When he was a member of the Ray Charles band in the 1950s, saxophonist David “Fathead†Newman was frequently the featured soloist on Paul Mitchell’s and George V. Johnson’s “Hard Times.†It became a musical signature that Newman made indelibly his own. He featured the piece for the rest of his life. In this case, he played it with an all-star group assembled for a festival in New Jersey in—we think—1993. The other members of the band are Steve Nelson, vibraphone; Walter Bishop, Jr., piano; David Wiliams, bass; and Eddie Gladden drums.
David Newman was born in 1933. He died in 2009.