I started out in a flophouse and then got lodgings in Tampa, Florida, 1947]… I also found a good gig in a hurry. Cat named Charlie Brantley had a seven-piece combo and he hired me to play piano. Now when I say Charlie was into Louis Jordan, I mean with both hands and both feet. He almost became Louis. Like Jordan, he played alto, and he did all those numbers --"Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens" and "Saturday Night Fish Fry"--like he had eaten the original recordings for breakfast. Charlie had a singer--Clarence Jolly--so I really didn't have much of a chance to get into my vocals. Clarence's main man was Billy Eckstine; he loved doing "I'm Falling for You" and "Jelly Jelly." He could sound like Mr. B and also do a slick version of Jordan. << less