A Concert To Remember

Singer Bowl 1964

My one and only gig as Larry Coryell's road manager came during a concert held at the Singer Bowl in Flushing Meadows, site of the 1964 World's Fair. It was one of Led Zeppelin's US Tours and Larry Coryell was going to be their opening act.

The crowd was seated on blankets and the venue was packed full, as Led Zeppelin was a hot number and everyone had come to see Jimmy Paige, one of the great electric guitarists of all time.

We set up the equipment. The air was heavy with smoke. You weren't going to a Zeppelin concert straight. The crowd was buzzing with excitement as Larry and the group took the stage for the opening act.

Now you have to remember that the crowd coming to hear Led Zeppelin was totally different from the crowd that would have come to hear Larry Coryell. Jimmy Paige was pure rock and Larry was pure jazz and never the twain shall meet, as they say.

So Larry and his company started into their set. If you have never heard Larry Coryell- you owe it to yourself to listen to a few of his tracks. He was a great guitarist and he played up and down the jazz scales, playing around the melodies and coming back to them in a jazz refrain, like you have never heard before. In short... he was a genius.

So Larry finished his set and there was not a sound in the stadium. It was almost complete silence. Later on, I figured that the people who were listening had no idea what jazz was about. But they did know that something magical had just happened... just not what. Eventually everyone came out of their fog and gave Larry a sound round of applause. But nothing would beat the welcome that Jimmy Paige received.

That was a concert to remember. Just wish I could.