Barbara Paris

On one of our gigs, I asked for a blues. Billy played Splanky and I sang “I Won’t Sell my Love” over it.  Splanky was a tune made popular by Count Basie Band and written by Neal Hefti, an American jazz trumpeter, composer, songwriter, and arranger.  I spent many years listening to The Count Basie Band under the direction of Frank Foster.  Frank Foster and Billy were very good friends. During the mid 1950’s, Frank would visit his home and play with Billy. He often says "Frank Foster was one of the greatest saxophone players I’ve been around". I found a Christmas card to Billy from Frank Foster in which Frank stated "Keep playing the correct changes". He has a photo of Frank Foster in his living room with that expansive smile. The Count Basie Orchestra during the Frank Foster days was something else. Joe Bonner was also very good friends of Frank Foster. He told me stories about how Frank would pick him up at his aunt’s house and take him to hear music. He was too young to get in the clubs, so he would listen from the outside. When I was 18 years old, my beloved brother David gave me a Lil Green record, a leading female blues and jazz singer from the 1940’s. He often commented on her syncopation and intonation. This vocal blues was inspired by that Lil Green record.