I'd like to tell you about a record date that was done in New York in 1981 and released a couple of years later by Pablo Records under the title, Ain't But a Few of Us Left. Norman Granz had decided to record a quartet consisting of Milt Jackson, Ray Brown, Grady Tate and me. The date was scheduled for mid-evening; however, Ray and Grady were detained and didn't arrive at the pre-set time. After waiting around for half an hour or so, Norman decided that, rather than have the session go flat, Milt and I should get together on a ballad or two. We decided on Johnny Mandel's A Time for Love. I've always considered Bags' playing of almost any ballad to be deeply sensitive and poignant, but his rendition here was exceptional. In fact I must say, in all honesty, that I consider this session to be some of the finest Milt Jackson on record. I think that the freedom and spontaneity that he was accorded from a group standpoint served to bring out the best in him musically. I say this not in any way to disparage his wonderful musical output with the Modern Jazz Quartet, of which I'm sure we all hold fond memories, but this was one of those rare, unexpected moments in time that sometimes occur without any premeditation. I should add that, in terms of ballads, Johnny Mandel is, in my opinion, the most imaginative and deeply musical composer of our time. To play his tunes seems to bring out the best in all of us.

By the time we had talked over how we were going to proceed on the ballad and got the recording of it done, Ray and Grady had arrived. After a period of joking, instigation and threats of musical annihilation between the players (all in fun, of course), Norman opened the session with a comment that was typical of him: “Why don't we start this with some blues?” Now, as fate would have it, Roy Eldridge also happened to attend this record date and seconded Norman's request. We decided to go “cold turkey” on a take, and I started the intro at a tempo that I thought befitted the mood. I must say that the intro on Ain't But a Few of Us Left illustrates the great unspoken understanding and rapport that existed between Ray Brown and me. His fills and answers on the intro indicate how well he could read me, musically speaking. I set the first chorus or so, happily frolicking my way through the blues, aided by Ray's prodding and Grady's flawless time. I was particularly pleased with the rhythmic carpet we supplied for Bags to walk on, and this he did magnificently. I have used this particular tune at various seminars that I have held, primarily to illustrate how important it is for a rhythm section to hunker down and give its all for the soloist. As I said earlier, I feel this is top drawer Milt Jackson, and although he is gone from us physically, musically he will always remain an icon in our memories.