Appearing in obituaries throughout the world following and celebrating the life of Mel Torme' I'll always be grateful to have been associated with the greatest male jazz singer of all time. Mel Torme' was, to use to his term, a blinding talent. He was not only a virtuoso singer. He was also a great musician. He was a very literate, passionate man. He often wore his heart on his sleeve. He was always friendly and easygoing with his musicians and we spent a lot of time together hanging out on innumerable road trips. I would always call him Maestro. He would always call me Tiger. One of the things that astounded me about Mel was the consistent level of his performances. There will be no tapes or videos portraying him as a singer past his prime. And he never sounded better than at the last performance at Ocean Grove, N.J. in August 1996. Jennifer Leitham June 5, 1999