys back in the day. It was heady stuff for an impressionable 10 year old boy and most of the time I didn't understand what you guys were saying or doing but I knew it was important and that one day I'd be the better for it.......I could've sworn you were dead.....
5 comments:
Yeah, I must say I was taken aback the first time I set eyes on Mel. How did a face that ugly produce a sound that sweet? Another of nature's cosmic jokes, I guess! And as for hip, he has to have been a major band geek in high school.
Dear Blobele-I read Mr. Paich's post (I too am surprised that he's still alive) with more than a little interest, since I had the misfortune to play for "The Velvet Fag" (pardon my French, but he was as queer as a three dollar bill, in spite of your memories-just ask his then oh-so-beautiful jolly-roger of a drummer) at the Montreal Jazz Festival in, I believe, '85 or '86. If I may disagree with you just this once, Blobbie; most certainly, not all of us miss Mel. To put it as simply as possible, he was the most loathsome human being I have ever played for. A beautiful voice and musical talent do not give anyone the right to behave like an unbridled arrogant asshole, under any circumstances. It seems to me that even a minimal amount of artistic ability should make a person a better human being-to be able to create beauty (a very rare gift) should (hopefully) make anyone a more thoughtful, more perceptive person. The preening, egotistical, sneering, snarling shit-head masquerading as a sensitive artist on that day was an embarassment to musicians everywhere. To end on a happier note; he is dead!!!
He always said nice things about you...
BTW,
As a jazz singer he couldn't touch Jon Hendricks, who had about on 11th the career that ol' Mel had.
But I bet he WISHED he could've touched Jon Hendricks!
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