"Tonight...It gives me great pleasure to introduce two friendly rivals of mine who will be sitting in with my band tonight....On Trombone...Show your love for Mr. Bone Hampton everybody." said Symphony Sam...which was followed by waves and waves of applause....
"And then a guy who's name I don't have to mention....He needs no introduction...yall know him...My good friend, Mr. Reeeeeeeeeedddd NELSON!!! Show your love, show your love!" he continued...
I came up on the stage to even more raucous cheering....I have to give it to Symphony Sam....He can sometimes be somewhat of a hack....but he really knows how to bring a performer out to the stage....Me? My name is Reed Nelson...I play trumpet!
"Okay fellas...Take 5 baby." said Symphony Sam and his band began playing a new number of his... It was called -"Kinda Cool"...I hated to admit this...but I actually liked it... He had written a little part in it just for Bone and me.. and we blended in well....Playing not only together , but playing off of each other...soloing and all...
The crowd at Josie's loved it...and we had a packed house tonight...and it wasn't even Friday night...It was a Wednesday...but tonight was "Seafood Blast" night as Gus called it... Crabs, Lobster, Mussells, Shrimp and all the beer you could drink, plus this concert....The place was packed....standing room only...It took an hour to get a beer.....
Gus , the head bartender and owner of Josie's was loving it...He was raking in the dough tonight...I could tell by the smile on his face and the way he was snapping his fingers and clapping his hands to the beat of the music...
Bone and I were pitching a bitch tonight and the crowd loved it... Symphony Sam signaled to us to keep it going and we did!
My new wife, Debbie sat in the audience smiling from ear to ear...Her sister, Delores and her boyfriend, who also played Trumpet , Downtown Rob Brown also sat in the audience....My former keyboardist, who still sat in with me sometimes, Kerry "88" Moore and his new wife, Mabel Jenkins, fresh from their honeymoon was also in the audience taking in our show...It was my hope that I could get 88 back with the band for our next tour...
When we finished our number the crowd went wild...Gave us a standing ovation..........I was drenched with sweat, I looked over at 'Bone'...He smiled...He was drenched too.
II-
"Reed...that was fun..." said Bone Hampton...
"It was.." I said....Debbie walked over to me, kissed my sweaty cheek and said-
"Wow, yall two was something else.."
"Indeed." I said.
"Reed, maybe we ought to put something together...You know, we could do a recording and maybe a tour together." said Bone Hampton...
"Yeah...I was thinking the same thing." came the voice of our mutual producer,Meek Rollins...
''OHHHHHHHHH." said Bone Hampton.
"Look who's here?" said Debbie...
"Hey newlyweds.." he laughed..
"How did you know we'd be playing with Symphony Sam?" I asked him...
"I didn't...But I like what I heard and I think an album with you two on it is a great idea...." he said.
"Well Meek, who did you come to see?" asked my wife, Debbie...
He pointed to a beautiful woman headed towards the stage-
"Her" he said.
Bone Hampton's eyes fell out of his head...
"Ohhhh lorddd." he said.
III-
"Her" was a new singer named Ella Washington....nicknamed "Satin's Doll" She was the headliner tonight...I had heard about her, but I was so caught up in playing along side my man Bone Hampton that I forgot that we were the opening act.
"Ladies and Gentlemen...Be sure to tip your bartenders and be good to your waitresses...." said Symphony Sam.
"I'll drink to that!" yelled Gus, followed by raucous laughter......
"I'd like to present the headliner......an up and coming young singer, who has a bright future ahead of her...Put ya hands together for Ella "Satin's Doll" Washington....yallllll." he said as the crowd went wild!!!!!!
She was cute...Had a nice body, curves in all the right places...but very petite still... She walked slowly to the stage...For a split second, I could swear it was with a limp....
She smiled...I looked close and it almost looked like she had a black eye....Make up can't cover up everything.
Debbie and Delores caught it...They gasped!
