At about this time our group got some needed stimulation. We augmented the trio to five for a special trip, with Danny Pucillo, a great drummer, and equally fine jazz tenor player, Don Richards. We entertained the troops at U.S. Air Force bases in Labrador and Newfoundland for six weeks. It was truly enjoyable. We played straight ahead jazz the entire time we were there. By coincidence, I’d played with Danny Pucillo when we were both in high school. The school he was attending needed a few extra musicians for their school’s jazz concert, and Johnny Bova, Angelo La Bella, Don Faffley and I were asked to play. The reason I remembered him was because he was the first drummer I'd ever seen play with two bass drums, and he was fantastic! Here it was 11 years later, and he was more fantastic! He played a solo in Labrador that to this day I consider the most exciting and swinging drum solo I’ve ever heard, and I worked with a lot of good drummers. It was wonderful playing with Don on tenor who had a warm Stan Getz type of sound. We blended well together. It was another period of rejuvenation and learning for me. We were supposed to play for dances but most of the fighter pilots just wanted to hear us play jazz. << less