Tale of 2 Gigs, and 2 Social Classes

In 1 day

Jun 22, 2025

As I wrote in the Author’s Preface to Inside the Mind of a Musician:

Life as a musician is only slightly to the right of surreal. And I guarantee there’s no better place to observe the world than from the bandstand, where I have watched the antics of kings, paupers and middle class humanity on five continents for a few decades now (but only during the rests). The number one requirement for being in the music business? A highly developed sense of humor.

When I used to play a lot of club dates in New York, I would often work two, maybe even three jobs in one day on the weekends. During the week, often there would also be two jobs in one day, like a school assembly in the morning then another gig at night.

But I hardly do that anymore. I'm lucky to get a few gigs a month now. Because now I only play the music I want to play. So I work with my own group, Jazz de Barro, also with Flamenco Jaleos, and as a soloist with some of the other jazz groups here and visiting artists from other countries.

This week the great Ecuadorian singer John Peter was in town, and he always hires me. I've written about him before. He can do both covers (in his inimitable style) and his own original music. We're going on tour to the Galápagos Islands next week, but this past week we had a concert at Teatro Sucre on Thursday. Then on Saturday, a double hit.

The first hit was at a fancy restaurant right off Parque Calderon, called Mansion Mathilde. The audience was the Cuenca aristocracy, which I know well because my husband is from one of the old families here. There's a street named after his grandfather; there's a building named after his father, etc. So I knew quite a few people at this event.

There's something about aristocrats. They are not necessarily rich (although some are) but they have impeccable manners and they really respect the artists. They also have a certain air, not of privilege necessarily, but concerning their role in society and their cultural values. They are tastemakers, aficionados of the arts, highly educated, well-versed in literature, music, visual art and culture in general.

The place was super crowded, and John Peter and I were in the corner of the room, the gig was just me and him. I was thirsty and wanted a lemonade during the set, but there were no waiters in view. I spotted a kid, maybe 12 years old, and called him over. "Hey kid, can you please get me a lemonade?"

He said sure. Then a waiter walked by, and the kid said to him, "Go get her a lemonade please."

That's an aristocrat in the making, right there.

Lots of people were filming us on their phones (yes, we're celebrities, at least in Ecuador) and they also wanted their pictures taken with us. Afterwards we were seated at a private table and served the most delicious gourmet lunch. With drinks, dessert, whatever we wanted.

The next gig was a bit of a drive so we went to my car and headed for the autopista. We arrived at a magnificent property which I assumed was a catering place that could be rented out for private events. The grounds were expansive (this was in the country) and there were several buildings. The banquet area was outside under a giant tent. There were two stages, one for the live music (us) and one for later, dancing to the DJ. John and I set up on our stage which was located at the center of the area, next to the bar. The parking lot was immense.

The sound man was playing Stan Getz bossa novas, which I appreciated.

We did a set, then took a break. I only knew one person there, a singer who used to sit in with us at the Jazz Society. She was there with her Ecuadorian husband.

I had been wondering why I had never heard of this catering place. I didn't even see a sign with the name of the place anywhere. Turns out it was a private residence! We found out from the singer's husband that the owner has a couple of the big car dealerships here. I realized this was all nouveau riche folks, that's why I didn't know anyone.

The whole focus was on how things looked. It was almost an imitation of good taste, not actual good taste.

At this gig, people also wanted to film us, but they didn't want to be noticed filming us. So they would have their backs to us, with the phone pointed in our direction over their shoulders. Yes. Can you believe it?

No one came up and asked to take a photo with us. That would be....I don't know....beneath them?

There was a powder room next to the bathrooms, and when I went in there to change clothes all the young ladies were in there with a huge basket of make up, futzing with their look.

It was all about looks. No authenticity here.

No one offered us food. Although there were plenty of hors d'oeuvres to sample.

The difference between the two social classes we experienced that day was clear. Frankly, I prefer the aristocrats. They treated us like artists. The nouveau riche treated us like workers.

But what the hell, their money was green.

Just released: Music and the 7 Hermetic Principles by Su Terry