*For Gil...

"Winter in America."

It's been a week since musician Gil Scott-Heron has passed away at 62. Heron was certainly much more than a poet and songwriter whose infectious tunes just had a way of staying with you, even after nearly 30 years. He liked to call himself a "bluesologist" and I'd heard in one interview he said, "I'm just a piano player from Tennesee..." I'd written about his passing last week here on the blog, including the article that appeared in The New York Times. Listening to radio programs, reading some of the other testimonials to him and listening again to some of his past interviews, it is time to post this multimedia piece which I began putting together about six months ago. All the images were made here in Newburgh, NY, encompassing my coverage on the streets the past few years, although I'd had the soundtrack in my head for much, much longer.

I've wondered what Gil would think of the piece utilizing his words & music, but just a day or two ago I realized he'd already seen it - all over this country. ~cg.