I tried calling my good pal Harlan Wallach on the phone the other day. I needed some technical help with my computer and if anyone knows about computers, it's Harlan. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately now that I've had some time to think about it, my friend was not at home. Instead of speaking with Harlan, I was confronted by his latest voicemail greeting. "Hi, I'm not home right now." his voice patiently explained. "This is Paul Gonsalves' saxophone solo from 'Diminuendo And Crescendo In Blue'. If you have heard this before, you may press pound now and leave me a message." I chuckled to myself as Paul Gonsalves' tenor sax began to blow through the wire and into my ear.

That wily Harlan had certainly come up with some crazy voicemail greetings in the past, but this was really too much. Now, you're probably asking yourself what makes this bit of music notable in the first place and I must say, I'm glad you asked. You see, Paul Gonsalves played the aforementioned saxophone solo with Duke Ellington's orchestra at the American Jazz Festival in Newport, Rhode Island back on July 7, 1956. Certainly that in itself is something most folks would be proud of, but that's just the beginning of the story here. c o n t i n u e