Whatever happened
to her brother?
On drugs for years.
The Grim Reaper’s scythe
delivered a mighty blow.
Only fifty. It seems
so young to me now.
I was with my first wife at a club in Manhattan called Sweet Basil
You were singing there with a jazz trio, as I recall
Your drummer was Clarence, a player I had hired for a few gigs
You probably paid him better.
I had been a Lambert/Hendrix/Ross fan for about seven years
You all were billed as “The Hottest New Group in Jazz”
You sang a rapid-fire vocalese in the song “Cloudburst”
You scatted on other tunes.
Either before you started or during a break, you sat close to us and asked, “Are you brother and sister?”
Nobody had ever asked us that, but I’m sure you had your reasons
You must have sensed something
I wonder if you would have asked that if I had actually been there with my sister (a jazz singer)?
I told you to make Clarence work for his paycheck
It was a joke, because we both knew Clarence would hold down the fort.
During your show, you brought up your wife (not your sister), your daughter and Bobby McFerrin
What a treat.
