Al - that's very kind of you indeed. I remember reading Mezzrow's autobiography many years ago. A friend of mine from our London band remembers waiting outside Dobell's Record shop in Charing Cross Road for a signing when Mezzrow came to England. He was the ultimate in hip - talking black slang - and very full of himself, but great fun apparently.

I always thought that Mezzrow considered himself as a kind of 2nd-line Bechet - they even looked alike - but, in the end, Bechet had the inspiration. Still, the biog is a fascinating picture of the times.