I found out last night from Sax On The Web that my very favorite saxophonist, Chicago's Von Freeman, passed away last week at the age of 88. I'm not feeling too happy today as it seems like all my remaining saxophone heroes are leaving us. Last year ended with Sam Rivers' death, the previous year Fred Anderson, now Vonski.
I loved Vonski's acid sound, which has been described as "out of tune" or "playing the wrong notes", but the only thing that proves is that some people's ears are out of tune. Vonski never played a bad note in his life.
Some of the reasons I loved to hear him play: He loved playing. Toward the end of his life he could barely walk but he played with boundless energy. He was a living link to Charlie Parker and can be found on a recording of Bird from the Pershing Ballroom in the late 1940's. He only played tenor, no stylish dalliance with whiny soprano or wimpy flute to try and sell records. Not a single disco-soul album in the 70's. He played blues, bop, and standards, very few "original compositions" that can't hold a candle to Night in Tunisia in order to cash in on publishing rights. He never recorded an album with strings, never composed a suite for symphony orchestra. Just fiery, original, genuine, from the heart blowing that spanned bebop to outside with everything in between. He recorded tenor battles with his son Chico (a great saxophonist in his own right), Willis Jackson, and fellow Chicagoan Ed Petersen; all these guys can blow like crazy but when Vonski came on...SHUT UP!
I loved Vonski's acid sound, which has been described as "out of tune" or "playing the wrong notes", but the only thing that proves is that some people's ears are out of tune. Vonski never played a bad note in his life.
Some of the reasons I loved to hear him play: He loved playing. Toward the end of his life he could barely walk but he played with boundless energy. He was a living link to Charlie Parker and can be found on a recording of Bird from the Pershing Ballroom in the late 1940's. He only played tenor, no stylish dalliance with whiny soprano or wimpy flute to try and sell records. Not a single disco-soul album in the 70's. He played blues, bop, and standards, very few "original compositions" that can't hold a candle to Night in Tunisia in order to cash in on publishing rights. He never recorded an album with strings, never composed a suite for symphony orchestra. Just fiery, original, genuine, from the heart blowing that spanned bebop to outside with everything in between. He recorded tenor battles with his son Chico (a great saxophonist in his own right), Willis Jackson, and fellow Chicagoan Ed Petersen; all these guys can blow like crazy but when Vonski came on...SHUT UP!
Here is a well-written obit in the Chicago Tribune. And here is a great streaming broadcast of Vonski and Ed Petersen on NPR.
I'll post my own tribute tomorrow, a note to self written back in 2007 after a long conversation with Vonski.
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