Yet another interesting evening of song, chat amongst two of my very good friends Hub Willson and Reid Tre, former band mates from Steppin’ Out!. We tossed around some tunes, talked about Steppin’ Out! as well as many of our other endeavors, including Hub’s artwork. He had several of his painting on display around the piano.
Reid plays all time, thanks to a foundation set up for him by his dad. It makes it possible for him to make the trip down from New Hampshire for the $20 I paid him. His repertoire remains amazing, and gets to play with a 10 piece soul band, solo gigs, duos, jazz combos, etc. He lives to play.
Hub doesn’t play piano anymore, so he was a little gun-shy, but, as I figured, he pulled it out. He’s a world class photographer now, and has started painting landscapes. He’s simply pumping them out nowadays. And he plays drums. Hub is truly a richly productive artist in the broadest sense.
The chat was good, humorous and heartfelt. It’s what sets these nights apart from other events that I pursue. I only wish that it would draw an audience. Frustrating, to say the least.