I had my band. We played Donte's nightclub in North Hollywood. We had people like Wayne Newton, Bill Cosby, and Red Foxx. All the dignitaries came in to hear the band on Thursday nights, to hear that great band. Buddy came in one night. He said, That band is superb. " Everybody was impressed. Also, Norman Granz, besides having me on tours in Europe, in Japan, and in the States, he called me up one day and said, "Ella Fitzgerald is getting a big award at Radio City hall in New York. I want your New York band there. I want you to play four numbers, and I want you to escort Ella Fitzgerald out on the stage. " I didn't talk money with him. I said, "Pay the band. " Later on I got a check for playing four numbers and escorting Ella Fitzgerald out on the stage. I got a check for $10,000. That gave you an idea of what he did for people. He loved Roy Eldridge, Dizzy Gillespie, Lester Young, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Brown, Oscar Peterson. You went first class all the way, stayed in the finest hotels. That was Norman Granz. He'd say, "I want the music to be right. " I remember a couple of times that somebody was creating some noise while somebody was playing on stage. He walked out on stage, stopped, and said, "There's some people making noise, and that's not fair to everybody. So those of you that are making noise, meet me at the box office. I'll give you your money back. But this is a music concert, and I want - these are artists that have to be dealt with. " He did it. Recordings - one time he came to Count Basie and I, and he said, "Why is it that you two guys want a big band to record? " He loved the blues. Small group, and loved the blues. So Count Basie says, "The reason I got a big band is because I've got dates, I've got money in the bank, and I'm making a good living. " "Okay. What about you, Lou? " I said, "Ditto, what Count Basie said. " So he gave us a chance to express ourselves. I don't know if you know about this album or not. I mentioned Buddy Baker, my composition teacher. Norman Granz came to me after that and said, "You've been with me a long time. I've never given you a bonus. What do you want to do for a recording. I don't care if you want to hire a symphony orchestra. I don't care what you want to do. What do you want to do? " I said, "My teacher Buddy Baker and I wrote 26 arrangements. Twelve of them are all woodwinds. 26 written arrangements. The other 12 are all strings. Mood music. All love. Journey into love. " He said, "That's what you want to do? Okay. " There's a record out now called Journey into Love. Beautiful. All compositions, original. I helped Buddy Baker do the scoring. A lot of people can't believe that's me, because all my other albums are swing, bebop, straight-ahead.