Being a bandleader can sure give you a headache if you let it with musicians agreeing to perform and then canceling and then having to find replacements. You can look at this as an inconvenience or a chance to meet new musicians. Recently the Broken Reed Saxophone Quartet did a concert in Bensonhurst with a musician I'd never met before - Alec Spiegelman. Alec came prepared for the first (and only) rehearsal and he took the music off the page and put in exactly the right nuances. I was amazed! It turned out that his young sister Margaret had been to music camp with my daughter Eva more than 10 years ago! In a few days I'm performing with Compared to That with Daniel Linden, a last-minute sub playing bass trombone. It turns out that he's a longtime musical associate of Alec's. It's great having a frame of reference with a musician when you're meeting for the first time! So instead of getting all uptight about having to use a last-minute sub - Alec- I got to meet a couple of extraordinary musicians and expand my circle of musician friends.