Benny Golson, a preeminent tenor saxophonist who was also the composer of such elegant jazz standards as “I Remember Clifford,” “Along Came Betty” and “Whisper Not,” died Sept. 21 at his home in Manhattan. He was 95.
The Art Farmer/Benny Golson Jazztet was my first real reference point for the performance and, really, the culture of jazz music outside of anyone named Davis, Coltrane, or Monk.
The first track I ever heard from their 1960 MEET THE JAZZTET album was “Killer Joe.” Golson’s narration at the beginning of the tune is just as important to me as Art Farmer’s trumpet solo.
Don’t we all know a Killer Joe as described by Benny Golson?
I don’t own this yet, but as I liken listening to Dave Guy’s RUBY to hearing Herb Alpert playing with the Stax records house band instead of the TJB, it’ll be in my downloads when I get home.
Unless you are the type to read album credits you may never have heard his name, but you have heard him play. In fact, you have likely seen him play. Whether in person at a show or on national television he has lent his talents to a who’s who list of world famous artists both in the recording studio and on stage.
I do read album credits, I had heard his name, I have seen him play live (with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, the Menahan Street Band), on TV with The Roots, and he’s definitely popped up in my playlists randomly–like, for instance, on my favorite cover of “Valerie” by the Zoutons–and other places.
Missioned Souls are a family band whose videos have gathered more than eight million views on YouTube, and their latest, a cover of Led Zeppelin’s classic Whole Lotta Love, finds Stacey (12 years old, rhythm guitar/vocals), Neisha (14, lead guitar), Naces (15, bass) and diminutive drummer Ice (10) capturing the sound and spirit of the original with youthful zest and no small amount of precision.
Look out, Bob, Arnel‘s cousins are coming for your job!
I got turned on to Jensen’s trumpet playing in the early 2000s, around the same time I got turned on to Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah (or as he was known at the time, Christian Scott). Up until that point, I think it’s fair to say that just about any trumpet player in any genre I listened to on a consistent basis had been playing before Jensen or Adjuah were born. At least these days, I can say I listen to as much Maurice Brown or jaimie branch (Rest in Power) as I do Miles and Chet.
Invisible Sounds is a tribute album but I’m woefully ignorant of Kenny Wheeler’s music (or Steve Treseler’s for that matter). Jensen and her Freddie Hubbard-like playing is the draw for me here, though. So I’ll educate myself later, after I’ve worn the album out.
I’ve waited years for this follow-up, and now I’ve gotten to marinate in it for the past month. Totally worth the wait!
Anderson .Paak is a monster and his Malibu is easily in my top 5 favorite albums of the last 10 years. Also on that list is his work with NxWorries, his collaboration with Knxwledge which I keep coming back to. Yes Lawd! is also on heavy rotation for me.
Favorite track so far (and not just because of the retro sound and video)…
Take a listen to the rest of it. Hey, if it’s good enough for Variety, it’s good enough for you!
It’s fall, and around these parts that means the October Friends of the Library Book Sale. It’s where I was last weekend instead of writing this. I always find a treasure there. Always. And it’s probably one of the few places I’ll buy a dead tree book–not because I have anything against dead tree books. We just don’t have the space, and ebooks are the only way I can practically read in the interstices of an otherwise busy life.
I usually focus on two sections before I start wandering around the place: the science-fiction/fantasy section and the literary short story section, which is where I scored what I discovered was the inaugural issue of the lit mag NOON, edited by Dianne Williams and Christine Schutt. Then, I’ll wander around the other sections and finish off at the CDs. The big score here was a recording from Return to Forever’s 2008 RETURNS tour, the first album from this classic jazz fusion band in over 30 years. I remember freaking out when I first saw the YouTube videos of the Montreux part of the tour. They didn’t lose a step, that’s for sure!
I picked up a copy of the HEAVY METAL soundtrack as a lark, and the interaction I had with the older volunteer who sold it to me made it totally worth the price. She goes, “Great soundtrack! Blue Öyster Cult… I was actually listening to them before I came here today.” Rock on, auntie!
There are two other conditions where I’ll buy a dead-tree book: (a) When I want something that’s only offered in that format and (b) I want it right the fuck now and don’t care if it’ll end up in an ebook later on. That doesn’t happen very often and when it does, I tend to forget when I pre-order them. So this week I got, not one, but two pleasant surprises from past me.
I guess if I go another month between Weeknotes, we’ll know why.
New school yacht rock meets old school yacht rock!
How could I not love Benny Sings’ vibe? Dutch guy putting a modern spin on Yacht Rock, singing like Barry Gibb on lo-fi tracks? Yes please. I got a couple of his albums, and that was before I knew he was hanging out with bands like Free Nationals. If he’s hip enough for them, he’s hip enough for me.
And to top it off, to get a hold of a Christopher Cross demo to put it on the B-side? :chef’s kiss:
I love the story here: In the late ’70s a musician from Akron and his girlfriend puts out an album that quickly goes out of print but gets continuously sampled over the years, becoming a white whale for collectors everywhere. Meanwhile, he and his band just keep putting out music. Music that’s really up my alley, at least in my adult life.
More than that though, I dig the obvious Northeast Ohio roots…
