Tommy Flanagan, John Coltrane and Me...

I like to play like a horn player, like I'm blowing into the piano. The sound of a piece – its overall tonality – is what concerns me.

               Tommy Flanagan

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Saxophone Colossus (1956) signed by Tommy, Sonny Rollins, Max Roach

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The Cats (1957) signed by Tommy, Roy Haynes, Louis Hayes

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It’s Magic (1957) signed by Tommy, Curtis Fuller, Louis Hayes

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Moods ille (1957 signed by Tommy, Roy Haynes

All Day Long (1957) signed by Tommy, Donald Byrd, Frank Foster, Kenny Burrell

A great American pianist and composer, Tommy Flanagan was born in Detroit in 1930, and his early influences were Art Tatum, Nat King Cole, and Teddy Wilson. He moved to New York in 1956 and participated on two very important and seminal jazz recordings: Sonny Rollins' landmark Saxophone Colossus (1956) and John Coltrane's equally iconic Giant Steps (1960).

Tommy was very prolific and he recorded over thirty-five albums as a leader, and he played on over two-hundred as a sideman. He was also the music director and accompanist for Ella Fitzgerald (1962-65 and 1968-78) and Tony Bennett in 1966.I saw Tommy many times over the years and his trio was a regular at the Village Vanguard, the oldest and most famous jazz club in New York City, if not the world. One of the last times I saw Tommy was at the Jazz Standard in NYC. He was touring and showcasing his live release, Sunset And The Mockingbird (1997) which was recorded at the Vanguard. The title track is a gorgeous Duke Ellington ballad, rather obscure, but in Tommy's skilled hands, an exquisite masterpiece of Ellingtonia. It was nominated for a Grammy, one of five nominations which Tommy received in his storied career.

After the show, I went back stage to get some albums signed. Sitting with Tommy in his dressing room was Jimmy Heath, a renowned jazz saxophonist, composer and educator. I had seen Jimmy Heath many times and he was part of a very rich musical family: older brother Percy was a bassist for the Modern Jazz Quartet for forty years, and younger brother Albert “Tootie” Heath was a gifted drummer.

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Really Big! (1960) signed by Tommy, Jimmy and Tootie Heath, Clark Terry

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Jazz n Samba (1964) signed by Tommy, Milt Jackson, Jimmy Heath, Richard Davis

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Opus De Funk (1975) signed by Tommy, Jimmy and Percy Heath, Milt Jackson, Ron Carter

As Tommy signed the albums, he paused and looked carefully at Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Colossus. He loved Sonny and was glad to be part of such an important recording. I asked him about John Coltrane's Giant Steps. Tommy and Jimmy both laughed as Heath and Trane grew up in Philadelphia and were very close, Tommy said, "Shit man, everyone always asks me about Giant Steps. What was it like? What was Coltrane all about? Man, Trane had that shit all figured out long  before we got there. The record company told me to be at the studio at 2pm on a Tuesday and that's what I did. I showed up. Trane had it all figured out. We just played. It was just another gig for me and the rest of us."

So that's how one of the great jazz masterpieces was created? Tommy just showed up for the gig? I think Tommy was being exceedingly humble and gracious, but there's no doubt "Trane had that shit all figured out." Tommy laughed when he saw The Magnificent album cover. His eyes were slits. Maybe you had a cold, or allergies? I suggested. "Maybe I was on some bad shit," he laughed as he signed near his almost shut eyes.

The Magnificent (1981) signed by Tommy, Al Foster

Kenny Barron, a great jazz pianist, described Tommy Flanagan as his hero: "He became an influence and continued to be an influence till the day he died. And he still is."

A beautiful and loving tribute to a beautiful and elegant jazz pianist.

Bean Bags (1958) signed by Tommy, Kenny Burrell, Milt Jackson

Bean Bags (1958) signed by Tommy, Kenny Burrell, Milt Jackson

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Tokyo Recital (1975) s Tommy, Keter Betts

Choice Tommy Flanagan Cuts (per BKs request)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXwT_qIMfeY

“Sunset And The Mockingbird” live 1999

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6NCx0wcrC4

“Giant Steps” Giant Steps with John Coltrane 1959

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkXerGtKtKM

“Giant Steps” Giant Steps 1982

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ix0foeqecY&list=PLPerpmZr43T6ZSf5GiOBMhjww-RB-_9G-&index=2

“How Long Has This Been Going On” The Cats 1959

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwHG6_Qgnrg

“Someone To Watch Over Me” live 1999

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrpHO1_vx8Y&list=RDrrpHO1_vx8Y&start_radio=1&rv=rrpHO1_vx8Y&t=0

“Speak Low” The Magnificent Tommy Flanagan 1981

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j87yfawcJs

“Willow Weep For Me” The Smart Attitude 2011 release

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r49MoAPmomA&list=RD7ChOkkdT2zw&index=4

“Moritat (aka Mack The Knife)” with Sonny Rollins Saxophone Colossus 1956

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-L492oAZio

“Peace” Something Borrowed, Something Blue 1978

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOd5Ixfe130

“Goodbye Mr. Evans” Night At The Vanguard 1986

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Something Borrowed, Something Blue (1978) signed by Tommy

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Our Delights (1978) signed by Tommy, Hank Jones

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I’m All Smiles (1983) signed by Tommy, Hank Jones

Chico Hamilton and Me...

