“Stay With Us”

By Miroslav Vitous

At Lenny's On The Turnpike I played with Cannonball Adderley. He wanted me to come on tour with his band. It was not possible because I did not have a green card so I couldn't travel. Coming from a communist country if I left the United States I would not be allowed to reenter. I had previously played with Cannonball in Vienna in 1966.

At that time I met Walter Booker who turned into a very good friend. When I had a bass - which I sold to him - I asked him, "can I stay with you in New York?"

He said, "c'mon over stay with us." I took a bus with my bass, suitcase and twenty dollars in my pocket and went to New York. I wouldn't do that today but I did it then. It was destiny.

Walter was a very social musician and he always had a lot of musicians at his house. I met Mickey Roker over there; all the horn players all the drummers. I started to sub for Walter on gigs he could not make.

He had a piano and a set of drums so he used to host jam sessions all the time. I was playing jam sessions with @chickcorea and Jack DeJohnette. That jam session was how I got to play on Now He Sings, Now He Sobs.