I went to see Little Charlie and the Nightcats last Tuesday night. I am sure that you have no idea who these people are unless you are a musician or a harmonica player. Little Charlie Baty is the greatest guitar player that I have ever seen in person. He plays guitar in many styles from Blues to Bebop to Surfer to Metal to Cool Jazz, but he always sounds like Little Charlie. He does this in the course of four hours of an intense musical event and it costs only $20 a head for 40 people to experience . In a cool world Charlie would be filling Madison Square Garden at $300 a head.

Charlie's front man, Rick Estrin, is one of the greatest harp players and funniest stand up comics that I have seen. J. Hansen on Drums and Lorenzo Farrell on Bass are the top rhythm section in Jazz or Blues.

Why aren't these people famous? Why aren't they on the cover of Downbeat Magazine or packing them in at Shea Stadium? Rick Estrin explained it to me Tuesday night.

The cooler something is, the fewer people “get” it. Mass marketing is based on the mundane, the ordinary and the largest common denominator. Something that is popular by definition is un-cool and is more likely to be a least obnoxious alternative with no real quality.

40 people who were intensely aware of the coolness of Charlie Baty packed into the dingy ancient cellar of the Turning Point Café Tuesday night to experience truth, beauty and absolute cool. It was a transcendent experience.

There is cold comfort in being aware of the cool. On one hand you get to see great players like Little Charlie for a pittance, but on the other hand, the advantages of success pass over your head. Most of the people that I like or respect are so cool that they have trouble making the rent. I think a lot about how to make cool work for me, but taking all things into account, I'd rather be poor and try for cool than rich and settle for square.