Tuesday, April 8 2008

As a player whose incredible longevity linked him to the jazz pioneers, Benny Waters (1902-1998) reemerged late in life as one of the great, unsung saxophonists in jazz. He had played with all the legends-King Oliver, Fletcher Henderson, Jimmie Lunceford, and Hot Lips Page. After a forty-year stay in France, Waters returned to the United States. In the final years of his life he was discovered by a new generation and was very active: playing jazz festivals, composing, recording, and telling stories.