Chico and Santa

"I was fresh out of basic training (Fort Ord, CA) when I saw Chico Hamilton at the Gilded Cage in Sacramento, in 1965. I was with another soldier from my training unit who was in uniform. I was in civvies. (We would drive together in a couple days to Fort Gordon, GA for our AIT.) We were sitting down front during a Chico drum solo when he looked over at us, sized up my friend, and started playing a march rhythm, acknowledging us in the middle of his solo!"--Lee Santa

TS