Well, when I was around eight years old, my mother took me to the Paramount Theater to see Duke Ellington, and that's when the band was set up in a pyramid. Sonny Greer, who was the drummer, was set up at the top of the whole pyramid and he had a zillion drums. I was impressed with him and I said, "Hey, that's what I want to do."

               Chico Hamilton

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Chico Hamilton Quintet In Hi Fi (1956) signed by Chico and Jim Hall

“Thanks Neil that it is”

I've always seen the drums as a melodic instrument, not a percussive one. I developed a touch, it may not be as loud, but it's mine!

               Chico Hamilton 

Why not just call it music? That's what it is. Basically,...all we're dealing in is human emotions...and I don't expect you to feel the same way that I do about a note or sound. And it's good that you don't feel the same way, because that way we have an abundance of a variety of emotions. Everybody puts their feelings into a mood and it becomes different, which is dynamite. Because if it all sounds the same, it would be boring as hell...

               Chico Hamilton 

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With Strings Attached (1959) signed by Chico

Yeah, I've been playing these kinds of grooves for quite a while. Even during the bebop period, I was still playing my kind of thing. I was always a little different from everybody else, and it wasn't easy being different. But it was totally impossible for me to play like Jo Jones, Sid Catlett, Sonny Greer, Max Roach, Art Blakey and people like that. So I had to build my own way of playing.

               Chico Hamilton

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Meet Chico Hamilton (1957) signed by Chico

First of all, it's totally impossible for two drummers to play alike, because of the physical aspect. One might have long arms, one might have short arms, and if you have short arms, that means that you have to sit closer to your instrument. If you have long arms, you sit back...for reach. And just the space between makes a difference in the sound you're going to get, or the touch you're going to acquire to get the sound. I don't sound like anybody else, and I don't know of anybody who sounds like me. So the old adage, "Hey, give the drummer some", that's the bottom line. But, I don't know, I just do what I do. And Louis Hayes does what he does, Max Roach does what he does, Kenny Clarke does what he does, Jo Jones did what he did, Sonny Greer, all of them....that's how broad and beautiful this whole thing is...

              Chico Hamilton

  A lot of guys came out of my band, Charles Lloyd, Gabor Szabo, Larry Coryell, I groomed these guys, man, I let them find themselves.

               Chico Hamilton 

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The Dealer (1966) signed by Chico

Born in Los Angeles, Foreststorn "Chico" Hamilton is an acclaimed drummer, arranger, band leader, and composer. He released more than sixty-five albums as a leader in his prolific career, which included an appearance in the Sweet Smell Of Success, a 1957 film starring Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis. In the movie, Chico is a band leader in a New York City jazz club and he also released a soundtrack for the film which featured his quintet of drums, bass, cello, guitar, and flute or saxophone. Dubbed "Chamber Jazz",  the Chico Hamilton Quintet was as influential as it was unusual.

Chico attended Jefferson High School in Los Angeles and some of his fellow classmates included tenor saxophone giant Dexter Gordon, Count Basie trumpeter Ernie Royal, and future bandmate and multi-instrumentalist, Buddy Collette. It was a fertile music environment and it remained so when soul icons Barry White and Etta James matriculated at Jefferson years later. And Chico's Hollywood bona fides didn't stop there. His younger brother, Bernie, best known for his role as "Captain Dobey" on the 1970s cop show Starsky & Hutch, started a record label and released an album, Captain Dobey Sings The Blues in 1975. Certainly, no vinyl collection is complete without it!

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“Captain Dobey” aka Bernie Hamilton, Chico’s brother

After playing with Lionel Hampton, Count Basie, Lester Young, Gerry Mulligan, and many other jazz legends, Chico did a stint backing up singers, including Sammy Davis Jr., Billy Eckstine, Billie Holiday and nearly eight years with the divine Lena Horne. Chico recounted, "I spent about fifteen years playing for singers, and brushwork was the name of the game, being able to lay down a groove and stay quiet underneath them. Playing for singers, you learn to accompany, which enhances your ability to play behind a horn because you develop a sense of listening and timing. If a horn player does a strange kind of phrase, you're right on it." Then, Chico started his quintet.

