I did some “bodyguard/help” type work for him a few years ago. I watched as he sat at a table signing copies of a then-new book. Crazy women came up to tell him that they “knew” he was in love with them, etc etc. It was weird.
When it was time to go [he had to catch a plane] he got up and started to walk out. Then he noticed that the remaining line still had 100 people, maybe 30 of whom were kids. He stopped to talk to each and every one of the kids and sign their books. And he talked to them with full attention, not at all distracted by his assistant pleading with him to hurry up. “Airplanes can wait, I’m talking to a child here.”
I saw almost the exact same thing with Branford Marsalis and the group he was then playing with. During warm-ups they invited some nearby kids to come up and play with them, and got mad at their PAs who tried to hustle the kids away. “Hey! These are kids. Let them stay. Nothing more important.” After the show Branford sat there talking to some 8-10 year-olds while his bus was trying to move on to the next show. “Leave us alone. You can’t go anywhere without me.” And he talked music with them like they were peers.
Some people just get it.
