David and Bill Watrous

August 12, 2009

I mentioned David's idol Bill Watrous in my eulogy. It might have been an obscure reference, even by David standards. Bill Watrous is considered to be one of the greatest jazz trombone players in history, though perhaps a bit overlooked.

David gave me a Bill Watrous record for my bar mitzvah, The Tiger of San Pedro, and I must say that though I got lots of cash and checks that day, no one else thought to give me a collection of trombone music. If you want to hear the song that David and I wore out on the record player, click here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzNg4j-EYYE

The trumpet solo at the one minute mark is pretty amazing but the trombone solo at the end is not too shabby either. David loved it.

Matt Mendelsohn