He had keen and discerning ears for talent, especially guitar players. Guitarists Jim Hall, Howard Roberts, Gabor Szabo, and Larry Coryell all recorded and toured with the Chico Hamilton Quintet and later enjoyed prominent jazz careers as leaders and composers. And not only jazz guitarists excelled, alto saxophonist Charles Lloyd, multi-reed man Eric Dolphy, trombonist Steve Turre and uber bassist Ron Carter all credit their early sessions in Chico's quintet as seminal experiences in developing their talents.

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Man From Two Worlds (1963) signed by Chico

Influential on the West Coast jazz scene, Chico was a role model to jazz and rock and roll drummers. Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones was an early fan and later traded beats with Chico on "Here Comes Charlie Now", a track from the 2001 release Foreststorn. Chico explained their connection, "My manager saw an interview where Charlie said that when he was a kid, I inspired him to play when he heard me with the Gerry Mulligan Quartet playing "Walking Shoes" with brushes. He said he used to call himself Chico Watts. I met him in New York at Birdland when he came over with his jazz group. He couldn't get over the fact that I came to see him. We became friends, and one thing led to another."

I saw Chico a number of times in the late 1990s in New York City at the Iridium and Birdland. Unlike most jazz or rock drummers, Chico had his drum kit set up at the front of the stage. He had his usual quintet: electric guitar, bass, alto and soprano saxophone. No piano. Chico introduced the innovative piano-less quintet in 1955, and it served his music well through the years. This night, the mix of electric guitar and bass fused with the hard bop of Eric Person's searing alto saxophone. All the while, Chico sat at his drum kit in the front, directing the action, hardly touching his sticks, using mallets and brushes mostly, a swirling and melodic performance by a master percussionist.

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El Chico (1965) signed by Chico

“Neil, this is the one”

After the shows, I visited with Chico and he signed some of his vinyl from his impressive discography. He was always warm and gracious. "This is one of my favorites," he said as he inscribed El Chico, "This is the one". In the liner notes, he states, "I've always liked Latin rhythms, but I never felt quite ready to try an entire album utilizing the idiom. In the past three or four years, however, I began to pay increasing attention to the essence of the Latin rhythmic approach and to its similarities with jazz. Finally, I felt immersed in the whole Latin feeling and decided to go ahead. But I also wanted to surround myself with the best Latin players available, and that's why Willie Bobo and Victor Pantoja are present." The Latin sound is enhanced by the Eastern European flourishes of guitar extraordinaire Gabor Szabo, a Hungarian by birth, a freedom fighter and émigré by choice.

I asked Chico why he never played the Village Vanguard, the finest jazz club in the world with the best acoustics, and the site of many legendary recordings. "Nah, they don't want to hear my shit," he said with a dismissive wave toward his drums and other electric instruments. "They just want straight ahead jazz and my shit is anything but..." We both laughed and I handed him the cover for Chico Hamilton Quintet In Hi Fi, "That was a wild gig, we played our music and the artists were all around making their art." The cover photo by William Claxton, a world renowned photographer, was taken at The Clay Workshop on Beverly Drive in Los Angeles. Vito Paulekas, depicted in the foreground on the album cover, ran the studio for nearly twenty years. Vito, a sculptor, teacher and a bohemian in every sense, was plugged into the art and music scene, and the studio eventually became rehearsal space for sixties icons, The Byrds, Arthur Lee and Love, and several of Frank Zappa's Mothers Of Invention. Vito provided the art and the space, and the musicians provided the tunes, a great symbiosis. Finally, I asked Chico to dedicate an album cover to my daughter, Kendall, who had just celebrated her first birthday. Chico smiled mischievously and handed me back the Passin' Thru cover, "Kendalla, What do you think?"

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Passin’ Thru (1963) signed by Chico

“Kendalla, What do you think?”

Chico Hamilton, an influential band leader, composer, and drummer. As he said, "I never try to point too definite a direction. Music is changing all the time because people change, and we try to keep ourselves open to new experiences, new timbres, new ways of feeling music as a unit." 

Always changing and challenging, Chico kept the grooves coming. 

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The Best Of Chico Hamilton (1972) signed by Chico


Choice Chico Hamilton Cuts (per BK's request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx-vsmRSDTw

"Walkin' Shoes" with Gerry Mulligan  1952    Charlie "Chico" Watts favorite!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BJNxVf_iLM

"Conquistadores"  El Chico  1965 

One Latin nation under a groove!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoxTkPFOB9I
"Forest Flower"  Man From Two Worlds  1964

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-s4eojiVSc

"People"  El Chico  with Gabor Szabo on guitar  1965

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzdoWfBAMx8

"Blue Sands"  Live at Newport 1958 with Eric Dolphy, John Pisano

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saNdX5EESZ0

"Gengis"  The Master  with Lowell George on slide guitar  1973

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90ly2Sgw5c8

"Close Your Eyes"  With Strings Attached  1958

Emmylou Harris, Daniel Lanois and Me...

