How hip was Buddy Rich?

[Brent Hahn]

Originally Posted by bsman

... (professional musicians as a class are not noted for their humbleness and lack of arrogance...)

I've been around pro, working musicians my entire adult life, both famous and not, and I've found that the jerks are far and away the minority. Same goes for actors. No matter what you may have thought you learned from the internet or People Magazine.

[Deliberate1]

In pre-Covid days I played lead tenor for many years in an 18 piece big band. Next to me was an alto player who was in his early 90’s. He had a prodigious memory and was generous with his stories which were well-honed - especially of his WWII days in an Army jazz band on the East coast. His descriptions of blacked out windows near his base in NY brought home the reality of The War on our doorstep. But the best story he told was a conversation between two musicians back in the day:
Musician #1: I got some good news and some bad news.
Musician #2: So give me the good news.
Musician #1: Buddy Rich died.
Musician #2: So what’s the bad news.
Musician #1: He died in his sleep.

David