A couple of old friends came over last weekend who used to play with me in a band many moons ago. We reminisced about the good old days when we practiced in our basements and garages and played gigs at sleazy bars and clubs.
One of us passed on a few years ago and we tried to remember all we could about him. He played for some really good bands back in the 60s, mostly as a studio musician, but he had a substance abuse problem that contributed to his early demise. Man, could he play the drums.
We were all jazz musicians primarily (we thought), although one of us got the boogey woogie fever and started playing R&B and rock. We all had other occupations that fed us. Except for the drummer who passed away, none of us would have made it big enough to feed our families.
After we had a good deal to drink and were feeling no pain, the topic turned to what music most influenced us and we asked each other to name the ten most influential pieces of music that effected each us. I was just curious what music some of you are influenced most by. Mine were the following:
Beethoven 7th
Chopin
Louis Armstrong
Dizzy Gillespie & Charlie Parker A Night In Tunisia
Thelonius Monk Ruby My Dear
John Coltrane Afro Blue
Sam Cooke
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
Jimi Hendrix
Sarah Vaughan