An musical and literary hang out on Columbus Avenue on Manhattan's Upper west side. The house band was Stuff, the cream of NYC's session cats, while author like James Baldwin and his friends were regulars. #soul #randb
One night during the late 80s-early 90s I was hanging out in the city. I forget where I was but wherever I was, I was feeling more than good. Somehow I ended up in Central Park and just could not find my way out. After what seemed like a couple of hours, I finally located an exit. Relieved (and relatively sober), I figured I'd stop in this club, have a brewski (or two) and head back downtown to catch the train to Jersey. That club was Mikell's and it was practically empty. So I go in and order at the bar. I then notice that a band was setting up and the instruments I saw included some congas and timbales. So I say to myself, "Self, lets see what these folks are gonna do," and sat down at one of the tables. In the meantime the band gets bigger and bigger - a sax section, bones, and trumpets. So I again say to myself, "Self, what the hell did I just step into?" And then I hear an announcement: "Ladies and gentleman, Machito and his Orchestra." Needless to say, I had more than one (or two) brewskis. I miss the old NY where you could just stumble into some of the best entertainment in the world. But I'm glad I don't drink anymore. LOL. PS. I believe Machito passed not long after.
