“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.” —Oscar Wilde

"Have you ever heard of Joe Kowalski?"

"Have you ever heard of Joe Kowalski?" T Max had been slipping into despair. His Brian Eno tribute show was coming up, and he was running out of time to find a bass player with the required chops. Then one day in spring, he called. He was very excited. "Have you ever heard of Joe Kowalski?!" I had not. "Lexi, you won't believe it! He nailed it!" This guy we never heard of, Joe Kowalski, apparently came over, auditioned and dazzled on an 8-string bass. I couldn…