Earle Hagen died today, the composer of arguably one of the most well-known pieces written for alto sax, Harlem Nocturne. I used it in I Hate Kenny G (in fact I had to write a story with that song in mind so I could work it into the script), I played it as the random “mood music” for a P.I. spoof that a buddy of mine wrote, as a featured soloist with the Minnetonka Concert Band, Minnesota Freedom Band, Kalamazoo College Concert Band, Kalamazoo College Jazz Band, and Minnetonka High School Jazz Band, and even for offeratory music at a church in Hackensack, Minnesota (the minister said they got the highest donation they’d had in five years that day).
As cheesy and iconic as it is, it’s a piece that I love performing more than any other, with possibly the exception of the Glazunov Alto Saxophone Concerto.
So when I play it in Kenny at the BLB on Father’s Day, this one’s going out to Earle.
