Ron S Posted February 3, 2005 Report Share Posted February 3, 2005 (edited) Thanks to Alan Lankin's Jazzmatazz site , I just learned about this concert at the Sedgwick Cultural Center in Philly, and immediately purchased tickets. Any other board members planning to be at this (and for $15, how can you afford not to be)? Edited February 3, 2005 by Ron S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alankin Posted February 4, 2005 Report Share Posted February 4, 2005 I'm thinking about going, especially since I missed him last time. (I heard it was an excellent show.) Hope I can manage the two block walk to the show! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron S Posted February 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2005 I'm thinking about going, especially since I missed him last time. (I heard it was an excellent show.) Hope I can manage the two block walk to the show! Want me to pick you up and drive you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chalupa Posted February 6, 2005 Report Share Posted February 6, 2005 I'll be there. Got my tix already. Didn't want to get shut out again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chalupa Posted February 6, 2005 Report Share Posted February 6, 2005 (edited) btw, I saw 3 really good shows this weekend - Jason Moran & Bandwagon and Frank Morgan on Friday. Last night was Jack DeJohnette's Latin Project which was outstanding. Edited February 6, 2005 by Chalupa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron S Posted February 6, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2005 I'll be there. Got my tix already. Didn't want to get shut out again. See ya there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron S Posted February 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 Anybody else planning to go to this Saturday night? Should we each wear a big "O" so we know who's from "The Board"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alankin Posted February 25, 2005 Report Share Posted February 25, 2005 Anybody else planning to go to this Saturday night? Should we each wear a big "O" so we know who's from "The Board"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron S Posted February 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2005 Anybody else planning to go to this Saturday night? Should we each wear a big "O" so we know who's from "The Board"? Should we look for that as a patch on the back of your jacket? Or as a tattoo on your forearm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted February 25, 2005 Report Share Posted February 25, 2005 I caught Benny with Mike Wofford, Bob Magnusson and Jim Plank in San Diego at the beginning of the month. Besides sounding wonderful, Benny has a marvelous stage presence. He intro'd a few songs with stories - charmingly delivered. His intro. to "I Remember Clifford" felt like five minutes, but who cared? Nobody. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron S Posted February 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Saw this show this weekend--TERRIFIC. I got to meet and sit next to Mr. Jazzmatazz himself, Alan Lankin. I learned about this concert from Alan's site, for which I owe him a major thanks. Benny played with a local rhythm section that was phenomenal. After about 30 minutes of answering questions from Philly jazz DJ Bob Perkins and the audience, Benny and the band played--if I counted correctly--FOURTEEN SONGS (Alan can correct me if I'm wrong), including "Killer Joe," "Cherry," "I Remember Clifford," "Whisper Not," "Take the A Train," and "Along Came Betty." All told, the show lasted over 3 hours. There seemed to be quite a few Philly friends and relatives in the audience, and we may have gotten an extra special show as a result. As others have reported, at 76, Benny looks terrific and plays phenomenally. He told a lot of stories, including about his days growing up in North Philly with John Coltrane (who was 2 years older than Benny) and jamming with Trane at Benny's house. With all that talking and blowing for over 3 hours, Benny was never winded and appeared as fresh at the end as he was at the beginning. He waited around after the show to talk to anyone who wanted to meet him (he signed my Jazztet Mosaic booklet and my Terminal 1 CD B-) ). If you get a chance to see this living legend, don't miss it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chalupa Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 I was there. Caught the wrong train and got there in the middle of the first song. Just to echo what Ron said - Benny looks great and still plays w/ a lot of enthusiasm. Definitely catch him if he comes to your town. Another song that I remember him doing was "Stablemates". Alan, do you have long hair pulled back into a pony tail??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheldonm Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 I caught Benny with Mike Wofford, Bob Magnusson and Jim Plank in San Diego at the beginning of the month. Besides sounding wonderful, Benny has a marvelous stage presence. He intro'd a few songs with stories - charmingly delivered. His intro. to "I Remember Clifford" felt like five minutes, but who cared? Nobody. I saw Benny in Indianapolis at the beginning of December and then again two weeks later in Chicago. Very similar shows and although the commentary doesn't change much, he's still great to see. At another show in Chicago the following week, I heard a guy say to his friend "I went to see Benny Golson last week and he never shut up. I felt like telling him If you came to play, shut the f**k up and play" Glad to hear the Philly show was a good one! Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDK Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 At another show in Chicago the following week, I heard a guy say to his friend "I went to see Benny Golson last week and he never shut up. I felt like telling him If you came to play, shut the f**k up and play" Glad to hear the Philly show was a good one! That's funny, Mark. I saw Benny here in L.A. a couple of weeks ago, and one of the clinchers for me was the review that mentioned the many stories he told between tunes. It's not often you get to hear such legendary tales directly from the performer and I enjoyed every one of them. He's a great personality, and seems like a genuinely nice and classy guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron S Posted February 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Alan, do you have long hair pulled back into a pony tail??? If he does, then I was sitting next to an impostor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheldonm Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Alan, do