I met Glen
Simpson, an aging jazz musician who was busking in Lawrence, Kansas, over the
weekend. He had chosen a spot on
Massachusetts Avenue in the sunlight and was playing his alto saxophone to the
crowds walking by, occasionally drawing a few dollars from the passers-by. He
was already talking to my son when I walked up and once he heard that my son
plays alto saxophone as well, he began offering suggestions to further my son's
ability to improvise and expressed a willingness to provide lessons for a fee.
He let us know that he once played with the late Joe Henderson and that George
Cables was once part of his quartet.
Four of Glen Simpson’s albums are available at CD Baby. He says that he
has five additional albums ready to be released. A video of his, featuring
"In a Sentimental Mood," appears below, which, unfortunately, goes to
black after a minute or two. I tried to
encourage him to use Bandcamp to get his music out to the public. We can
only hope that we hear more from him in the near future.
