That time Marian Mcpartland got me in…
I am lucky enough to say I’ve toured in Europe as a bandleader dozens of times. That type of experience leads to wisdom, connections, heartache, friends, missed/cancelled flights, extraordinary meals, and so much more. As a traveling bandleader, there are some things you have to study prior to visiting so many different countries in various areas of the world. Do I need a visa to visit? Do I need a work permit to perform? How well does the population speak English?
My first time touring as a bandleader to London, U.K. I was faced with obtaining a temporary work permit in order to perform. Luckily, the club Ronnie Scott’s where I performed handled most of the paperwork and were quite organized. I arrived to the train station early in the morning in Paris to go through British customs (they did it in France prior to boarding). I was to travel through the “Chunnel” on the high speed TGV and I was unfamiliar with how diligent the border crossing guards would be. For instance, am I just to flash an email saying it was handled? Were they going to search me or even bother to check the work permit?
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. Either way, I was a little nervous I would miss my train. Apart from the timing, Ronnie Scott’s is a jazz club…Would they even be answering these types of phone calls so early in the morning? Finally, my name was called in a thick British accent…
(guard) “Ok…, Robert, is that right?” he inquired.
(me) “Yes, sir.”
(guard) “So, it says here that you’re performing at Ronnie Scott’s, is that correct?”
(me) “Yes, sir.”
(guard) “Do you know who Marian McPartland is?” I was slightly thrown off by the question and, knowing me at the time, probability would have it that I got zero sleep the night prior and was most likely still a little drunk/high! I was expecting questions such as ‘where are you coming from?’ — ‘How long will you be in the U.K.?’ etc. But, without really thinking about it I answered,
(me) “She’s a Queen of our music, sir.”
(guard) “Good answer. She’s my aunt”
At that, we both burst out laughing! What an amazing turn of events… What had started out as a nerve-racking transaction turned into two ‘friends of the music’ talking and shooting the shit. We talked about Professor McPartland’s wonderful playing and, of course, her show “Piano Jazz” where she had hosted nearly every single famous jazz pianist to perform live on air for her television audience. Chatting for a period of ten minutes smiling from ear to ear, he then gave me my official work permit for the U.K. which read I was sponsored by Ronnie Scott’s. The experience was surreal from start to finish and got my mind spiraling thinking how lucky I was to be involved with this precious music. I take my function as an Ambassador as both an American and performer of Black American Music very seriously when I travel the world. As Todd Barkan, amidst others, say, “Take care of the music and the music will take care of you.”