A jazz musician died, and upon arriving in heaven, learned that he would be playing in the band there. He was overjoyed. “Well, don’t get too excited,” the gatekeeper said. “It can be a pretty rough gig.”
"What do you mean?" the musician asked. "This is heaven - it must be a great gig! Tell me - who is the bass player in the band?"
"Ah, Jaco Pastorius plays bass," the gatekeeper replied.
“You’re kidding! Man, I can’t believe it - I get to work with Jaco?”
“Yeah, but I tell you, it’s a tough job,” the gatekeeper persisted.
"Aw, come on. Is there a sax player?"
“Yes, let’s see - Charlie Parker is the name, I believe.” “What?! Charlie Parker! That’s incredible! What a gig!” The musician could hardly contain himself. “Who is playing piano?”
“Oh, that’s Art Tatum. Nice fella,” the gatekeeper replied.
“I can’t believe this!” The musician was dumbfounded. “And on drums?”
"Buddy Rich plays drums in the band."
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, some of the best players ever, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig? What could possibly be wrong?” the musician asked.
“Well…” the gatekeeper hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”