I don't ever worry about whether I'm being true to my country roots. My country roots were adopted. I never worry about what I can do, or what I should do. I just do what I want to do.

               Emmylou Harris

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Luxury Liner (1977) signed by Emmylou

I was 21 when I moved to New York City. That’s pretty young, I guess. I didn’t know anyone except the wonderful singer-songwriter Paul Siebel, who introduced me to David Bromberg and Jerry Jeff Walker and all the people who were making music in the [Greenwich] Village. It was a very creative time. I started making music with friends, trying to get little gigs, learning my craft. I was very inspired by the people I heard play, like Joni Mitchell and Townes Van Zandt – I was quite astounded the first time I saw him. I never imagined I would end up recording “Pancho and Lefty,”;which became a real central part of my repertoire..

Emmylou Harris

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Blue Kentucky Girl (1979) signed by Emmylou

I discovered my voice by singing harmonies with Gram (Parsons). That became a launching pad for everything. Rodney (Crowell) came in and filled that role in making the first record. It helped me a lot to have that voice to cling to. I’m not an educated musician; I don’t know what the baritone part is. Instead I think of harmony as an alternate melody that combines with the other voice to create a third voice.

Emmylou Harris

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The Ballad Of Sally Rose (1985) signed by Emmylou

If I could go back to my younger self, especially in the most difficult times, I would just say, don’t worry. Just do what you feel in your heart and everything will be all right. Because it always did turn out okay. There was a time when I went into deep debt over a project, The Ballad of Sally Rose. But I don’t have any regrets about doing it at all because it was real creative reclaiming. After that I had to work my way back up but then, all of a sudden, I did this record called Trio with Linda Ronstadt and Dolly Parton, so the creative chances always seemed to come along. Certainly, there were times when it seemed like I was treading water. But I didn’t really have any other talents – the only thing I knew how to do was sing so, in a sense, I had no choice..

Emmylou Harris

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Trio (1987) signed by Emmylou

I’d like to tell my younger self that though it will be very difficult when Gram dies, it will be okay again, eventually. That was a very hard time because I really felt I had found where I was supposed to be. Even though I probably assumed that at some point I would make a record on my own, that was something I wasn’t even thinking about. I just was thinking about what we would do together. Musically, I mean. Then suddenly I’d lost a friend and a teacher, someone I felt I still had so much to learn from. It was devastating. But I had wonderful support from my family and my musical friends, and they helped me take one step at a time. I was nourished and I gathered strength and was able to move forward.
Emmylou Harris

At The Roman (1992) signed by Emmylou

At The Roman (1992) signed by Emmylou

The Ryman was about to be torn down,. There were only a couple of funky dressing rooms, and you couldn’t sit in the gallery because it was considered unsafe. We could only invite 200 people for each of the three shows we recorded, because they could only sit downstairs. No one had been doing any music there, but I got permission. I was so focused on making the record that I didn’t realize the importance of doing it there. But suddenly people got interested in the Ryman again, and they decided not to tear it down. They said, ‘Maybe we can renovate the old girl.’
Emmylou Harris on helping save the Ryman Auditorium

Ramble In Music City (1990 recordings, 2021 release) signed by Emmylou

Ramble In Music City (1990 recordings, 2021 release) signed by Emmylou

I was riding that pony a bit hard. My voice was getting worn down, and my spirit was getting worn too. I was whining to my friend John Starling, ‘I need to take a year off.’ And John said, ‘Sam Bush has just left the New Grass Revival. Why don’t you give him a call?’ And suddenly it made sense to ‘go back to bluegrass school,’ as Chris Hillman says.

None of us remembered that we’d recorded that show,. That’s why I was so amazed when I heard it, because not a single note was out of place. I felt I owed it to that particular performance to put it out. What happened, I think, was this: All the songs on Ramble in Music City were material I’d already released. For my next album, we decided to work up all new songs for what became Live at the Ryman, like I had with The Hot Band on Last Date.It was a way to make the old material new, to give it a new coat of paint. I was worried. Would the songs have the same emotional impact? I shouldn’t have worried.

Emmylou, releasing Ramble In Music City in 202, 1990 recordings

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White Shoes (1983) signed by Emmylou

I really have shaken hands with where my voice is right now. I think it's got a little deeper, it's got some more grooves in it.

