Saved By Luther Allison

Several months have passed, but I can still hear the excitement in Cap’s voice as he broke the big news.

Sarah Hanahan is coming to the Jazz Showcase–playing with Joe Farnsworth’s band. Are you in?

Am I in? Is the Pope from Dolton? Of course, I’m in.

Okay–some explanation…

Cap is my dear friend Keith Porter, who's without a doubt the wisest man I know, when it comes to jazz. As such, he’s my jazz guru.

He learned from his parents–may they rest in peace–who were playing the greats on the living room stereo from the time Cap was born.

Sarah Hanahan is a young sax player out of New York City.

It was Deb–Cap’s wife–who brought Sarah to our attention. Deb heard Sarah being interviewed on Christian McBride’s radio show. She told Cap about her. Cap told me. We took a listen. And we’ve been Sarah Hanahan fans ever since.

That’s the way it is with Cap and jazz. He knows what he likes and, conversely, what he doesn’t like. If your music has swing, melody, rhythm, funk or blues, you win his seal of approval. If it doesn’t, well, he's old school. No fake praise. He'll walk out the door. 

No lie. I’ve seen him do it. We were at a concert where he put on his jacket and walked into the lobby. I’ll spare the names of the performer to avoid embarrassment.

Anyway…

We buy our tickets, head to the Showcase, take our seats near the front row and onto the stage comes Farnsworth and the band. But no Sarah Hanahan in sight.

I look at Cap and he looks at me as if to say–WTF!

Deb asks: “Benny, where’s Sarah?"

Like I’m supposed to know everything.

Luther Allison won the much coveted Cap Porter seal of approval...

The band starts a song that’s doing nothing for us. Uh-oh. I see Cap’s restless--moments away from walking out that door. I’m thinking…

If he walks, what do I do? On the one hand, I wanna give the band a chance. On the other–Cap’s my ride home!

And then, right on time, attention turns to the piano player, this tall, lanky kid who looks like he’s 20. And he hits a chord that pops up off those keys like it was played by Oscar Peterson.

Which is appropriate cause he's playing Hymn To Freedom, Oscar Peterson’s great tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr.

And it’s just about the prettiest thing I’ve heard all year.

From there the band moves into John Coltrane’s Dear Lord. And now there’s no more talk of walking out. Just one great song after another, with the piano player taking charge.

When the concert ends, we’re on our feet–a standing ovation. And we’re as giddy as fans waiting by the exit of a Justin Bieber concert, as we introduce ourselves to the piano player.

His name is Luther Allison–not to be confused with the blues guitarist of the same name.

We’re shaking his hand. Patting his back. Posing for pictures. Telling him he's great. Promising to see him whenever he’s in town. Buying his CD. Got it playing right now–his version of Stevie Wonder’s Knocks Me Off My Feet will do just that.

Never did find out why Sarah Hanahan wasn’t on stage. No matter–our story has a happy ending. 

But, Sarah, if you’re reading this. Don’t be a stranger. Come to Chicago. We’ll be in the front row.