It was June 1995. I was living in Ventura California and playing in a few bands. My day job was working as a grocery clerk at Von’s Grocery Store in Westlake. One of the cool things about working there was meeting all the famous actors and musicians who actually shopped for groceries. I was always amazed when I saw famous actors like Sean Connery or Mickey Rooney shopping, or a famous musician like Eddie Money just pushing his grocery cart down the isles with his Daughters shopping. I was lucky to have met so many wonderful people there and even became friends with a few. (That will be a couple blog articles for later.)
From time to time the Executive Chef for the Playboy Mansion would shop at Von’s. He was a regular customer that luckily always came through my checkout line. His name is William Bloxsom-Carter. He is a famous Chef, and still very busy to this day. You can read about him here: William Bloxsom-Carter: Director of Food & Beverage, Executive Chef, Playboy Mansion, West Los Angeles, CA.
Before I knew who William was, we somehow got on the subject of music and he found out I was a musician. He was a big Miles Davis fan, and from how he spoke about Miles and jazz, I could tell he really was a true jazz lover. As time progressed we got to chat more and more about music and jazz. One day while he was shopping he told me he was the Executive Chef at the Playboy Mansion and asked me if I wanted to work there for some of their bigger events and parties, like the Playboy Jazz Festival banquet. I said yes of course! He said he would make the arrangements for me to work there, and told me when and what time to be arrive. He also mentioned I would get paid to work for these events, including the party that they have for all the Playboy Jazz Festival guests and artist. What I did not realize is how much this opportunity would allow me to interface with the guests.
So in 1995 this was the 17th Annual Playboy Jazz Festival that was held June 17th through June 18th. I do not recall on what exact day the party and banquet was held, but I do recall it was within a couple days before the jazz festival started. I also did not know exactly what I would be doing at the event, but that did not matter. What I knew was that I was going to be at the Playboy Mansion on the day of the Playboy Jazz Festival party, and that I was invited there by the Executive Chef!
After I was given the date, time and address in Bel Air, I drove there from Ventura where I lived. I had to park a few blocks away and walk to the mansion. If you ever had to try and park in LA, just multiply that by 5 and that is how hard it is to find parking in Bel Air. It is a very exclusive area and there’s no parking anywhere. Luckily employees had a limited area to park, and I found a one of the last spots.
When you walk up to the gate, you have to give them your name and why you are there. Once I advised that I working for the party, and that William had put my name on the list, they let me in. It was a bit of a walk to get the employee service entrance area.
Once there I checked in with William and found out what I would be doing. It was actually a lot of work, but very well organized. I was assigned to help in the kitchen and also take trays of hors d’oeuvres out to serve the guests.
It was so cool. I was actually mingling with the guests, saying hello and 'working the crowd’. I did my job of course but I was so excited to be there and see the mansion, the famous people, and especially the artists.
This was the entry way, reception area where I got to serve hors d’oeuvres to the stars like Elliott Gould. You have to remember, this was 1995. Elliott Gould recently finished Saturday Night Live, L.A. Law, Naked Gun, and Cybill.
I felt like I was in one of those comedy or spy movies where you’re undercover serving food, but really there to casually meet artists and try to learn something. It was fun, awesome, and a lot of work.
I was a musician who got to be at the Playboy Mansion Jazz Festival party to serve food. I did not care how I got there, I just felt so lucky to have met William and how nice he was to invite me to work there. I felt he knew I was not there to work for the money. He allowed me to be there to get inspired. I felt he really knew how much I would appreciate the opportunity. I did work very hard to help everyone in the kitchen, and it was a great insight into how professional Chefs work their kitchens. A cool experience in every way.
So after the hors d’oeuvres were completed, William advised it was time to serve the main luncheon course. Luckily I was placed on the actual serving table, so as each guest walked down the serving line, I got to greet each person and ask what they would like to eat. After a few people had passed and been served, I saw from down the line, it was Quincy Jones, yes the one and only Quincy Jones. 28 Grammy Awards, epic producer for so many famous records and artist, he was a living legend. And I was going to get to actually speak to him, with only a table of food between us! It was so awesome. I was also a little nervous as I did not know he was at the party until that moment and was not mentally prepared to actually talk to Quincy Jones.
So as he approached closer towards the lunch table, I thought this was most likely going to be the only time I'll ever have a chance to meet him. I remember trying to think fast of what to say, how to greet him, and most of all, be respectful. I knew I wanted to tell him about the band I was playing in of course. I also knew he had worked with my teacher Slyde Hyde on a few record dates.
Part of me knew that if I took too much of his time, I might be fired, which would have been worth it. Part of me also knew I was there because of the generous invite from William, the Executive Chef, so I did not want to embarrass him or make him regret inviting me to be there.
As Quincy came up to me I said hello, and he replied in a very nice manner. He was so polite and kind, I felt he was open to a brief exchange, if it was meaningful. I told him I was a trombone player and that Slyde Hyde was my teacher. He said ohhhh, very nice. Then he squinted his eyes a little, leaned in towards me as he looked closely at my face and said; “hmmm, no scars…!” We laughed. I said that was because Slyde taught me correct air support. He laughed again and then moved on further down the line. There, it was over. A moment that was as perfect as it was brief. That was so cool! It seemed like after that chance meeting with Quincy, the rest of the day was secondary.
It was so awesome to have had that moment in time where it was just Quincy and I having a one on one exchange. An exchange you can only have with other brass players. Quincy started out as trumpet player and, as most brass players know, if you use too much pressure playing the high notes instead of using proper breath control on your mouthpiece, aka embouchure, you can get permanent scars on your lip. It is common for some lead trumpet players, after years of screaming high notes, to have scars on their embouchure.
One thing that really impressed me about Quincy was that the last person he needs to be nice to, was a food server at a luncheon, but he was. He was so genuine and was not talking at me, like some people do to others without realizing it. Quincy was really making the effort to be nice to this Mexican guy who was serving him food.
Remembering Quincy Jones:
Quincy Jones was an award-winning composer and record producer for legendary musicians such as Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, and Aretha Franklin. Remembering Quincy Jones
Berklee School of Music: “Remembering Quincy Jones” Berklee Spotify Playlist
17th Annual Playboy jazz Festival:
Playboy Jazz Festival: Day One Playboy jazz Festival - Day One
WEEKEND REVIEWS : Jazz : Something for Everyone at Playboy Fest LA Times Article
Playboy Mansion Background:
Playboy Mansion by the Numbers
Built in 1927, in a Gothic Tudor style, and famous both for its architecture and for celebrity and media events hosted there. Hugh Hefner was living there since the early 1970s, and by 1995 it was firmly established as the Playboy Mansion.
The mansion was widely described as having the pool and grotto as a defining feature. It also held a zoo license, which is part of the long running “Mansion ecosystem” people referenced when describing the property.
I hope you enjoyed reading this article and it's just another validation that there are great people in this world, you just have to seek them out and hopefully get to meet them one day.
