I briefly held a chair in the Count Basie band. It was during a break at Birdland when the band was playing there sometime in the 1950s. Al Grey, whose chair was off to one side, had left the bandstand. The club was a small one and I had taken his seat to carry on a conversation. I had gotten so carried away in the conversation that I didn’t realize the band was back onstage, and Al Grey was usually late in getting back. Finally, Basie looked up and saw me and said, “What do you play?” “I play the camera, Mr. Basie.” “Get the hell outta my band.”

I loved photographing the Basie band in the studio more than in concert. They had the tunes picked out before they went in to record. They would usually discuss the music with the arranger—Thad Jones and Marshall Royal were among the best at that time—run through it and then record. Basie just sat there and let it happen. It was very easy.