Emmylou Harris

Gliding Bird (1969 recordings, 1978 reissue) signed by Emmylou

Gliding Bird (1969 recordings, 1978 reissue) signed by Emmylou

It doesn’t make a difference who’s the ‘lead singer,’ It’s all about creating that third voice. You start with an emotion, but it turns into something physical. Especially in duet singing, it’s intuitive; you’re free to move around. The lead voice is defining something that seems to work, and you move around that. It’s like you’re dancing together. Harmony singing is Ginger Rogers following Fred Astaire, but she’s doing everything backward in high heels.

Emmylou Harris singing with Gram Parsons

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Cimarron (1981) signed by Emmylou

Born in Birmingham, Alabama to a military family, Emmylou Harris moved to Woodbridge, Virginia and graduated as the valedictorian of her high school class. After dropping out of college, she moved to Greenwich Village to participate in the folk scene in the late 1960s. Emmylou recorded her first release Gliding Bird in 1969 before relocating to the suburbs of Maryland in the early 1970s, and playing in local bars like the The Red Fox Inn in Bethesda, Maryland and The Childe Harold in Washington, DC. There, Chris Hillman of The Byrds saw her perform and recommended her to his friend Gram Parsons.

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Roses In The Snow (1980) signed by Emmylou

Emmylou became a protege and performing partner of the great Gram Parsons until his untimely demise in 1973, They were together only a year but Gram's influence would last a lifetime. As she recalled, “I really believe no one would have paid me any attention if it wasn’t for Gram. When I met him I had not found my own voice. I was an imitator; you have to start that way. But I really do believe that it was Gram who gave me, not just my voice, but he taught me about understanding music and feeling music, the way it came through me. Of course, I certainly had something to build on, but he was that last rocket boost and, after that, everything kind of fell into place.”

In 1975, Emmylou began recording for Reprise Records, a label started by Frank Sinatra in 1960 and home to Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young, Frank Zappa and many others. Over her long and illustrious career, Emmylou has sold millions of records and garnered thirteen Grammys and counting.

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Angel Band (1987) signed by Emmylou

Whether in a club, theater, music hall or, in recent years, headlining The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco before hundreds of thousands, Emmylou puts on a fabulous show. She is always surrounded by consummate skilled musicians: Rodney Crowell, Ricky Skaggs, Vince Gill, Sam Bush, and Jerry Douglas are just a few of the string virtuosos who have performed in her bands. A fine interpreter of songs, she has also written classics like "Boulder To Birmingham", "Tulsa Queen", "Prayer In Open D", "Waltz Across Texas Tonight", and "Boy From Tupelo."

Wrecking Ball (1995) signed by Emmylou

Wrecking Ball (1995) signed by Emmylou

In 1995, Emmylou released Wrecking Ball, a masterpiece produced by Daniel Lanois, best known for his work with U2, Bob Dylan, and Peter Gabriel. A brilliant album, it was quite a sonic departure for Emmylou as it veered more toward alternative rock than country. This was not your father's Grand Ol' Opry. Fiddles, banjos, and upright basses were replaced by bass pedals, electric mandolins, organ, percussion and lots of atmospherics. Lanois brought along some  interesting musicians (Malcolm Burn, Larry Mullen Jr. of U2, Neil Young, Steve Earle, and Lucinda Williams) who performed a very challenging and diverse playlist.

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Red Dirt Girl (2000) signed by Emmylou

Emmylou did a very brief tour with Daniel Lanois in support of Wrecking Ball in November 1995, and Erin and I saw her at the Keswick Theater in Glenside, Pennsylvania. A small venue, maybe 1000 seats, Keswick is a converted movie theater. Emmylou came on first with just her acoustic guitar and she beautifully strummed "My Songbird" and "Prayer In Open D" with her crystalline voice soaring. Then her band appeared: Daniel Lanois on electric guitar, Daryl Johnson on electric bass, and Brady Blade on drums. They tore into a blistering cover of Jimi Hendrix's "May This Be Love" which was equal parts distortion, fuzz and wah wah pedals. There was a smattering of boos from some in the crowd who wanted their country music served neat with gingham check, not snarling leather. The response was not quite as heretical as Dylan plugging in at Newport in 1965, and I didn't hear anyone yell "Judas", but it was unsettling to some in the audience. Undaunted, Emmylou and her band played most of her (then) new album and ended with a 10 minute scorching version of Lanois' swamp gospel burner "The Maker." The encore was a soulful version of William Bell's "You Don't Miss Your Water" from the fabled Stax canon of soul. Country meets Memphis near the New Orleans Bayou, it was an amazing band and performance.

