The Musicians’ Voice is an open forum for discussion about the state of union affairs. The letters here do not necessarily express the views of Local 802. E-mail letters to Allegro@Local802afm.org or write to Allegro, Local 802, 322 West 48th Street, New York, NY 10036. Letters must be no more than 300 words.

Sherman Goldscheid

Remembering Sherman Goldscheid

It was my good fortune to have Sherman Goldscheid (1923-2013) as a friend and colleague for so many years. He was always there for me in steering through the shallows of life’s crises. He was a man of many interests, among them literature. You could say he was an addicted reader. He set the bar quite high, sticking with quality writing; the rest (he was quick to say) was trash. His love of words and wordplay was, of course, evident in his humor. Though he was quite capable of coming up with a one-liner, most Sherman stories require setting up. As a friend reminded me, Sherman spoke in paragraphs. His humor was far-reaching and encompassed several genres, among them what might be called spurious fiddle anecdotes. For instance, early on, he told me that one of his great influences was Paul Boray. “He influenced all of us,” Sherman said. It took me a while to figure out that Paul Boray was the name of the violinist (played by John Garfield) in the film “Humoresque.” My best wishes to Sherman’s family and friends. We all miss him.

Dave Wilson
[Editor’s note: we printed Mr. Goldschied’s obituary in the May issue of Allegro; readers can view it here.]

I noted with interest a couple of months ago that there was a proposal to grant flight upgrades to Local 802 officers for union-related trips, and in the Executive Board minutes I can see that this policy is now being implemented, for both domestic and international flights, with the voting unanimous in each instance.

I hate to be a spoilsport, but I have to say I have mixed feelings about our officers voting themselves these flight upgrades, when few if any of our members – who are paying for these trips – ever get to travel in business or first class themselves.

I recently performed in Tokyo with Ron Carter’s band. With us was the great Jerry Dodgion, an octogenarian giant of this music who has performed with Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, Red Norvo, Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, and even Louis Armstrong. Where was this distinguished gentleman seated for the arduous trip to Japan? Economy, like the rest of us. Now, ironically, his dues money is being used to pay for upgrades for 802 officers to travel to Portland or to London.

Perhaps, until we reach a time when an 80-year old treasure who has worked with Louis Armstrong can be accorded a business class seat to Japan, it would be appropriate for our officers to do without that perk as well.

Scott Robinson