Carlos Vega ~ drummer
CarlosVega is perhaps best known as the drummer who played with James Taylor for about 13 years. Among musicians, he was known as a premier recording session drummer, having played with the best session musicians on albums for many of the most popular artists.
Click on this link for his biography.
Click on this link for his drum solo video.
Carlos was about 19 years old when I played my first gig with him. It was about 1976 and we were playing for a private party at the legendary Hollywood restaurant, Ma Maison, a favorite celebrity hangout.
I was a guitar player and singer in a quartet called The Entertainers that was often booked at upscale locales for a very wealthy clientele. We played with a variety of drummers, including the legendary Ralph Humphrey who played with Frank Zappa and just about everybody else in the upper crust of musicians.
When Ralph was unable to do the Ma Maison gig with us, he recommended young Carlos Vega, who was already making a name for himself by playing gigs with famous jazz players such as Freddie Hubbard.
We were blown away by his remarkable balance between technical virtuosity and natural feeling. He was always right in the pocket, deep in the groove. I played with a variety of musicians during my fifteen years of gigs and recording sessions before changing careers, but I’d never met a young man so gifted and yet so humble about his talents. He was incredibly polite, the kind of young man you’d want to bring home to meet your sister.
Carlos was a joyful soul on the brink of a great career. Sadly, he committed suicide in 1998 at age 41. I am so glad our paths crossed, and so sorry he left this world too soon. I will always think of him as the eager young musician I knew, with so many great years ahead.
~ to be continued
Notable People I Have Met
The List
(Names in blue are linked to short essays.)
(2nd part means the person is on the second half of the post.)
Bill Clinton: 42nd
president of the United States.
Ray Bradbury: Author, screenwriter and winner of a Pulitzer Prize lifetime achievement award.
Sherwood Rowland: UC Irvine chemistry professor who won the 1995 Nobel Prize for discovery of man-made depletion of the ozone layer.
Alex Trebek: Host of “Jeopardy” ~ A brief question and answer period during taping of the show.
Rafael Mendez: Trumpet virtuoso.
Gary Owens: Radio and television personality.
O.C. Smith: ~ Pop "Little Green Apples" singer. (2nd part)
Ralph Humphrey: Virtuoso drummer who played and recorded with Frank Zappa.
Carlos Vega: Virtuoso session drummer who toured with James Taylor.
Tom Hayden: California state senator and activist at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
Abbie Hoffman: Political activist at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. (2nd part)
Harlan Ellison: Science fiction novelist and television screen playwright.
Don Callender: Founder of Marie Callender’s restaurant chain.
Stan Wall: Pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Johnny Carson: 30-year host of "The Tonight Show." (2nd part)
Steve Allen: Original host of the “Tonight Show” and songwriter.
Marty Baron: Journalist and editor who hired me to work for the Los Angeles Times, later editor of the Washington Post.
Michael Chabon: Novelist who won the Pulitzer Prize in 2001.
Ken Jennings: Attended a Jeopardy! show in October 2022 and told him about my enounter eight years earlier with Alex Trebec.
Carolyn Porco: Planetary scientist, leader of Cassini Imaging Team, member of Voyager Imaging Team and known for discoveries about Saturn and planetary rings.
Michael Dukakis: Massachusetts governor and 1988 Democratic presidential nominee.
Quentin Crisp: Author of “The Naked Civil Servant” and gay rights advocate.
Robert Bork: Solicitor General nominated by President Ronald Reagan for the Supreme Court in 1987.
Chang-Lin Tien: Chancellor of UC Berkeley.
Jack Peltason: Chancellor of UC Irvine and later of the entire UC system.
Oakley Hall: Author of “The Downhill Racers” and head of the UC Irvine writing program.
David Stockman: Reagan administration budget director.
Jack Kelly: Co-star of 1950s TV show “Maverick”
Joey Bishop: Entertainer and member of the “Rat Pack.”
Sonny Bono: Singer with Sonny & Cher, later congressman and U.S. senator.
Leslie Nielsen: Film and television actor in “Airplane,” “Naked Gun” and others.
Politicians: Dana Rohrabacher, Chris Cox, Bob Dornan, Barbara Boxer, Dianne Feinstein, Kathleen Brown, George Deukmejian, Pete Wilson, Dan Quayle, Ann Richards.
Oliver North: Ronald Reagan aide implicated in Iran-Contra Scandal and later NRA president.
Ed Meese: US Attorney General in the Reagan Administration.
Barbara Bush: Wife of President H.W. Bush.
Mamie Van Doren: “B” movie actress and sexpot.
Arnold Beckman: Inventor of the PH meter and philanthropist.
Duvall Hecht: Founder of Books On Tape.
Daryl Gates: Los Angeles police chief.
James Edwards Senior: Founder of the Edwards theater chain.
Chuck Jones: Animator and creator of Porky Pig, Daffy Duck and others.
John H. Dalton: Secretary of the US Navy.
Arthur Laffer: Supply-side economist who influenced President Reagan’s monetary policies.
C. Everett Koop: US Surgeon General
Boyd Coddington: Hot rod and custom automobile designer.
David Broder: Washington Post writer, political columnist and author.
William Kennedy: Novelist and author of “Ironweed” ~ mail contact
Patrick Stewart: Actor who portrayed Captain Jean-Luc Picard on “Star Trek.”
Ken Norton: Former boxing heavyweight champion of the world.
Adrienne Rich: Poet
Edward Albee: Playwright
Robert Hass: Poet
Seamus Heaney: Poet, playwright and translator.
Czeslaw Milosz: Poet
W.S. Merwin: Poet
James Roosevelt: Son of and secretary to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
David Harrington: Co-founder of the Kronos Quartet.
John Cleese: Actor and a member of Monty Python.
Robert Pinsky: US Poet Laureate.
W.D. Snodgrass: Pulitzer Prize winning poet.
Louise Gluck: US Poet Laureate.
William Rusher: Publisher of the “National Review” magazine.
Neil deGrasse Tyson: Astrophysicist, author, television host & many appearances ~ by email.
Henrik Drescher: Children’s books illustrator ~ by email.
James MacGregor Burns: Historian and presidential biographer.
Jean-Michel Cousteau: ~ Environmentalist, oceanographic explorer and son of Jacques Cousteau.
Frederick Reines: UC Irvine Physics professor awarded the Nobel Prize in 1995 for discovery of the neutrino.
[Many more who I've either overlooked or forgotten.]
[More essays to come.]
~ by Russ Allison Loar
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