sheldonm Posted December 22, 2003 Report Share Posted December 22, 2003 (edited) Happy Holidays to all!!!I went to see Benny Golson Quartet (Larry Gray on Bass, Dana Hall on Drums and Mike Kucour on Piano) last night at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago. Benny sounded great as usual, while playing many of his greatest compositions as well as a few new tunes. Towards the the end of the set, vocalist Kurt Elling walked in the club and Benny invited him up on stage to sing a few songs. They did "Embraceable You" and a "scat" version of what sounded to me like "Salt Peanuts". I was never a big fan of Kurts singing, but Benny and the crowd were loving it. Now that I look back on it, it was pretty cool. I was at the show early and Benny came in much earlier than normal and was playing a little piano while the club was empty. I made a few photographs of him playing which was great and talk to him for about 15 minutes when he was finished; he told a very sad story of what he was doing when he heard that Clifford Brown had died (which led to him composing "I Remember Clifford"). I'll post a few of my photographs from the show in the next couple days. If you didn't see some of my photographs from the Dave Holland show, click on the Dave Holland link on this same thread. Mark Edited December 21, 2004 by sheldonm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted December 26, 2003 Report Share Posted December 26, 2003 Benny Golson Copyright 2003 Mark Sheldon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted December 26, 2003 Report Share Posted December 26, 2003 Benny Golson Copyright 2003 Mark Sheldon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted December 26, 2003 Report Share Posted December 26, 2003 Mike Kocour w/ Benny Golson Copyright 2003 M.Sheldon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted December 26, 2003 Report Share Posted December 26, 2003 Larry Gray Copyright 2003 Mark Sheldon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted December 26, 2003 Report Share Posted December 26, 2003 Benny Golson Copyright 2003 Mark Sheldon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted December 26, 2003 Report Share Posted December 26, 2003 Benny Golson Copyright 2003 Mark Sheldon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted December 26, 2003 Report Share Posted December 26, 2003 Kurt Elling w/ Benny Golson Copyright 2003 Mark Sheldon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted December 26, 2003 Report Share Posted December 26, 2003 Kurt Elling w/ Benny Golson Copyright 2003 Mark Sheldon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted December 26, 2003 Report Share Posted December 26, 2003 Benny Golson w/ balloon Saxophone Copyright 2003 Mark Sheldon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted December 26, 2003 Report Share Posted December 26, 2003 Benny Golson / Playing piano prior to show. Copyright 2003 Mark Sheldon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted January 12, 2004 Report Share Posted January 12, 2004 Wow! I only now saw these pics, very cool! I love Golson! Thanks for posting them. ubu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted December 2, 2004 Report Share Posted December 2, 2004 Cool pics, sheldonm! Are you going to see him tomorrow night in Indy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted December 2, 2004 Report Share Posted December 2, 2004 Benny Golson w/ balloon Saxophone Copyright 2003 Mark Sheldon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheldonm Posted December 2, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2004 Cool pics, sheldonm! Are you going to see him tomorrow night in Indy? Ghost, Just got off the phone with the venue; they are attempting to let me photograph but Benny's manager is draggin' his feet. I'll be at the show for sure but we'll see on the photographs. I was invited to sit through an interview someone else is doing with him after the show; should be interesting! Are you going to make it? Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AfricaBrass Posted December 2, 2004 Report Share Posted December 2, 2004 Great photos! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheldonm Posted December 2, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2004 Benny Golson w/ balloon Saxophone Copyright 2003 Mark Sheldon The store behind this photo is a magician from Michigan had seen Golson some time before and thought he would make him this "sax" out of balloons. I was photographing Golson an hour or so before the show playing the piano when this guy came in to present Benny with his art. I asked Benny if I could make a photograph or two, which he was cool with. He also pulled it (balloon sax) out during the performance, which got a big laugh from the crowd! Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheldonm Posted December 2, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2004 Thanks AB! