This is a duplicate of what I posted earlier on Facebook, so my apologies to Lenny, Dylan, and the rest of you.
I was in a meeting with an internal recruiter here at work and the discussion turned to music. He told me that he used to tour with Tito Puente on sax and flute.
UmâŚwow.
While it could have been baloney, he certainly talked the talk. Now I have to wait for him to send me some samples of his work to see if he walks the walk too. 
Cool! 
Whatâs his name? I guess you must be able to find it on the internet if he toured with Tito.
Itâs a west coast thing, perhaps? Greg Rolie, the dude who played organ with Santana is originally from this area and he sat in on a gig I had back in the day. What really becomes interesting to learn about folks who have some sort of musical notoriety and rep actually turn out to be just ordinary people like you and me (sort of) - the difference being they had the fortune of getting a break on some good luck. Not trying to take anything away from Greg Rolie as a player and artist, but⌠he also was kind of a strange-looking dude, in a âWolfman Jack,â big hair kind of way - but it WAS the 70âs, so⌠that might have had something to do with it.
What I remember most about him was not so much his chops, but rather, his car. Back in the early 70âs, he was rolling a Jensen Interceptor. Okay, so maybe they ARE kind of different. 
Here is a preview of the 2012 Jensen Interceptor:
Itâs the kind of gig-mobile thatâll get you noticed ⌠right Tony? 
Ya, but Tony, get them to show you where the fuses go!
I donât think a Jensen Interceptor has the payload capacity to haul my full rig. Besides, at my age, I think Iâm past the âRoger Ramjet carâ (as my ex-girlfriend jokingly used to refer to them) stage.
Maybe if you checked out photos of Tito Puente on the interweb it might jog the memory as in, âHey, that WAS the dude I jammed with.â I had relatives who live in Stockton claim they had jammed with Tito Puente and his niece (?) Sheila Escovedo (Sheila E.). Just ordinary musicians trying to stay busy by getting out there and playing because thatâs what they love to do.
Rich Mancini.
I canât find him in Google, but heâs been here for over 10 years so I donât know exactly when he toured with him. Rich isnât exactly a spring chicken.
This guy lives down the street.
from wikipedia
A short list of musicians with whom Gadd has worked include Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Steely Dan, Al Jarreau, Joe Cocker, Stuff, Bob James, Chick Corea, Eric Clapton, Pino Daniele, James Taylor, Jim Croce, Eddie Gomez, The Manhattan Transfer, Michal Urbaniak, Steps Ahead, Al Di Meola, Manhattan Jazz Quintet, Carly Simon, Richard Tee, Jon Bon Jovi, Chet Baker, Paul Desmond, The Bee Gees, and Michael McDonald
The only time weâve talked is when walking our dogs. We talked about dogs. Then another neighbor told me heâs some kind of famous musician so I googled him.
Wasnât Steve Gadd the drummer on the title track of Steely Danâs Aja?
Edit: yes he was.
Youâre kidding!?! Heâs one of the greatest drummers!!!
Next time you meet him ask him if heâs interested in doing a collabâŚ
âBaddâ Steve Gadd is an amazing drummer.
What about the playing with Tito Puente is hard to believe. I toured with The Coasters back when and that means nothing. I saw Tito at Keystone Korner in North Beach several times. Lots of traveling bands get pick up musicians to do a west coast or east coast part of a tour.
Sometimes while walking the dogs Iâve seen a couple of really nice cars parked out front and wondered who was visiting. Before I knew who is dad was I heard his son banging on a kit in the garage. Stopped and commented that I thought he was really good and it was rare to find parents that would raise a drummer.
Gadd is a giant
And Iâm pretty sure Tito lived in SoCal for many years (my friend percussionist Brad Dutz knew him)