I knew Dave, and sad to say he's been gone for quite a while. Good man.
We are basically from the same area...and he refered students to me for the jazz side of things. Dave was a unique soul and a timeless guy. When he got ill, it was pretty horrid. I'll stick to the bright side of things as that is something that was very very sad. I'll say this- he fought hard.
SOMEWHERE....in some older
Sax Journals there is an article I did on him & his mouthpieces. I can't really remember what issue as I wrote for that " mag" 20 years. I bet Ken Dorn knows, I think.
In any case, it was over 12 years ago, and I remember really enjoying his pieces. He was really proud of them. And rightly so! Dave drove a lot to the Babbitt factory from Reading Pa, to get the specs just right. But the article came out- and he was really into it. He was a good soul.
On the sax side, he had a straight alto that was amazing. On one of the vinal records he recorded it on a legit piece!! It was an original Buescher.
I remember how great it sounded and the concept- very creative. At the same time, we were talking about education and the ups-downs of it. In a "fair world" I would of liked to see Dave tour his duo -and get the props he really deserved.
I respected his seriousness, his dedication to _HIS VISION_as an artist and his ideas on education. But really he should of toured the world doing the music. He deserved to do it.
Like I said...in a fair world. He was very together.
I'm glad I knew him, as I did. We were pretty different as players, and as people. But we had a sympatico- THE SAXOPHONE.< and a committment to the art > And boy could he play it. WOW.
But what I enjoyed about Dave was the individuality he had as a person via the music. He wore bow ties, really cool dresser. In his way- but once you met him, you'd never forget him.Class!
Once he dropped by this trio gig I had, a room that was kinda quiet, and no drums. Still playing jazz but it had to be chill. So- I was really playing my ivey-divey repitore < I used that term before Don Byron made the CD btw
but let Don know. LOL- He's a Ernie Kovacs fan- but more of that later in Byron-ville )
So Dave B ' comes by and is really talking to me about Lester Young. He spotted the rub of where I was coming from, and hung 2 sets. He dug Prez, of course.
Years later when he was sick, I thought he was getting better and one day he called me from the Philly hospital he was in- and was very upbeat. I thought- hey he's on the mend. He started to say he had one of my books with Prez solos etc, and he was going to start practicing tenor and try these as he originally loved Prez. So I grabbed my horn- and played the " Pound Cake" solo for him over the phone. He always enjoyed that one. When I tried his pieces I'd play that solo for him- he and I were lovin' that Lester solo. In any case- I got off the phone- and thought he was on the upswing. 3 days later, I opened the local paper and saw his obit!
I can still hear that phone call when I think about it. I know why now.
In the city we lived in ( Reading ) Dave lived in the section that the great author John Updike came from. Shillington. We used to speak of that factor too. Wallace Stevens the poet-author was from here, also kinda that same area of Reading. " Run Rabbit Run" the Updike movie was filmed here BTW. I grew up in the city,and took lessons with a guy that taught Gerry Mulligan
< Sam Corenti > as well as a great saxophone player, who years later won the lotto when he was teaching school, Joe Miller. Joe and Sam were into Bird, and big bands and Mulligan & Chet and provided a great foundation for me. I think Dave was a little older than I, and studied with Saxie Schollenberger as a youth. Dave's wife is really an amazing pianist too, she has the romance in the music, I always looked forward to hearing her.
In any case, I think of Dave often and was thrilled to see his name here.
Thank you. I'm going to find that LP and listen to him on that stritch.
:line4:
In closing I'll include a John Updike quote as a tribute to Dave & as a nod to that section of town that produced these cool guys. < Shillington>
The inner spaces that a good story lets us enter are the old apartments of religion.
John Updike