Elite Hotel (1975) signed by Emmylou, fingers crossed “flipping”

After the show, we hung around to get some records signed, and it was bitterly cold, polar vortex cold before it became de rigueur. Emmylou was so kind, she invited us on the bus to provide warmth and comfort. She laughed when I pointed out the original Elite Hotel album cover which was deemed too offensive because her fingers were crossed. Subsequent albums were issued with the fingers air brushed to avoid the appearance of "flipping." She couldn't have been any more gracious, posing for pictures and signing away.

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Elite Hotel (1975) signed by Emmylou, fingers air brushed, “no flipping “

I have seen Emmylou Harris many times over the years with other great musicians like Steve Earle, Buddy Miller, Willie Nelson and Jerry Jeff Walker, but there was nothing quite as memorable as that Keswick show and the brief tour she did with Daniel Lanois.

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Diane, Emmylou And Me… Concert For Landmine Free World, Washington DC

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Flying Shoes (1978) signed by Emmylou, Steve Earle, Townes Van Zandt

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Tennessee Inaugural Ball back signed by Emmylou, Johnny Cash, Jerry Jeff Walker

Tennessee Inaugural Ball back signed by Emmylou, Johnny Cash, Jerry Jeff Walker

Light Of The Stable (1979) signed by Rodney Crowell

Light Of The Stable (1979) signed by Rodney Crowell

Choice Emmylou Harris Cuts (per BKs request)


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Bbaz_T6BN3g

“Tulsa Queen” Old Grey Whistle Test 1976

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6iGP9P5coM

“My Songbird” live with Buddy Miller 1997

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3RdttpefBU

“May This Be Love” Emmylou shreds Jimi! 1995

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1TIZYEa9J8&list=RDr1TIZYEa9J8&start_radio=1

“Blackhawk” Wrecking Ball 1995

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scX50O2hDkI

“Pancho And Lefty” Old Grey Whistle Test 1976

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEb9dEMV3p8

“Making Believe” Old Grey Whistle Test 1977

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZTwBRcZPuU

“Wrecking Ball” live with Buddy Miller 1997

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWEQDyrbphE

“The Sweetest Gift” live with Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt 1977

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpzK-c9Jxeg

“Calling My Children Home” live with Spyboy 1998

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aur5KEaNtKc

“The Maker” with Willie Nelson, Daniel Lanoisk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-4ESw_cPxo

“The Maker” with Daniel Lanois NYC 1995

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YY2gNbJFKn8

“Gulf Coast Highway” live with Dave Matthews

Solomon Burke and Erin...


Soul is the deep feeling that is expressed from the heart and the mind: from a musician, an artist, a dancer, a photographer or from a writer. When your open your heart and pour out your spirit, and you feel something that makes a difference in your life: that is the meaning of soul.

               Solomon Burke

I think I met Elvis two times. The first time I met him was a very brief situation in Tennessee. He remarked about my singing. He liked my singing and my style of singing and things like that. I said 'Hey man, we all love what you're doing. You're doing it baby.' It was that type of situation. And the next time he asked me about my gold suit. I had a gold suit that I wore. He asked me where I got it and I told him. Next thing I know, Elvis had his own gold suit. When I went back to my tailor to get another gold suit made, which I was only paying $450 for, which was big money in those days, my tailor said "Oh no man, I make suits for Elvis now. Those suits are $900." I can't believe you man. I'm the guy who started it. But, that's the way life is, man.

               Solomon Burke on Elvis Presley

I was here in Los Angeles, visiting Sam. That evening, we ate at a local restaurant. Afterwards, I went back to the hotel he'd booked for me. There I got a call saying he was dead. I said, 'That can't be. I was with him an hour ago.' That same day, Delores (wife number two) had told me that she wanted a divorce. I sat down and started to write '"Got To Get You Off My MInd." I never want to go through anything like that again.

               Solomon Burke on visiting with Sam Cooke, December 11, 1964

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From The Heart (1981) signed by Solomon Burke

During that period a man by the name of Andy Kaulkin was watching that show that Saturday and he stayed over Sunday to see what would happen. He came over to us and my daughter said 'Dad, this guy is trying to talk to you. He's with Fat Possum or something', and I said 'Oh God, I hope it's not one of those football teams'. They had asked me to be a mascot and a sponsor for a group called the Big Bears earlier. Can you imagine me in a big bear costume? I said 'I'll give money, but I'm not gonna put the costume on to be a mascot. You have to get another guy running out as a Fat Possum'. I didn't ignore him, but kinda tried to get away from him. How lucky for myself that we met at the airport at the same time catching the same plane, and he was sitting right behind me....That’s the beginning of that story. We hit it off, had lunch, and made a record. It was one of the greatest moments in my career and the first record company that was ever sincere and dedicated and real; it has left an everlasting memory in my mind. We had a two-page contract; they lived up to every word of that contract and they did everything they possibly could for that record to bring it home and they gave me my first Grammy. But they gave me great songs—Elvis Costello, Van Morrison, come on, that was an incredible CD.

