TOD 2:
Went to the Newport Jazz Festival at Saratoga Springs to see Miles Davis, who had been put on the bill at 5 or so in the afternoon. Each act was supposed to play for an hour and then disappear. But the crowd would not let Davis leave. He was the act they had come to hear and he stayed on for 7 encores. It was astounding. I was down in the pit getting pictures and got to see his face. The music hit something wonderful with the entire audience.
Davis was followed by Mel Torme and the amphitheater emptied. But his singing went out over the sound system and pretty soon, the theater was packed once again. And by the time he finished, the full house wouldn't let him leave the stage. He also did 7 encores. Before the last, he said, "Who do you think I am, Miles Davis?" He was obviously touched. Since he hadn't rehearsed a lot with the band, they finished off by singing the stuff they started with, including a medley of songs from "Guys and Dolls."
That put the schedule off by three hours. Tito Puente, the headliner, didn't make it onstage until 2 a.m. By then, there were no encores, no exceptions, but it was OK, nobody who followed deserved to be called back.