Stevie Wonder is playing his first concert in Japan, and the auditorium at the concert hall in Tokyo is absolutely packed to the rafters.
After playing a few of his greatest hits, and in a bid to break the ice with his new audience, he asks them if anyone would like him to play a request for them.
A little old Japanese man jumps out of his seat in the first row, and shouts at the top of his voice “Play a jazz chord! Play a jazz chord!”
Amazed that this guy knows about the jazz influences in his long and varied career, Stevie starts to play an E minor scale and then goes into a difficult jazz melody for about 10 minutes.
When he finishes playing, the whole auditorium goes wild.
However, the little old Japanese man is not satisfied, jumps up again from his seat in the front row and shouts “No, no, play a jazz chord, play a jazz chord.”
Stevie Wonder is a bit irritated by this, but being the professional that he is, dives straight into a jazz improvisation with his band around the B flat minor chord and really tears the place apart.
The crowd goes wild with this impromptu show of his technical expertise.
However, the little old Japanese man jumps up again from his seat in the front row. “No, no. Play a jazz chord, play a jazz chord!”
Well, Stevie Wonder is now truly irritated that this little guy doesn’t seem to appreciate his playing ability, so he says to him from the stage “OK, mister, you get up here and do it!”
So, the little old Japanese man climbs up onto the stage, takes hold of the microphone, and starts to sing…
“A jazz chord to say I ruv you…”
Image used under a Collective Commons License from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stevie_Wonder_1967_(1).jpg
