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Well, I was just sorting through some photos and picked a CD without looking at it and put it in the CD player. Right away I recognized McCoy and then in comes Freddie. It was bringing back some strong recollections. By the time they got to Birdlike, it dawned on me how much Freddie’s solo on that track has influenced my lines. That album was made in 1962 and I was just getting my masters in sax at Indiana University, 55 years ago.

Freddie, Freddie. He never called me Jamey. Always, AEBERSOLD! The last time I saw him was at an IAJE convention in Anaheim, CA and he was signing autographs in a booth. He saw me and said something like: “Aebersold, I ain’t dead yet!”

I love jazz music AND the people.

When I was studying with Tal Farlow at his house from 1992 – 1997, he always had some of Jamey’s Play-A-Longs going when I would come over for a lesson. Sometimes he would be just listening to them as background music while he did chores silently. I think he would be soloing in his head while doing the dishes, etc. I started doing that too after I saw him do it. Then you can create lines in your head that would not be limited by one’s technical level on the instrument. After practicing with a Jamey Aebersold Play-A-Long in your head without an instrument, when you go back to playing with it on an instrument, a different place is reached and physical cliches are left behind.

A few weeks ago, on a Friday night after the NAHS football game was long over I drove into the school parking lot to ask some students who had won the game. I found three that looked to be middle school age and asked them. They told me the score and one boy, after noticing the JAZZ on my tee shirt tells the others, “Hey, that’s Jamey. He’s the one that does the no smoking program.” I told him he had good memory. He then said he saw the word JAZZ and knew it was me.