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Amidst a flurry of e-mail exchanges Monday in the wake of the passing of Paul Vieregge, Stage Manager Emeritus of the Monterey Jazz Festival and founder of the Big Sur Jazz Festival, I was reminded of a story I'd heard a few years ago from fellow jazz journalist Dan Ouellette:

Apparently, every year Paul would take all the MJF stagehand "newbies" on a tour of the main arena and backstage areas. At some point, he'd point to an "X" marked on the stage floor with masking tape, and explain to the newbies that the "X" marked the spot where Jimi Hendrix set his guitar on fire during the fabled Monterey Pop Festival back in 1967. And they'd all "ooh" and "ahh" over the historical significance of this seminal performance landmark in rock 'n roll.

Funny thing is, there was an extension added to the front of the Monterey Pop stage to allow room to set up the psychedelic light show behind the bands appearing on stage at Monterey... which was subsequently torn down after the festival concluded. So that "mythic" spot in rock history was Paul's inside joke at the expense of his latest batch of newbies...

In sharing this story with MJF marketing guy Tim Orr (who'd also heard the same story), he reminded me that pianist Jason Moran's commissioned piece for the 2009 Monterey Jazz Fest, "Feedback," will be based on Hendrix's appearance at Monterey Pop 42 years ago.

"Wonder what he’s going to do," Tim asked. "Set the piano on fire, and then smash it?"

I can only imagine Paul's reaction to someone torching a piano on his stage!

That would certainly top anything Ornette Coleman has done in concert over the years (memories of his SFJAZZ appearance back in the 90s, when he invited a group of people onstage to pierce themselves with long skewers and other pointed implements), and would make the history books when Bill Minor writes the next installment of his 40-year history of the Monterey Jazz Fest.