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David loved jazz and classical music. Playing trumpet in junior high, high school, and college taught him to love the great jazz trumpet players, starting with the lush romantic sound of Harry James, but always returning to Louis Armstrong--whom David loved for his inexhaustible gift for finding joy in music. He had many pieces by Louis Armstrong in his memory, high among them being "Pennies from Heaven." In Summer Music Camp at FSU and later at Leon High School, David played under band conductor Oliver Hobbs, a man David considered a musician of the highest caliber. All his life, he spoke with gratitude and affection of "Mr. Hobbs." In his last year, he found a CD of Masterpieces by Ellington and happily played for us the version of "Mood Indigo" that was one of the defining sounds of his teen years, when he owned the LP version. David listened to a lot of Beethoven--the quartets performed by the Budapest Quartet, Schnabel's rendition of the piano sonatas, Toscanini's performances of the symphonies, especially the Third and the Ninth. He loved Beethoven's Lenore Overture, in part for its heroic trumpet call at the climax. His daughter's middle name came from this piece. When Gerald sent him a copy of Lara St. John's performance of Bach pieces for unaccompanied violin, this recording became a favorite. On receiving it, he immediately phoned the little company that published the CD and ordered additional copies. David would play excerpts of it for visitors, and, if they were moved by what they heard, he would give it to them. At his death, he had a stack of four sealed copies of the CD on his little music system, ready to give away. He said about them,
You can listen to excerpts from these Bach violin pieces, among the music David listened to in his last months. |