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejp626 Posted December 9, 2004 Report Share Posted December 9, 2004 Great photo! It looks like Benny is going to be back at the Showcase in Chicago in another week or so. I will try to make one of the dates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejp626 Posted December 21, 2004 Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 Here is a review in the Tribune of Golson's latest stop at the Jazz Showcase. Reich was there on Tuesday. I made it Friday evening. I thought about stopping back on Sunday, but it didn't work out. My comments will follow the review. JAZZ REVIEW Â Â Benny Golson's look back is a holiday present By Howard Reich Tribune arts critic Published December 17, 2004 Skilled musicians with long resumes don't necessarily try to prove themselves every night on the bandstand. In some instances, they're content to look back on their work and revel in their achievements, while audiences applaud a musical life well led. So even if the longtime composer-saxophonist Benny Golson didn't raise a great deal of fireworks Tuesday night at the Jazz Showcase, his performance offered rewards of another kind. For here was one of the more accomplished men of jazz -- a top-flight tunesmith and a colleague of such visionaries as John Coltrane and Lionel Hampton and Johnny Hodges -- poetically recalling an earlier era in American music. To hear Golson speaking of a Philadelphia childhood spent playing $8-a-night gigs with the young Coltrane, to hear Golson reminiscing about nights with Art Blakey and Art Farmer and the like was to behold the most vivid kind of music-history lesson. Golson, who turns 76 next month, lived through several musical epochs, and his between-song patter proved as enlightening as the music itself. When he picked up the tenor saxophone to play his own tunes, however, he reminded listeners of how much indelible music he has conceived during more than half a century in jazz. No single evening could accommodate all of his classics, from "Killer Joe" to "Whisper Not" to "I Remember Clifford," but during Tuesday night's first set, he revisited several of the best. In some ways, Golson's "Along Came Betty" recalls "Killer Joe," the tautly constructed theme and its suave swing undercurrent inexorably pushing the music forward. Though Golson has played the piece uncounted times, he kept it fresh, splintering the main theme, reorganizing its central riffs and utterly reharmonizing the original chord changes. One of the more interesting set-pieces of the evening, however, came not from a Golson classic but, instead, from an obscurity. At first hearing, his "Pierre's Moment" evoked Thelonious Monk, though in a straightforward swing context. Granted, even in "Pierre's Moment," a highlight of the evening, Golson's tenor playing was generally low key and understated. Compared to the fire-breathing soloists who typically appear on this stage, Golson's playing produced a soft glow. So listeners who yearned for a bit more action had to focus on Golson's sidemen.Bassist Larry Gray outdid himself, crafting solos of extraordinary technical prowess and musical invention. Drummer Dana Hall offered precisely the mix of virtuosity and intelligence that listeners expect of him. And pianist Michael Kocour, a former Chicagoan who recently moved to Arizona but maintains ties here, played with as much rhythmic dexterity as harmonic sophistication. Golson's sleekly stated tenor playing hardly could have been cast in a finer setting. This seems like a pretty accurate review, though I think Golson's tenor playing picked up a bit. He may be having some embouchure trouble, since the slow and piano parts of the songs didn't sound so great, particularly noticable on I Remember Clifford, but once he picked up some steam, he sounded great. And the band was really hot, particularly this bass player Larry Gray. He is the second-best bass player I have seen live (after Christian McBride). He does some amazing walking bass runs. I think we'll hear more of him in the near future. For the Friday show, Golson did a fairly new song called Horizon Beyond (or something), Pierre's Moment, I Remember Clifford, Coltrane's Mr P.C. and one (or two) I can't recall right now. I was hoping to hear Killer Joe, but that often works best with a trumpet/sax line-up. Anyway, a good show, and I'll definitely try to see him next year. Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryCurleyMoe Posted December 21, 2004 Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 Dana Hall is on the jazz faculty at the University of Illinois now - a truly outstanding and GREAT SOUNDing drummer...watch out- more to come from this cat - soon to be a "doctor" - in musicology from what I understand... I really need to get to the Showcase more often- still about 3 hrs. into the city &parking for me.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDK Posted December 21, 2004 Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 Nice stuff, Mark (as usual)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheldonm Posted December 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 ejp626, I also went to see Benny again but on Thursday night. I stayed for both sets as the first one had about 75 people in attendance and the second about 35 people. I got to speak to Benny for a bit after the show and gave him one of my photographs. At this show, he played Horizon Ahead, Pierre's Moment, Along Came Betty, I remember Clifford and Mister PC during the first set. During the 2nd, he played Whisper Not, Terminal 1, Surrey with a Fringe on Top, Penstiva (just the rhythm section), Sweet Georgia Brown and Stablemates. Although he plays many of the same songs show after show, they always seem a little different each time. Here's an image from the Thursday show. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheldonm Posted December 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 ...and Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheldonm Posted December 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 .....and Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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