The Last Goodbye, written by vibist Ed Saindon, was written in honor of legendary jazz educator, big

Jazz News by: Ed Saindon

Ed Saindon’s composition, “The Last Goodbye” is the lead track on the recently released recording Depth of Emotion which features Dave Liebman on soprano and Saindon on vibes. Saindon has had a long playing association with Herb Pomeroy who passed away in 2007. Saindon, a professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston since 1976, had played with Pomeroy for many years mostly in a duo context with trumpet and vibes. “I learned so much playing with Herb all of these years. We would play a tune, sit down and talk, play another tune and sit down and talk some more. I learned about music as well as hearing so many wonderful stories about players that Herb had played with including Charlie Parker, Lionel Hampton and Stan Getz,” said Saindon.

Saindon performed “The Last Goodbye” this past year at a tribute for Pomeroy at Berklee. The band featured Saindon on vibes along with trumpeter Greg Hopkins and Pomeroy’s long time rhythm section (pianist Paul Schmeling, bassist John Repucci and drummer Artie Cabral). “It was very special for me and the band since Herb’s wife Dodie and daughter Perry were seated in the front row of the hall,” reflected Saindon.

This is not the first time that a composition had been written for Herb Pomeroy. The classic Benny Golson composition, “Stablemates” was written for Pomeroy and his band when they were playing at Boston’s famed jazz club The Stables in the 50’s. Another Golson classic, “Along Came Betty” was written for the trumpeter’s first wife.

“Herb Pomeroy is sadly missed by everyone that knew him and shared the bandstand with him. He was not only a great player and educator, but he was most importantly, a great person,” Saindon commented. Speaking about his intention in composing “The Last Goodbye”, Saindon added, “I wanted the composition to reflect the sadness of Herb leaving us while at the same time elicit the kind of joy that Herb brought to us with his beautiful playing and personality.”

Photo by: © Ed Saindon

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