Then Ella opened her mouth and began to sing and we forgot all about that...She sounded like an angel....She took everybody's attention away from her, away from our earthly concerns for a moment and for the next 45 minutes we were caught up in her voice and her songs....Symphony Sam's orchestra backed her up beautifully, but I was already thinking up songs and arrangements my quintet could play behind her that would make her sound even better...
Bone Hampton was enraptured !!! I don't think in his case it was the music or her voice...I think he was enraptured by her!!! I couldn't blame him...She had a sexy little figure and a tight ,revealing little cocktail dress that had more than one man drooling in his seat.
After her set...Several people congratulated her...Bone Hampton brought a drink over to her....
She smiled....He smiled....She took the drink...
"Wow...How did you know what I drink?" she asked...
"A woman of your sensuality and obvious good tastes would obviously drink something smooth like this." he answered....
Gus, Meek Rollins and I all gave him the side eye and then hung our heads down so neither of them would see us laughing....The truth was...Bone Hampton asked Gus and Honey Brown what she had been drinking most of the night ,while she was still doing her set...The line was so lame that even my wife, Debbie gave him the side eye...
"You're a very observant man." she said softly...
"I am....It helps me feel my music..." said Bone...
"I'd like to talk to you some more....About music." she said.
"Perhaps someplace quiet , where we could have a glass of wine and-" said Bone Hampton.
"FORGET IT PLAYBOY....IT AINT GONNA HAPPEN...THE LADY IS WITH ME!" came a voice belonging to Silk E. Smooth....real name, Arthur Ronald Strunk...a low level playa who dealt weed on the side and sometimes provided muscle for whichever Major playa was running the show in the area...A nobody who wore flashy clothes , had a little bit of jewelry and a 2011 BMW which he took off of a playa that owed somebody some money and who got himself killed...The car was supposedly a gift from whoever to him for helping set up the hit.
Bone Hampton looked up...
"Excuse me?" he said glaring at Silk.
"You excused boss....This is my lady or didn't she tell you?" he snapped.
Ella said nothing, She glared forward into space...
Silk spun around and looked at her...
"You didn't did you?" he said and slapped her hard!
People spun around in shock....But Ella cold cocked Silk and sent him flying.!!!!!!
He got up off the ground holding his bleeding lip.....
"Ohhhhhh...Ohhhhhh, you gone front on me like that huh....??" he said...
Before he could do anything else, he felt the barrel of a riot pump shotgun in the crease of his neck...He turned around to see Gus , with his finger on the trigger staring daggers at him....
"I'm not gone HAVE that mess in here...Silk...She's at least workin in here....You on the other hand aint even bought a drink...GET TA STEPPIN before I split your wig for ya." said Gus.
"Alright...cool...I'm out....I'll see you around babe...I'm gone see you." he said...still holding his lips...and Gus..one of these days, you gone be sorry for disrespectin me....I'm a connected man..." he said.
"Somebody is still talkin, but I don't see nobody...Let's see ....what happens if I shoot towards this mystery sound." said Gus...
Silk E. Smooth leaped up and ran out the door.....
Bone Hampton looked at Ella...
"I'll give you a ride home." he said softly....
"No that's okay....I have my own car....but thank you anyway..." she said.
"Is he really your man?" asked Bone..
"Kinda sorta." she said.
Bone touched her face softly..she winced...
"He do this to you?" he asked.
" He gets crazy sometimes...He's not always like that...Don't worry about it." she said and was getting ready to walk off...
"Can I see you again?" he asked.
"Maybe." she said.
"Where do you live ? What's your number?" he asked.
"Give me yours...I'll call you." she said.
Meek Rollins looked at me....
"Reed, Bone don't know what he gettin into....Talk to him babe." he said.
Yes...I could see that I might have to.
(To Be Continued....)
2 comments:
Love it...A bit of a difference from the mysteries..I love the musicians!
Reed better talk to Bone...Looks like he's headed for big trouble.
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