Forgot about that thread, and yeah, Jack's word is good enough for me, although that he "used to show up in the audience for jazz gigs"...that's still rather nebulous, to put it mildly.
Has anybody ever heard of anybody who actually heard him play? In person? It's like the guy's not even a "local legend", which is really weird...
Not saying that he didn't exist, just that the proof as it exists is not exactly overwhelmingly positive...
I distinctly remember his being pointed out to me in the audience at a jazz gig I attended in the early 1980's. He looked a lot like an older version of the guy pictured on his only LP. I had no reason to doubt the ID, although I can't say I went up to him and asked him who he was!