Memorable Meetings: Cedar Walton

I’ll never forget the first time I met Cedar Walton: it was a late night at the Vanguard and I came straight from studying at the NYU library to hear him - with my big book bag full of books in tow.

After his beautiful set, I went to use the restroom on my way out and it just so happened that the two of us were the only ones in the bathroom. I was nervous to say anything to him but as we both were standing around washing and drying our hands I couldn’t resist telling him how much I loved his recording of “Time After Time” from “One Flight Down.” He responded graciously and I followed up his thanks by saying how I really love the tempo of that recording - that, to me, it’s the perfect tempo for that melody. Something about that comment brought us together; he smiled big and got more animated, telling me that he agreed and felt that that song is usually either played too slow or too fast.

About fifteen minutes later, we were still in the bathroom having this great conversation about “Time After Time” and other songs that we both felt were often played too slow or too fast when someone who was looking for Cedar (and, I felt, worked with him in some capacity) walked into the bathroom and breathed a big sigh of relief, saying that he’d been looking all over for him. Then, seeing the big book bag on my back, the man panicked. He thought I was a drug dealer or something and that I was trying to push something bad on Cedar; he said something like that to him and mentioned that they better get away from me. Cedar got very angry at the man, exclaiming “this isn’t a drug dealer, this is a student! That bag is full of books, and we’re back here having a great conversation about the proper tempo to play ‘Time After Time!’” The man apologized, left the bathroom, and Cedar and I continued our great conversation - after having a big laugh about the book bag mishap.

An experience I’ll never forget!