While I was playing at Dresden Jazz Festival last month one of those precious and bizarre happenings occurred that only ever seem to happen while on tour. I thought it was worth sharing.
I was getting ready to play with the Paul Harrison band in a 2nd floor piano showrom in the centre of Dresden. The whole band was filling the lift with equipment. Our very talented and quick witted trombone player – Kevin Grenfell – volunteered to ride up in the lift to the venue, and I rushed up the stairs to help him out… the doors of the lift only opened on his side on the ground floor, so he would be barricaded in by a PA, banjo, saxophones etc. on any other floor.
Too my surprise, and our drummers amusement, when the doors of the lift opened on the second floor, in place of Kevin there was a confused 80 year old man repeatedly pressing the buttons on the wall of the lift and angrily shouting “Keller, Keller!” He had apparently wanted to go to cafe that was situated in the basement of the same building. Being somewhat impatient in nature he had disregarded Kevin’s attempts to explain the situation and, by way of insisting on being shown some kind of respect, had commandeered the lift and taken Kevin’s place.
I made a failed attempt to explain to the gentleman that I could not in all conscience let him go to the basement without first removing the trappings of a seven piece band from the lift, otherwise his journey would be fruitless as he would not have been able to exit the elevator. Henrik Holst Hansen and I emptied the lift as quickly as we could and I then shook the now very beclouded germans hand, thanked him for his time and sent him on his way to the cafe with the press of a button.
As I turned around I was met by a very perturbed looking woman, somewhat out of breath and red in the face rushing up the stairs. “wo ist mein Mann?” she enquired. Apparently Kevin had been spending the previous 10 minutes trying to explain her husbands sudden disappearance. The poor woman had just come directly from the basement where there was no sign of her better half and it took some time to convince her that it might be worth her while going back and having another look.
So .. next time you get annoyed with a band usurping the lift in a public building, give them a chance, have some patience and above all, don’t barge in and steal the lift, it may not work in your favour.
