Backstage at the SF Grammys

Backstage at the SF Grammys

From jazz to punk, 'S.F. Grammys' is a meeting of great musical minds, talents: Aidin Vaziri | Backstage at the Recording Academy Honors on Sunday, it was one weird and wonderful scene after another. Jazz pianist George Duke, who had just rolled in from the airport, greeted everyone he met by apologizing for his appearance. The members of multiplatinum punk-pop band My Chemical Romance, on hand to pay tribute to Green Day, sulked outside the press room at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco's Union Square in their black denim jackets and tattered sneakers as Don Cornelius, the stoic host of the original "Soul Train," brushed past in a fine pinstripe suit with a statuesque redhead, an alligator skin briefcase in his hand. Meanwhile, just as Dick Bright, the evening's lively master of ceremonies, announced to no one in particular that the main reason he was there was because of "Brubeck!," the elevator doors slid open and out came jazz great Dave Brubeck and his wife, Iola. As the flashbulbs started to pop and the television cameras started to roll in the moments leading up to the main event, the San Francisco Chapter's 2006 Recording Academy Honors (or the S.F. Grammys, if you prefer), everyone was buzzing. Honoree Tom Mazzolini, the founder of the San Francisco Blues Festival, took it all in from a distance. "I feel very awed being around all these musical giants," he said. "It's very exciting." Jazz bassist Stanley Clarke, who was there to introduce Duke, loudly reckoned, "George should get every award there is." For some 15 minutes all eyes were on Green Day. As the East Bay punk trio posed for photographs with event organizers Merl Saunders Jr. and Neil Portnow, drummer Tre Cool closely examined his cut-glass Tiffany's trophy and nodded in approval before cradling it like a baby. "It's an honor to be here because it's an honor," said the group's lead singer, Billie Joe Armstrong. Then someone got the bright idea to shove Brubeck into the frame. "I think I need some eyeliner," he said. Just as quickly Green Day's manager cleared out the band and the room, "We're done! We're done! We've got to go."