Thread: 35 years..
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Old 03-28-2014, 11:21 PM
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Ken Smith Ken Smith is offline
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Join Date: 01-18-2007
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gerry Grable View Post
I worked the Ali Baba several times with Bobby Cole. If you recall, you did me a favor by doing a last minute sub for me with Bobby on May 14, 1977 at the "Prive", for $50! Big bucks My car broke down in the Poconos. I don't even remember the club. (I got the above info from one of my gig logs.) The drummer was Pete LoPinto, very unorthodox but one of my favorites. Under-rated and unknown. Chet Baker liked him, too.
I got to know Errol Garner pretty well when I worked at Jilly's. Great guy! I used to have a beer with him every time he came in for a steak. He always sat with the players rather than the celebrities. Kind of scary having him at the piano bar at my left elbow while we played. The last time I saw him, he had just flown in from somewhere and he said he was tired of the road and was going to settle at his place in Connecticut. A week or two later he died. He once offered Lou Berryman, the great bassist that was playing with Joe Patrone ( we played opposite, I was with Reg Wilson, 30 minutes on 30 minutes off) the gig with him. He had had an argument with his steady bassist and fired him. Lou was excited, but alas, they made up and the gig fell through.
The El Morroco was a restaurant down town. Very swanky! Tony Monte was the piano player. I don't recall a Zorro's, but Rodney Dangerfield's was just up the avenue from Ali Baba, practically under the 59th Street bridge.
El Zorro's was connected thru the basement to the Ali Baba and was the same owner, Mike Hatgis, 59th and 1st Ave. Dangerfields was north a few blocks past the bridge on the same side of the street. When I worked there in the Summer of '69, we would go down stairs past the Billiard sized Pool table and walk underground and up thru the Kitchen next door and get dinner from El Zorro's. The Gig I did in 1975 and 1978 WAS with Bobby Cole there at the Ali Baba as well. Pete was on Drums both times there. I don't remember the sub with Bobby in 1977. Maybe, but it escapes my memory.
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