               Solomon Burke on signing with Fat Possum and recording Don't Give Up On Me

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Don’t Give Up On Me (2002) signed by Solomon Burke

I remember being in the studio, recording that album. I'd told everybody I'd allow no smoking or drinking. The studio is a holy place when I am recording. There are candles. There are flowers. My throne is there. Visible. That is where I record from. God has set me down. It was time to do "The Judgment." I hadn't rehearsed these songs, I did them as they were handed to me. I heard people shouting, 'Elvis is here! Elvis is here!' At first, I thought they must be smoking crack. Anyhow, Costello came in and told me he wanted to hear me sing the song. I said, 'Hear It? You're going to teach it to me.' When he sang it, it was just wonderful. I said, 'Right, OK, let's record that right now.' What people fail to realize is that a great song has no color. That's a beautiful song that he wrote.

               Solomon Burke recording "The Judgment", Don't Give Up On Me 2002

I'd sit with Don Covay writing those songs and just cry. I'd say, 'Don, you have such a beautiful wife, but mine is probably out somewhere slashing my tires because I was off with some chick.' I was a young man, girls were coming from every angle. I couldn't love 'em all, but I certainly tried.

               Solomon Burke

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A Change Is Gonna Come (1986) signed by Solomon Burke

Father of twenty-one children, Grandfather to ninety, Solomon Burke, "The King of Rock 'n' Soul", lived life large. It was said that his favorite scripture was "Be fruitful and multiply" to which he readily ascribed, admitting "I got stuck on that verse." Born in West Philadelphia, Solomon started in the church when he was only seven years old, testifyin' and proselytizin'. He was dubbed "The Boy Wonder Preacher" for his magnetic and engaging sermons, and by the time he was twelve, Solomon was preaching on the radio and traveling to cities, performing in tent revivals carrying his Gospel message. Joel Osteen clearly had nothing on him! His Grandmother, Eleanor Moore, a seer and spiritualist, ran a church out of her home, The United House Of Prayer For All People. It was a ripe and fertile music environment that affected Solomon deeply, "Every day they had a service, and the music never stopped. There was always a band with two or three trombones, tubas, tambourines, cymbals, guitars, pianos. When I speak of the music, I get choked up. It was a message to God, something you feel down to your bones and your soul and your heart." Grandmother Eleanor also foretold Solomon's prominence: "She predicted my career, the size of my family, the people I would meet, how I’d travel. She told me so often that I thought I would have to be Superman to do it all.”

Indeed, Solomon Burke was a super man who lived a remarkable life. Solomon wrote his first song as a tribute to his Grandmother when he was fourteen. "God gave me the song on December 10, I finished the song on December 17, and on the 18th she said that she wanted to speak to me. She said, 'I want you to see your Christmas present.' And I said, 'Now?' She said, 'Yes, look under my bed.' And I looked under her bed, and there was a guitar wrapped in a pillow case. And then I sang my little song that I had written for her, called 'Christmas Presents From Heaven', not knowing that it was a prophecy for me, to alert me to the future. Then on the morning of the 19th my grandmother passed in her sleep, so she only heard the song one day - but that whole day she was briefing me and telling me the different things that were going to happen and all the children that I would have, the loves in my life, just laying it out: 'You'll have big homes, fancy cars' - but I'll never forget the most exciting thing she said to me, and then the most depressing thing, too. The most exciting thing was that I would be able to reach out and touch people and help them spiritually, thousands of people, millions of people, and then she said to me that I would go down to the pits of Hell and submerge at will, and I've been there a couple of times... I've been there you know."

Whatever fantastical vision Grandmother Eleanor had for Solomon pales in comparison to what actually transpired, as his descent came almost as rapidly as his ascent. Solomon signed with Apollo Records as a fifteen year old, wrote and released nine singles with limited success, but scored a hit with "You Can Run, But You Can't Hide", a riff on retired Heavyweight Boxing Champ Joe Louis' mantra, "He can run, but he can't hide."  Joe Louis' wife smartly held a trademark and she insisted that Solomon give a co-writer credit to her husband. Solomon acquiesced and he ended up touring with Joe for nearly a year which culminated with an appearance on the Steve Allen Show in 1957, heady national television exposure for a seventeen year old! Years later, Solomon remembered the circumstances, "Joe Louis was supposed to introduce me. Steve Allen said to Joe, 'And who did you bring with you tonight as a special guest?' And Joe Louis couldn't remember my name, but he remembered the song, of course. And at the same time, Dick Haymes had covered this record.....so he said 'Dick Haymes.'  The record company people must've had a heart attack! It was so funny. Joe was such a wonderful person. His personality and charm was unbelievable...It was a year that I will always remember, It was a very beautiful year."

