9/11 Anniversary a time to reflect
Being in New York City on the fifth anniversary of 9/11 is a very sobering experience. All morning I listened to the reading the names of the people who died in the Twin Towers. It was a day that changed the world forever.Musician, arranger, and producer Jimmy Vivino was my first New York interview.
He’s the guitarist for the Max Weinberg Seven, the house band for “Late Night With Conan O’Brien”. He played with Johnnie Johnson on numerous occasions and produced and performed on JJ’s cd “Johnnie Be Back”. Vivino cited Johnnie’s ability to compliment whoever he played with. “Johnnie can play around the lead vocal or the lead guitar or whatever is going on. It’s what he does. The spots he finds, it’s like a pitcher that finids that corner of the plate. He’s not just throwing it down the middle. He finds the corner and gets your attention right away. It’s something I’m afraid I’lll never experience again with another piano player.”Since tennis is one of my passions, yesterday was a very good day. I attended the men’s singles final at the U.S. Open at the newly named USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center. The match between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick was mostly a who’s-your-daddy-beatdown by Federer. It was so fitting that Federer invited Tiger Woods to the finals; two guys who have a chance to become the best ever at their respective sports. One of the coolest things was courtside celebrity sitings: Michael J. Fox, Seal, Ben Stiller, Ashford and Simpson, Donald Trump, Brian Williams, Greg Norman, Rosie Perez, Jim Carrey, and Jimmy Fallon were among the celebs who watched Federer dismantle Roddick and claim his 9th major singles title, five away from the record 14 won by Pete Sampras. Good stuff! Art HollidayDirector, JOHNNIE BE GOOD
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