Talking again to the old man in the coffee shop. We'll call him Ed.
Coffee, Seattle sunshine (for now), and I listen to the rantings of an 80 year old trumpet player. Awesome! He tells many tall tales, some whoppers, some good ones. This time he started talking about Dizzy Gilespie (who he knew), and the amazing Cuban trumpet player, Arturo Sandoval. Check this out:
Ed said that Arturo was friends with Dizzy, who also helped Miles Davis (among others). I've heard all kinds of stories about Diz, and they're all pretty wild. He is said to have been a humanist, an incredibly warm soul. And lots of fun. Arturo had gotten permission from time to time from the Cuban government to leave and play. Ed said he went to South America alot, and many other places, too. I was suprised by this. But I guess it's true. Music is universal.
Then they were in west Germany together (Dizzy and Arturo). Arturo had thought about defecting to the United States for a long time. This time he wanted to do it for real. According to Ed, Arturo decided to go down to the American consulate and ask for asylum. The guy there on the night watch didn't respond, or even give him the time of day. Probably didn't know him, or something. But this was a very dangerous move, and Arturo was very upset that the guy didn't pay heed. He went back to the hotel, downtrodden, and told Dizzy what happened. Dizzy picked up the phone. He made a couple of calls. In a matter of minutes, he had the President of the United States on the phone. He said that it was urgent, and lo and behold! Arturo went back down there, and the guy was a bit more receptive due to the phone call. They let him in, and Arturo was allowed to become an American citizen. Amazing what a musician can do, if he puts his mind to it. I didn't ask which president it was, but it had to be better than the one we've got now ...
Ed's mind drifted off to better days ... he layed his head back and said in a dreamy manner, "Dizzy Gillespie ... the nicest man you'd ever meet."
-Todd