Phil Schaap's memory

"The drummer Max
Roach once said Mr. Schaap “knows more about us than we know about
ourselves,” and musicians have themselves come to depend on his memory.

For example, Sun Ra, the bandleader, who claimed to be from Saturn, used to
corner Mr. Schaap and ask for a refresher on important dates in his career,
including what Sun Ra called “Earth arrival date.”

Mr. Schaap would inform Sun Ra that according to his union application –
filed Dec. 15, 1934 – he arrived in Birmingham, Ala., on May 22, 1914. Recently,
Mr. Schaap called this a Saturday, but quickly corrected himself: it was a
Friday."

FROM:

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/preserving-the-fading-pages-of-a-walking-encyclopedia-of-jazz/?emc=eta1

A.J. Wright