Professor Penguin: Past

In music, a repeat offender is the kind of person that person that gets fixated on one track. Most likely, that track is just one on an entire album of good songs. Repeat offenders are dangerous people and their taste should not always be trusted because of their natural proclivity to obsess and become hopelessly biased.

Nevertheless, this morning I became a repeat offender while listening to Past from the band Professor Penguin. Previously, I have written about the band and you can find those articles here. However, today while washing the morning's dishes I was revisiting the album and got struck by this rather simple tune in a way that never happened before. 

Read on to find out what about Past got me all hot and bothered. Then leave us a comment on the board about a song which has hung you up before. We love to hear from the readers and it's been far too long since we had a chat.

Professor Penguin: Past

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Dave Holland Solo: Goodbye Pork Pie Hat

Goodbye Pork Pie Hat or the "Theme For Lester Young" as it was later renamed, was composed in 1959 by jazz juggernaut Charles Mingus. The song was composed as an elegy for the then recently deceased saxophonist, and was originally recorded on the landmark album, Mingus Ah Um. Since it's debut, Goodbye Pork Pie Hat has stood as a monument; it's musical worth cannot be overstated. It is a track and a composition that always strikes to the core of me.

Recently, I found this performance of the incomparable Dave Holland performing the tune on solo bass. The composition's evocative and sentimental melody takes on a powerful new life in the hands of Holland. If this performance inspires you to hear more, you can find his studio recording on the album One's All, but good luck trying to find a digital copy of the record.

I don't know where it is you are reading this, but in Baltimore, this performance is perfect for an evening such as tonight. You dig?

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