My wife and I were at Birdland years back listening to the Paul Bley Trio with Gary Peacock and Paul Motian. We were sitting at a table to the side of the piano with Frank Kimbrough who was a friend of ours and Bley as well. Paul cut an imposing figure on stage, I did not appreciate how tall he was until seeing him live, and he also sat on top of a thick yellow pages book to boost his stature as well.
Right as the first song begins, Bley is clearly in discomfort. He repeatedly clears his throat. This persists until the next song when it is obvious that he is feeling parched and reaches down to my petite wife sitting closest to him and asks for water. My wife is intimidated by his presence and horrified that she had already taken a sip of water. She looks at Frank and asks "What do I do?". Frank, who is always the coolest cat in the room, simply responds in his typical matter-of-fact manner, "Hey, if he wants your water, give him you water".
I will always remember the terrified look on my wife's face as she hands him her glass. Both because of his imposing presence and her reluctance to give him a glass that she had already had been drinking from.
Funny moment for me.
LWayne