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Page of Swords & The High Priestess, vol.19-2
Now, Masato next went to apologize to Omar "Groovy" Hampton, the owner of the Jazz Club "Tiger Rag". I told you that he had given up his position as DJ of "We We It It Music" to his successor. But he continued to run "Tiger Rag". However, he was getting a little old, so he stopped drinking bourbon and other alcoholic beverages as much as he used to. When Masato went to see him, he was not drunk and looked rather healthy. At the time, he was drinking tomato juice, not bourbon! It was a pleasure for Omar "Groovy" Hampton to have a young man come to visit him! On the other hand, Masato, who was faced with the reality that he could not further develop his career in the music industry, despite the fact that Omar "Groovy" Hampton had helped him to get a job related to music, felt a strong sense of guilt towards Omar. He therefore met Omar in a dejected state. His body looked healthy, thanks to the effects of fasting. His skin tone had improved to the point where it was hard to believe that he had terminal cancer, but he stood before Omar "Groovy" Hampton looking emotionally depressed and listless.
Please forgive me.
I failed to take advantage of the opportunity you gave me.
I have squandered your goodwill.
Please, please forgive me.
But of course, Omar "Groovy" Hampton couldn't blame Masato.
Hey, Masato! Cheer up! Once you get better, I'll get you a good job again! You'll be fine. You'll get your health back for sure! I'll even feed you a nice medium rare steak!
You're a good guy! You know more about African American music than we do. You know that there were a bunch of Doo-Wop bird groups in town in the 50's. You know what Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns did in the early 60's. Solomon Burke sang here once. He sang "Cry To Me", "The Price", "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love", etc. It was the white guys, Bert Berns and Jerry Ragovoy, who made Solomon Burke top-notch. Jerry Ragovoy had Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters sing "Cry Baby" and it was a big hit.
Young African American guys don't care about that stuff, even though they live in New York. That's natural. They'll listen to Nas's great album "Illmatic," but they don't care about Cassandra Wilson's "Traveling Miles," with his father on cornet.
They say, "Who's Miles Davis?" They don't care about instruments in the first place. Calling "disrespect" "lyric" is crazy. They don't understand the lyricism of music. Apollo Theater? What is that? That's what young people say.
After saying this, Omar "Groovy" Hampton promised Masato that he would once again treat him to a very good steak in celebration when he was cured of his terminal cancer.
Make sure, make sure, make sure I treat you to the finest medium rare beefsteak. That most wonderful C. J. Raymond has passed away. On top of that, what am I going to do if you're gone too? It's too hard to live in New York without you guys. It would be wrong for you young people to pass away before me. It's absurd. Don't you die.
When Masato returned home, he was in tears as he explained to me the series of exchanges with Omar "Groovy" Hampton. His entire being was filled with gratitude for Omar "Groovy" Hampton. So, perhaps from then until now, Masato only eats beef when he is with Omar "Groovy" Hampton.
Continued story : Music Should Make Everyone Happy (3) - The Case of Karsh Kale -
©Mitsuhiro Toda@Screenwriter Group Aquariusera
