Solo soprano saxophone. Vancouver Jazz Society. Concert and workshop. Having recently opened the first edition of Black Swan Records on main Street near 8th Avenue, Jack Schuler and I were just settling in to a bottle of vin rouge on a dark, wet and cold Vancouver evening. It must be mentioned that we had just finished a little herbal remedy (there were few customers to interrupt our indulgences in those early days) when Steve Lacy walked in the door, on his way to the sound check at the Front. His greeting was, ‘Hmm, smells like you guys are really taking care of business.’ So we offered him a glass and some combustibles and he began to browse through the record bins. After awhile he looked up. ‘A really catholic selection you’ve got here.’ That was the beginning of a relationship that continues to this day. – Ken Pickering.