Hi Brian:

Great to see you in print. You brought up a couple of nice memories for me.

1. Like you, I listened devotedly to Harry Abraham's WHAM 12-5 am radio show from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s. I heard a lot of hip music there. Decades later, I contacted him, and on a weekend trip to Philadelphia (where he then lived), my wife and I met him for the first time and we went to a Chinese place for dim sum. His later life, shall we say, had its ups and downs.

2. The first time I heard John Hicks live was in the late 1960s with Woody Herman's big band, which at that time also included Sal Nistico and Bill Chase. Even then, early in his career, John was quietly spectacular. How many pianists could have been equally effective with both Woody Herman and Pharaoh Sanders?

Keep on keepin' on,

Bill