Bass Loopers: In Memory of Kim Marshall

["Rick Walker/Loop.pooL" <GLOBAL@cruzio.com>]

Thanks so much for that historical perspective, Kim. It seems like the 
world
is a little colder without Fred's presence.

    I saw him play when I was a teenager on a summer vacation with my
parents (that I was not too thrilled to be on).
I must have been about 15 years old and we stopped at a lonely, but
beautiful and classy, A frame restaurant in a narrow mountain valley quite 
a
ways away from Aspen, Colorado.   We were famished and it was just getting
dark.  We walked into the restaurant and there was a piano, a drum set and
and acoustic upright laying there.    We ordered our meal and who should
walk out , but Vince Guaraldi, Fred and whoever the drummer was at the 
time.
It blew my mind!!!!!   There was NOONE in this little out of the way
restaurant but my family and these famous people played as if there was no
tomorrow.

    It had a huge impact on my musicality to see these musicians playing
from the depths of their hearts without a large audience.

    I once did a fantastic gig where there was a drunk passed out at a
table, a cocktail waitress and a bartender.
The quartet that I played with just kicked out the jams...........truly one
of the best gigs I ever did.
When I was done with the fourth set (!!) I went over to the waitress and
said, "I'm so sorry that noone came in tonight.  I know that you make most
of your income off of tips and we didn't really help with that."

    She replied, "Nonsense,   the bartender let me off during the first 
set.
You guys are so fantastic, i stayed until now to see everything you 
played."

    Man, it just doesn't get better than that in the musical world, if you
ask me.

    Here's to Fred Marshall's memory and to the memory of all the great
musicians who have passed on and who gave their hearts and creativity just
because they loved to play.


yours, gratefully,  Rick