Music, Music, Music

We had two more performances Saturday of Why We Tell the Story, and they went very well, although we played to very small audiences. I told the minister at St. Francis that I would come for church Sunday morning to accompany the young woman who sings in the show as she performs one of her solos to promote the show.

I told him I was allergic to church, but he and several others told me this church is unlike any I've been in before. Tonight we were chatting before the performance. He told me when he was interviewed for this job twenty-some years ago, the man conducting the interview told him they didn't really want him to talk about Jesus. Oh, and they didn't really want him to talk about God. Huh? This is a United Methodist church and they don't talk about God or Jesus? Alrighty then. I think I can live through 20 minutes of their service.

After my second performance Saturday night, I ran down to the university to provide lovely background music for a reception following Ben Vereen's UAPresents performance.

When Jill e-mailed me Friday asking if I could do this for her, I told her I love helping her become notorious for her elegant receptions.

As always, she offered me show tickets in exchange for my performance. I couldn't attend the whole show, but I snuck in a little after intermission. The show was a tribute to Sammy Davis Jr., with whom Ben Vereen had a close working relationship. When Ben finished the song he was on when I snuck in, he then called out, "Jim Middleton. Where are you?" The house lights came up and a handsome black man bounded out of the audience, down the aisle and onto the stage. Ben greeted him, then asked his percussionist if he minded sharing his set.

Jim started playing the congas, and after a couple of minutes, Ben extemporaneously jumped in with an a capella rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Exquisite! Just absolutely exquisite.

When the piece was over, Jim came back downstage and Ben hugged him, then turned to the audience and said, "This is my brother." He then told the story of trying to get a copy of his birth certificate to get a passport to go to London with Sammy Davis Jr., and there being no birth certificate in Dade County for Benjamin Augustus Vereen, but there being one for Benjamin Augustus Middleton. When he confronted his mother about this oddity, she paused, then said, "I hoped you'd never find out."

Turns out he was adopted and had never been told! He found his mother and a half-sister and a brother — who happens to live in Tucson.

Throughout the rest of his performance (which lasted until 10:15!) he kept referring back to his adoption.

For me, an adoptee who found her mother and was told "don't ever contact me again", this was such a sweet story to hear.

Hearing this story only added to my enjoyment of a fabulous concert.

Thanks Jill!