Harold Mabern: Before then – I don’t remember what time we joined  Freddie Hubbard’s band, because we were working with  Freddie [Hubbard]’s band at the time of that “The Night of the Cookers”. When I came to New York the first place I went to was  Birdland, and  Cannonball Adderley was out front. He knew me from Chicago and he said ‘you want a gig’? I said yeah, so he brought me downstairs;  Pee Wee Marquette [Birdland’s legendary doorman] tried to bar me, but  Cannonball [Adderley] said I was with him. [Trumpeter]  Harry “Sweets” Edison was working there that night, and every night at  Birdland was like New Year’s Eve, as  Larry [Ridley] will tell you.  Tommy Flanagan was getting ready to leave with  J.J. Johnson, so  Sweets [Harry “Sweets” Edison] said ‘you wanna play?’ I said yeah, and I sat in and played and  Sweets [Harry “Sweets” Edison] called a song, he said “Habit” [sp?], 8 bar introduction in A flat. I didn’t know what the heck “Habit” was, so I fumbled through the first course and by the second course I had it and he said ‘you got the gig’; I was being auditioned on the spot, I got the gig right there and went right back to Chicago. That was my first gig, I stayed with  Sweets [Harry “Sweets” Edison] then I came back in 1960 and sat in with  Lionel Hampton, stayed with him for about a year.  Cedar Walton invited me down to  Birdland to sit in because he was leaving  The Jazztet to go with  Art Blakey’s group, so I sat in with  Art Farmer,  Benny Golson [ The Jazztet leaders] and they didn’t make any promises, but they said if we hear anything we’ll call you. They called me the next morning and I got the gig with  The Jazztet, stayed there for a while then I joined  J.J. Johnson in 1963, right before I played with  Miles Davis. I went on a tour with  Miles [Davis] on the west coast in 1963, with  George Coleman,  Frank Strozier,  Ron Carter,  Jimmy Cobb and myself. Before then I had been doing things with  Betty Carter. I don’t know if  Larry Ridley remembers this, but we went out with  Roy Haynes Quartet. After that I just kept doing different things.