I’ll Be Seeing You, Mr. Leonard Gaskin

March 2008.
I left my temp job at NetApp and headed to New York to see Leonard Gaskin.

To be precise, I didn’t just quit—I was laid off due to a corporate restructuring. However, that setback became the very wind beneath my wings, pushing me to see my beloved Leonard and granting us our final, precious time together. Following this trip, Bob Cranshaw would sustain my lifeline to music for several years until his passing.

It had been eight years since I last held a microphone. Naturally, I struggled to sing at first during the concert, but everyone embraced me with warmth and patience.

The reason I couldn’t sing for eight years was that my heart had completely closed. Back in Japan, a local musician told me that my singing was “embarrassing.” It made singing an agonizing experience for me. Yet, at that moment in New York, I knew no other way to bring joy to Leonard than through song. I felt a profound, heartfelt desire to sing again.

I am sure I will write more about those days in a book someday.

The night before I left, right after leaving NetApp, I created this single flyer and boarded the plane to New York. Leonard often used to tell me when I couldn’t sing, “Go to the Union.” He wanted me to go there, join the jam sessions, and start singing again from there.

“Go to the Union.”
Those words echoed in my ears. So, carrying this flyer, I walked into the Union.

At the entrance, I told security that I wanted to speak with the person in charge of jazz. They connected me with Todd Bryant Weeks. Todd listened to my story right away and took immediate action.

And that is how this concert came to life.