Leslie West Recalls a Life-Changing Encounter with Jimi Hendrix in Part Four of Living Legends Music
Part Four of the Living Legends Music interview series delivers one of the most remarkable chapters yet in Leslie West’s story, seamlessly extending the journey traced in earlier episodes. After discussing influence, discipline, and artistic identity in the previous parts, this installment moves into rare, firsthand territory: West’s unforgettable encounters with Jimi Hendrix at the very moment both artists were shaping rock history.
West begins by recalling the completion of Mountain’s debut album Climbing! at the Record Plant in New York. While Mountain were finishing their mixes in one studio, Hendrix was next door working on Band of Gypsys. Encouraged by producer Felix Pappalardi, a hesitant West gathered the courage to invite Hendrix to listen to Mountain’s finished tracks. What followed became an instant validation. As Hendrix listened to the opening riff, he turned to West and praised it directly. For the young guitarist from Forest Hills, Queens, the moment was overwhelming. Hearing approval from Hendrix himself was enough to inflate any ego, even if only briefly.
The story escalates from admiration to legend when West recounts an unexpected late-night invitation. After a Steve Miller Band performance at a New York club, Hendrix approached West personally and asked if he wanted to jam. With no equipment on hand, the solution was pure rock mythology: a limousine ride to West’s downtown loft, Marshall stacks loaded into the car, and an impromptu blues jam that few people ever witnessed.
West vividly remembers the scene, from Hendrix’s unmistakable fringe jacket to the iron gates of the warehouse loft. Photographs from that night survive, capturing Hendrix playing a left-handed bass while West handled guitar duties. According to West, Hendrix deliberately chose bass, not out of restraint, but intelligence, allowing the jam to breathe while still dominating musically. A local Village newspaper later claimed West had “drowned out” Hendrix, a detail West clarifies by emphasizing that Hendrix was not even playing guitar.
The interview closes with West reflecting on Hendrix’s unmatched originality. He speaks with awe about Hendrix’s ability to bend pitch, manipulate tone without technical aids, and play directly from instinct and emotion. Whether improvising or reimagining songs like Wild Thing, Hendrix, in West’s words, did things no one else had done before and likely never will again.
As a continuation of the series, Part Four deepens the narrative from influence to direct interaction. It places Leslie West not just as an observer of greatness, but as a participant in moments that helped define the spirit of late-1960s rock. For viewers, it is a rare, unfiltered account of genius meeting genius, told with humility, humor, and lasting reverence.