Wags wrote:
I've seen him perform a few times but my favorite was when he played solo piano at a private school near Portland, Ore., called Caitlin Gable School. This was in the 80's as I recall. It was some sort of benefit. Near the end of his first set he stopped and asked a young student to come up on stage so he could paint a musical portrait of her, then he proceeded to improvise his impressions of her on the piano. It was all very engaging. He called up a couple more students until finally a young student turned the tables on him and asked if he could do the same for Chick. Of course he was happy to let him. The young man did a credible improv and you could see it was an experience that he would never forget. I never got to meet him but since then I always had the impression that he was a genuine warmhearted person.