Always.

I would dare say that most people have never heard of jazz musician Kenny Rankin.

I honestly didn't "get" Mr. Rankin when I was introduced to him back in 1977 by artist Sue Ellen Brown. This was my "comedy period" when I endlessly delved the darkest corners of resale shops for out-of-print mirth, a collection that eventually blossomed to over 500 albums. As you might imagine soft, noodly vocal stylings were way off my aesthetic radar. The guy had the voice of an angel but I wanted sharp political wit and dick jokes.

Besides, the guy wore an earring. The album cover of his then most-recent work, The Kenny Rankin Album, featured a close-up head-shot and there, right before Zeus and everybody, glistening prominently in his left ear, was a tiny opal stud.

Ewww.

He also sported a truly fruity, pre-Village People mustache. It might have played well in pre-disco Northern California but this was definitely not the album a manly, self-respecting Fort Worth boy could be seen totin' about.

But the calendar changed and pages fell off. The mustache was shaved and the earring vanished, at least from his albums covers, and my comedy LP's gathered dust rather than chuckles. Suddenly I was ready for nuanced music, and Mr. Rankin's effervescent "Haven't We Met" , the melancholy "'Round Midnight" or his charmingly acapella "Always" were just what I needed. And after my father died Mr. Rankin's rendition of "This Old Man" softened the sharp edges of my sorrow.

I'm waxing nostalgiac about Mr. Rankin today because he passed away due to the complications of lung cancer this past Sunday. He was 69. He left behind 13 albums and a world full of fans. Me included. His unique talent will be missed.

=mike=