Les and his Trio performing at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City. Beginning in 1995, paul performed two shows at the club almost every Monday night. Before that, Paul kept the same
schedule at Fat Tuesday’s, also in New York, from 1983 until the club closed its doors in 1995. Photo by Chris Lentz.
the Sunrise” in 1951, and “Vaya Con Dios” in
1953, all of which were million-sellers.
“He just loves being around women, and
having women onstage,” Parrott said of
her incorporation into Paul’s band. “But
it wasn’t just that. Musically, it worked as
well, because if it didn’t work musically
then there’s no way in hell it would have
happened. He is very serious about the
music. He encouraged me, and when things
weren’t right in the band he’d also let you
know, but not in an awful way. He guided
you if it didn’t sound right.”
Parrott also credits Paul with helping her
step out of her shell, and for helping her
develop her singing voice and a flair for
improv and crowd entertainment, which she
now takes on the road with her for her own
gigs. “I didn’t really sing before,” Parrott
said, “and I found that there was some
opportunity for that and I liked it. I used to
be a bass player that was happy just sitting
at the back of the band, and Les wanted
me to be up front speaking on the mic,
talking to the audience and talking back
to Les. It was a show. He really did always
think about the audience. He loved talking to the people up front and making eye
contact with everyone, and in that sense he
was just a great performer,” she said.
Lou Pallo
You could argue that guitarist Lou Pallo was
Les Paul’s long lost brother. The two first
met in 1961 at a bar in Greenwood Lake,
NY, where Pallo was working in an act with
another guitarist. In between sets one night
he was told someone at the bar wanted to
buy him a drink. When he got there, he was
stunned to see it was Les Paul, one of his
childhood idols. The two shared the first of
many drinks together, and would go on to
develop a special friendship and bond that
lasted until Paul’s last day on earth. It was
a bond so deep that Pallo was the only one
