Stevie Wonder is playing his first gig in Tokyo and the place is
absolutely packed to the rafters.
In a bid to break the ice with his new audience, Stevie asks if anyone
has a request.
A little old Japanese man jumps out of his seat in the first row and
shouts at the top of his lungs, "Play a Jazz chord! Play a jazz chord!"
Amazed that this guy knows about the jazz influences in Stevie's varied
career, the blind impresario starts to play an E minor scale and then
goes into a difficult jazz melody for about ten minutes. When he
finishes, the whole place goes wild.
The little old man jumps up again and shouts, "No, no, play a Jazz
chord, play a Jazz chord!"
A bit peeved by this, Stevie, 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.
But the little old man jumps up again. "No, no, no! Play a Jazz chord,
play a jazz chord!"
Now truly peeved that this little guy doesn't seem to appreciate his
playing ability, Stevie invites him up on the stage and says, "Okay,
you start us off." The little old man grabs the mike and starts to sing
...
"A jazz chord, to say I ruv you .."