Ringo recounts first hearing The Band

I don't recall hearing this tidbit before, from a new interview with Ringo on the Relix site:

You mention Levon and Rick. Can you talk a little bit about The Band and what they meant to you?

I remember George and I were in New York, and we found out that Jimi Hendrix was in the same hotel. Then George said, “Eric Clapton’s coming over.” He brought an acetate of [Music from] Big Pink—it wasn’t even a record, and said, “You’ve got to listen to this.” We played it, and we were just blown away. The whole cohesion of The Band—it had such a great feel and a swing to it. And then we went upstairs to see Jimi Hendrix, who was being Jimi, up in his suite.