Slide Show

Well, I guess when you say the word “Skipper”, most of the world may think about some tall white haired cat that utters the phrase, “Hey little Buddy!” However, when it comes to jazz music, there is but one, kindly referred to as “The Skipper” and he is Henry Franklin.

For certain this world class bass player runs a tight ship of musical melodic love in four. Standards that swing and smile with delight. Tunes like Horace Silvers, “Juicy Lucy”, “My One and Only Love”, “Softly as in a Morning’s Sunrise”, Coltrane’s “Giant Steps” and even some original music from two of his latest disc called “Three Card Molly” and “All Gods Children”. Tonight on piano is William Henderson (Kaman), Carl Burnette on drums and Mark Waggoner on guitar.

 

As usual, due to the early starting show time and Los Angeles traffic, the audience at the Westin starts off small and builds during the set. By the end of the first set, the place was overflowing. The crowd was filled with its share of regulars but tonight, everyone seems to be a connected musical family. They all seem to have a relationship on some level with Henry, a group of true supporters.

The Skipper and his crew are certainly a beloved band. The music and their kind spirits attest to that. The melody is sweet as Kaman and Mark add just the right ingredients. Carl is riding high on the symbols and brush stroking the time as these cats tighten the screws and lock down the flavor.

Henry evenly weaves his magic as he solidly holds down the rhythm with ease. He is a gentle giant of this music and his solos are passionately melodic. He dedicated the song, “I Love You” to his audience and the love was certainly given in return. On the break, he smiles at me and says with confidence, “Did we bring them out”? Although the answer was overwhelmingly obvious I replied, “It looks like you did”!

A couple of surprises happened during the second set when Kaman jumped up from piano and switched to Soprano, who knew? Also, emerging from the audience to sing like a bird in the night was Ms Talita Long, who also appears on Henry’s latest disc, “All Gods Children” that was released the same day as the performance. All in all, an outstanding performance and great turnout for a great man of jazz, Mr. Henry Franklin.

 

LeRoy Downs