Roberta Flack, Luther Vandross and Me...

Roberta Flack, a great soul singer, grew up in North Carolina, and relocated to Washington DC to attend Howard University as a fifteen year old studying classical piano and voice. Upon graduation at nineteen, she stayed in DC, taught school and gave private music lessons, and started honing her craft as a performer at local restaurants and bars, most notably Mr. Henry's on Capitol Hill.

First Take (1969) signed by Roberta — ***First Take (1969)*** signed by Roberta

By 1969, she had attracted a considerable following, and Roberta went into the studio to record her first album, First Take, produced by Joel Dorn. The record featured her first Number 1 hit, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" - a radical re-working of a folk song written in 1957 by British folkie and political activist Ewan MacColl. First Take had some formidable jazz players, including Ron Carter on bass, Frank Wess, Benny Powell, and Joe Newman from the Count Basie horn section, and Bucky Pizarelli on guitars. It was a compelling mix of songs from gospel, "I Told Jesus", to Mexican folk, "Angelitos Negros", to Broadway show tunes, "Ballad Of The Sad Young Men" to Leonard Cohen's "Hey That's No Way To Say Goodbye." An impressive debut, it is a great album.

Quiet Fire (1971) signed by Roberta — ***Quiet Fire (1971)*** signed by Roberta

I was lucky to see Roberta perform several times over the years, but the most memorable was at a small club in New York City called the Sugar Bar, owned by noted Motown artists and husband and wife, Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson. Ashford and Simpson were a prolific songwriting team, who penned hits like, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing", "Reach Out And Touch Somebody's Hand", "I'm Every Woman" and "You're All I Need To Get By". Their songs were recorded by Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell, Ray Charles, Diana Ross, Teddy Pendergrass, Whitney Houston, and Chaka Kahn, among many others. When they opened the Sugar Bar in 1996, they decided to have some of their friends perform on Monday nights, usually a quiet night for the industry. One of my old college roommates lived across the street on 72nd and West End, and he became good friends with Nick and Valerie, stopping in almost daily, and boozing there. One night he called me, he told me that I had to come the next Monday night, it was not advertised but Roberta Flack would be performing. He reserved two tickets and I agreed to meet him at the show.

The Sugar Bar is a tiny venue, with seats for maybe sixty to seventy-five people. Valerie Simpson is at the hostess stand when we arrive. She greets my friend Billy by name, and escorts us to our seats. She couldn't have been any nicer. "Where's Nick?", Billy asks. "He's upstairs. He'll be down soon," she replies. The room is a long rectangle, at most fifteen feet wide. There is no stage; they simply cleared out a couple of tables in the back, and set up Roberta's band along the back wall; a simple line up of drums, bass and keyboard. Nick comes down from his office upstairs, and looks exactly like one of their album covers, shirt unbuttoned to the waist, gold chains blingin’, perfectly coifed mane. He starts working the room, saying hello to old friends and guests, and stops by our table to see Billy. I meet Nick and tell him how much I have enjoyed his music.

Roberta starts her set, and runs through her hits, "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Where Is The Love?", "The Closer I Get To You", "You've Got A Friend", etc. She then coaxes her friend, the great Luther Vandross, who is sitting at a front table to the left of the stage, to join her for a duet in "Killing Me Softly". Luther kills it, and the crowd erupts in thunderous applause. The show is over, and I make a quick beeline to meet Luther at his table. I have a story to share with Luther, and I can't wait to meet (unexpectedly!) one of my favorite soul singers.

Funky Christmas (1976) Luther Vandross at the piano! signed by Lou Donaldson — ***Funky Christmas (1976)*** Luther Vandross at the piano! signed by Lou Donaldson

I sidle up to Luther. He is taller than I expected. 'Luther, you lived in an apartment building with a great friend of mine in San Francisco, Steve Mittel?" I offer. Luther stares blankly, "I have never lived in San Francisco in my life." I become defiant and insistent, almost grabbing his arm. 'No Luther, you remember, Steve, big red glasses? Mitzi Buffet? They called him Mitzi, You remember Mitzi?' I plead. Luther turns away, as if to look for security, and says, "I don't know who you are talking about, and I have never lived in San Francisco. Ever." His voice trails as he turns and walks away from me.

A sinking feeling envelops me as if I am in quicksand. Then it dawns on me. I have been played by a master. Steve Mittel planted the seed for this ruse many years ago, when he said that he knew Luther Vandross, that they shared the same apartment building in San Francisco, and I should say hello if I ever met him. I knew Steve Mittel for many years as the head of Nob Hill Capital, a San Francisco based hedge fund. Steve was also a world class practical joker, crank caller, and reveled in all things mischievous, though he was never mean spirited. I returned to my table to tell Billy the tale of my Luther encounter. I accepted defeat and the outcome of my actions, and we laughed at the absurdity of my behavior.

Unfortunately, I never saw Luther again. But I will never forget his duet with Roberta Flack at the Sugar Bar. Nor will I ever forget being duped by Steve Mittel. Again. Sadly, both Luther, Steve and Nick Ashoford are no longer with us. Everything doesn't always work out the way you want it. As Nina Simone counsels, "It be's that way sometimes."