you have long hair pulled back into a pony tail??? If he does, then I was sitting next to an impostor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron S Posted February 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 It's not often you get to hear such legendary tales directly from the performer and I enjoyed every one of them. He's a great personality, and seems like a genuinely nice and classy guy. Couldn't agree more. In addition to the Coltrane stories, he told stories about Steven Speilberg/Tom Hanks/"The Terminal", first hearing about Clifford Brown's death, writing and introducing Dizzy to "I Remember Clifford," working with Art Blakey and encouraging Bobby Timmons to write "Moanin'" (and of course, Benny wrote 4 of the other 5 songs on that legendary album), and a lot more. And, as I mentioned before, he still managed to get in 14 songs, and be friendly, relaxed, and charming throughout and after. He's quite an inspiration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alankin Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 (edited) I was there. Caught the wrong train and got there in the middle of the first song. Just to echo what Ron said - Benny looks great and still plays w/ a lot of enthusiasm. Definitely catch him if he comes to your town. Another song that I remember him doing was "Stablemates". Alan, do you have long hair pulled back into a pony tail??? Not as far as I know! I have a glasses, regular length black hair, and a goatee with a bit of grey. Actually I look a bit like the drawing of Mat Maneri that I've shrunken down for my current icon. (I don't look really look like Mat though.) Edited March 1, 2005 by alankin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alankin Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 (edited) I agree with the other comments about his great storytelling. The show started with an interview with WRTI's Bob Perkins. He told the story of how Art Blakey 'tricked' him into joining the Messengers ("just stay for the next week") and Golson getting Blakey to replace the band with Philly's Lee Morgan, Bobby Timmons and Jymie Merritt. I remember thinking that he needs to write all this up, so I was happy to hear that he has a deal to write a 300 page book. His only problem is that he's written 1200 pages! Anyway, here's what I remember him playing: First Set 1. Horizon's Ahead 2. Take the 'A' Train 3. Along Came Betty (named for the girl he dated before he met his wife, Bobby) 4. Cherry 5. Peter's Moment Second Set 1. Whisper Not 2. Killer Joe 3. Beautiful Love (from the 1932 movie, The Mummy, with Boris Karloff [Golson remembers realizing that the Mummy's behavior could be explained by the fact that he was a junkie!]) 4. Tiny Capers (Clifford Brown) 5. Stablemates Edited March 1, 2005 by alankin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron S Posted March 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 Ironically, Alan, you FORGOT "I Remember Clifford." Actually, it was my wife who counted 14 songs. I'll try to rack my brain a bit and see if I can remember 3 more, or just conclude that it only SEEMED like 14 songs to my wife (she's not as much of a jazz fan as I am). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alankin Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 Ironically, Alan, you FORGOT "I Remember Clifford." Actually, it was my wife who counted 14 songs. I'll try to rack my brain a bit and see if I can remember 3 more, or just conclude that it only SEEMED like 14 songs to my wife (she's not as much of a jazz fan as I am). How could I forget I remember? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertrand Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 (edited) I always get a little bit ticked off when Benny makes his claim that the Messengers were foundering until he came along. This is a gross exaggeration - the McLean/Hardman then Griffin/Hardman uints had some fine moments. Granted, Tough! sucks, but it was probably partially the fault of whoever the A&R man at Cadet was. Also, I only have the Charly version, and the sound is awful. Bertrand. Edited March 1, 2005 by bertrand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alankin Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 I always get a little bit ticked off when Benny makes his claim that the Messengers were foundering until he came along. This is a gross exaggeration - the McLean/Hardman then Griffin/Hardman uints had some fine moments... He didn't make that claim on Saturday. (Maybe he's said it elsewhere.) He did recommend his fellow Philly guys to Art, but I assume that Art's the one that hired them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron S Posted March 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 I always get a little bit ticked off when Benny makes his claim that the Messengers were foundering until he came along. This is a gross exaggeration - the McLean/Hardman then Griffin/Hardman uints had some fine moments... He didn't make that claim on Saturday. (Maybe he's said it elsewhere.) He did recommend his fellow Philly guys to Art, but I assume that Art's the one that hired them. In fact, it sounded like he recommended Morgan, Timmons, and Merritt in response to Blakey's soliciting his input. Also, in his liner notes to the RVG edition of "Moanin'", Bob Blumenthal states the following: Notwithstanding the contributions of Morgan, Timmons and Merritt, there is no disputing that Benny Golson defined this edition of the Messengers. Three months short of his 30th birthday and the veteran of affiliations that overlap those of his hometown friend and contemporary John Coltrane, Golson was extremely well prepared to serve as musical director of the group. Golson's playing and writing had been featured in the recently dissolved Gillespie orchestra . . . ; but his contributions here are even more imposing. It was Golson who recruited his fellow Philadelphians for service with Blakey over the course of 1958; and [regarding the album "Moanin'"] it was Golson who was responsible for the majority of the material. . . . Golson's contribution to the overall effort as both composer and instrumentalist matched the earlier impact of Horace Silver and anticipated the contributions of such future Messengers as Wayne Shorter, Bobby Watson and Donald Brown. FWIW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chalupa Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 Anyone going to the Painted Bride this Saturday night???? Could be the show of the year for Philly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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