Golson!!!

[sheldonm]

Benny Golson is playing the Jazz Showcase this week, beginning tonight! I'll be at the Sunday show with Sal......anyone else???

Mark

Edited December 13, 2005 by sheldonm

[Alfred]

I saw him in Zürich this year. Great concert!

[sal]

Can't wait !!!

[Nate Dorward]

Just possible I may be in Chicago on Friday/Saturday night, & I've never seen Golson play, so this is welcome news.

[Larry Kart]

Went to hear Golson Friday night with Nate. Benny was in very fine form; he's in at least as good shape now as he ever was, although he also sounds a bit different stylistically these days -- there's more air and shadings of timbre in the sound for one, which IMO leads to lots of wonderful, subtle things. Try to listen to him on a literal note-to-note basis; everything links up and makes sense, very few if any prefab figures, or so it seems. Also, as hip as some of his harmonic moves are, at bottom it seems to be all melody for him now. Actually, both in demeanor and musically, he reminds a bit of latter-day Benny Carter. Here's hoping Benny G. has a similary long rich run. First set was all originals: Horizon Ahead, Are You Real, a recent blues whose title I couldn't make out (Pierre something?), I Remember Clifford, Stablemates, and maybe one other I'm forgetting. He was having reed trouble on Clifford, thus didn't take a solo after the theme, but then delivered an pretty amazing cadenza-coda. Rhythm section was local (Mike Kocour, pno,; Larry Grey, bs.; Joel Spencer, drms.) and servicable once they got into the groove, though Grey's cheesy bass solos make me want to throw things at him.

[sheldonm]

Thanks for the review of the show; can't wait to make the trip tomorrow. Funny , your thoughts on Larry Gray as I usually think he is a pretty good player!!! At times he is a little dramatic!

[Larry Kart]

"A little dramatic" is one way to put it; "histrionic" would be another. Oh for the days when the semi-regular bassist at the Showcase was the sober Eddie DeHaas. On the other hand, if memory serves, Gray (sorry for the mis-spelling) does seem much less inclined to show off behind soloists than he used to; and on one tune, where he engaged in four-bar exchanges with Spencer (on brushes) and worked around and a bit away from a "walking" format, he sounded pretty good to me. But Lord save me from bass fiddle "Lyricism" (with a capital "L"). The slides, the winks, the twangs, the swoons!

[Larry Kart]

BTW, by "the sober Eddie DeHaas" I meant sober in musical temperament, which Eddie always is, not sober as opposed to drunk.

[Chuck Nessa]

Thanks for the clarification. I was worried for a minute.

[sheldonm]

....one photograph from last nights show.

[Bright Moments]

nice!!!!

[marcello]

But Lord save me from bass fiddle "Lyricism" (with a capital "L"). The slides, the winks, the twangs, the swoons!

Why is it that when there is a bass player who really dosen't have a talent for soloing, they are the most outrageous, stage stealing, time stealing member of the band with all those weird/lame cliches?

It can really be brutal!

It's one of the problems when a leader picks up a local rythmn section for a night or two and he has little control over them.

I'd rather see a band with a real leader anyday; I don't care who it is, but I guess these day you have to pick and choose.

I bet Golson could put together a band that would be paid well enough to tour.

[DukeCity]

First set was all originals: ..., I Remember Clifford, Stablemates...

Pretty cool when your set of originals has those kinds of standards included!

[Larry Kart]

Nice photo, Mark -- really captures the way Golson was into things. A joyfully serious musician, and it was a joy to hear him.