It's really a pleasure to be here
And to have you here, I know that, uh
I'm a sports fan from since I was just a little, uh
A little, tiny child
And I was thinking of, uh, being a baseball player
When I was, you know, for a career
I was an excellent shortstop and a second baseman
And, uh, I, when I went to high school
I brought a sheet for my father to sign
That, uh, you know, you have to sign
To allow your son to play in the school sports
And if you, uh, if you don't have that signature, you can't do it
So he said, "You either play music or baseball'
And, uh, it was a v- really a difficult decision
And as you see, I chose music, but, uh, it would have-
Well, all I'm doing is leading up to
I'm very happy that these many people are, are here
Because, because of the game tonight, and thank you
♪
I'd like to have, uh, you meet the guys in the band
And, uh, this is the best band I think I've ever had with me
We've been to Japan, and to Europe, and different places
Excuse me! And, uh, I was thinking about, uh
Things that happened, like talking, you know
Being a ball player or something
Like when I've come out to play, like I have a lot of things
I wear a belt around my stomach, 'cause I have a ventral hernia
And then, I have edema, and I have like, uh
Teeth that are breaking off, and are like a partial in the top
The last time I did this, it fell off
I was like playing, and it was kind of a gurgling kind of a thing
So I tried to be cool and take 'em out
And I dropped 'em on the stage
So it's been like a-
So if you see any commotion or disaster, don't worry about it
But, uh, in any way, I'd like to have you meet the guys in the band
On bass, the - one of the fastest rising players I've ever seen
He was living in San Diego, California, and
I kept telling him, as did other people, you know
That he should come to Los Angeles
That he'd really have it made, and so
Going through a lot of different things
Even stopped playing for a while because of the religious thing
And, uh, the Seventh Day didn't get to him
I hope that, no, I don't - I don't know, no-no
I should say that or whatever I'm tryin' to say, uh
But in any way, the incredible bass player
And he's in a few short years become the top player in the West Coast
And maybe, even the whole half of the United States
Bob Magnusson on bass
♪
On piano, a gentleman who is from Bulgaria
He has his brother here tonight
And it was like, really, a strange thing that they
In this huge city, they found each other
And which is quite a, quite a miracle
And, uh, Bel Milcho is a, a great player
He was writing for, for movies, for, whatever
For symphonies, and, uh
One thing, he wrote a thing for
Glockenspiel, piccolo, and voblame in E-flat minor, you know
And, it was like really a go - he got a lot of money for it
But the trouble is, they never did perform it
Because they couldn't find any, anybody to play the 'cimbalom'
But in any way, he went to the United States to be free
He was free there, but he liked to be free where the jazz was happening
The Home of Jazz, Milcho Leviev on piano
♪
And my favorite drummer, a wonderful person
And he's, uh, he's the one that really makes the band sound
As I delve in Milan drums, Carl Burnett
♪
The first tune was 'Blues For Blanche'
Which I wrote for my card
She's there at the card hotel in Los Angeles
And now, I'd like to do a tune entitled 'Ophelia'