I met with one guard who escorted me into a waiting area and they informed me to wait as they were going to call Ronnie Scott’s to confirm whether my work permit had gone through or not. I was surprised by how long the wait was! I ended up sitting there for what felt like an hour but probably was only around 30 minutes.

This night was special with luminaries such as Lee Konitz and Sue Mingus in the house as audience members and a super fun story unfolded…Trumpeter and educator Nabate Isles happened to drop by with his horn. I went up to Nabate on the set break and asked, “you want to sit in on one?”

After the trio finished the first set, Mulgrew walked up to me and said, “Rob!” smiling widely as he often did. He palmed me a $100 bill and I immediately pushed it back at him…

Hugh Masekela was a figure larger than life. He wasn’t just a ‘musician’ — sometimes I feel it diminishes our very heroes to call them by their trade. The man was a healer. A unifying force. An activist. A friend. Even a cursory reading of Hugh’s life story is enough to drop your jaw induce inspiration.