As a young piano bar performer in Lake Tahoe in the early 1980's, I was 23 years old, eking out a living, with my wife and four children all under the age of 7. During that period, I had the pleasure of meeting the late Bill Hawkins, a crusty, elderly African-American vocalist from the San Francisco Bay area, who came up with Billy Eckstine and Nat (King) Cole. He would sit in with me, throw charts of new songs in front of me to play, and he would “beat me up” with vociferous suggestions to improve my style and the depth of my performance. In order to help me grow further, Bill also presented me with a myriad of albums from his extensive collection of jazz and R&B. I will forever appreciate his insight and care for my progress in this business. Two of the albums he gave me which touched me greatly were the excellent solo guitar and vocal Joe Pass/Ella Fitzgerald duets albums “Duets in Hanover 1975”, and “Again”. I was amazed at the music...