Brick Fleagle: What’s in a Name

My wife Laura I lived in New York City for nearly fourteen exciting years, from early 1983 until the summer of 1996. It seemed that a whole musical world opened up to me. I got to meet, hear, and even play with many of my musical heroes; men and women who were just names (albeit important names) on the backs of LP albums I’d listened to while growing up in southern California. Our son Andrew was born at New York Hospital in Manhattan, I’ve told him to be proud he’s a native New Yorker. Some of the finest people I’ve ever known (several who have become lifelong friends) are—or were—New Yorkers. The Big Apple is a special place, filled with special people, and many of the finest musicians in the world. I moved to New York City at the behest of my longtime friend, Howard Alden. For those of you who don’t yet know about Howard, he is inarguably one of the finest jazz guitarists to ever pluck a string. In a world of remarkable musicians, Howard is one of the more remarkable. Howard is the one who took me to Eddie Condon’s Jazz Club in mid-town Manhattan during the first week after I’d arrived into town. Cornetist Ed Polcer—still sounding great--shared ownership of the club, along with his business partner, the late Red Balaban. Howard had insisted I bring my trombone with me to Condon’s and sure enough, Ed invited me to play the last set. I found out that this too w