This photo is from a fundraising dinner for Stanford University. This was the first time I met Stan in person, and I thanked him for all that he did for me with his music. Stan gave me a huge hug, and couldn’t have been nicer to me. I sat next to him for dinner, and I mentioned some bootleg recordings I’d heard of him, and I sang the way he phrased a particular tune. He recognized it immediately, and started scatting along with me! I told him that I was also going to New York to hear him at Carnegie Hall, and he put on the guest list that let me into his dressing room to meet him before the show. I got there really early, and we got to hang all day. This was the final time he’d ever play at Carnegie Hall. It was the night before his final European tour.
I told him how I’d transcribed over 200 of his solos, and he was excited to hear that. We planned to publish them in a book, together, but he passed before it came out. Eventually, Hal Leonard published some of the solos, in three different volumes of books.

To this day, Stan is my favorite musician. I never get tired of hearing him. Actually, the older I get, the more I appreciate his melodic genius and all that he did for music. In his honor, I was married on his birthday, February 2nd. Stan will remain alive for me through his music for the rest of my life. Thank you, Stan. RIP.