Shortly thereafter, Solomon got into a violent argument with his manager over royalties and he was dropped from Apollo Records rather abruptly. The next few years were difficult as Solomon endured homelessness when his parents kicked him out of their house for his worship of "the devil's music." Estranged from his church and family, Solomon lived in abandoned cars, "There was no place I could turn. I was shamed. I was a bum." It got worse. Leaving a club, Solomon was hit by a car and the driver, Othella Thompson, the wife of a dentist, took him home and helped nurse him back to health. Solomon ended up marrying her niece, Delores, and before resuming his singing career, he became an apprentice mortician, learning a valuable trade. As he said, "I loved the work. At a moment when there is no hope for the family, a mortician can give them hope." Later, Solomon opened a string of funeral homes in Los Angeles and his daughter, Victoria ran a lucrative business. As fellow soul singer Joe Tex wryly observed, "Solomon Burke knock you dead from the bandstand. Then he gift wrap you for the trip home."

In November 1960, Solomon re-entered the music business, joined Atlantic Records and the hits soon followed. His second single, "Just Out Of Reach (Of My Two Open Arms)", a Patsy Cline cover, was his first million seller. If Atlantic Records was "The House That Ruth (Brown) Built" in the early 1950s, Solomon certainly did his part to keep it afloat in the early 1960s, especially since Ray Charles and Bobby Darin had recently departed the label. "If You Need Me", "Cry To Me", "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love", "Tonight's The Night", and his only number one hit  "Got To Get You Off My Mind" made Atlantic Records millions. Like many artists, Solomon gave away some of his publishing to his producers. Unseemly, unscrupulous and unfortunately, not an uncommon industry practice, Solomon explained, "That's how they got a piece of the song. They didn't write a word. In those days, it didn't make any difference. You wanted to get your product out....We didn't know what publishing was. We thought we had to give our publishing to the record company so the record could get out."

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Back To My Roots (1976) signed by King Solomon Burke

Solomon's rewriting of a country song in the public domain, "Down In The Valley" yielded an unlikely hit and an even more unlikely fan base. He got mistakenly booked at a Ku Klux Klan rally in Mississippi with 30,000 wrong-minded attendees. "My drummer was saying to me, 'Will we ever get out of here alive?' I said, 'Just keep playing until they say we're done.' I think we played 'Down In The Valley' for forty-five minutes." After the show, a police escort spirited them to the highway out of town. Solomon's music cut across blues, country, gospel, rock and soul, but that cross over was almost too much.

Solomon's career ebbed in the 1970s as music tastes changed and disco music became prevalent. Then, The Blues Brothers movie came out in 1980. It featured Wilson Pickett singing "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love." At the end of the film, the credits scrolled and Solomon was shocked to see his producer Jerry Wexler and Wilson Pickett listed as the songwriters. Solomon's attorneys threatened an injunction to stop the hit movie. As Solomon related, "We started calling and the producers said, 'We thought Solomon died.' Well, he has risen....and he would like a check!" A check for $20,000 from Atlantic Records showed up the next day. To that end, Solomon became very protective of his copyrights as a result or his early mistreatment, however, he did license "Cry To Me" in the Dirty Dancing movie in 1987. With all due respect to Baby, nobody puts Solomon in the corner!

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King Solomon testfyin’ BB Kings, March 4, 2005

Erin and I went to see Solomon perform at BB King's Club in New York City on March 4, 2005. As a special treat, our great friends from Washington, DC, Danny and Karen Callahan joined us at a nice red leather banquette about fifteen feet from the stage. The curtain was closed on stage as we enjoyed some pre-show libations. Just then, the house lights dimmed, and the curtain slid open to reveal the mighty King Solomon in all his splendor and munificence, perched on a throne. He was regal and stately, even though he remained seated for the duration of the show. And what a show! Fueled by a twelve piece band which included his daughter Candy on back up vocals, Solomon launched into his hits, "Cry To Me", "If You Need Me", "Down In The Valley", a beautiful soul meets country take on Eddy Arnold's "I Really Don't Want To Know", and the sublime gospel of "A Change Is Gonna Come" from the pen of his friend Sam Cooke. Then, Solomon spent time talking about how lucky he was to meet Joe Henry, the producer of his (first!) 2003 Grammy award winning album, Don't Give Up On Me. Joe had requested that some of his favorite songwriters contribute tracks that Solomon might record, and Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, Van Morrison, Tom Waits, and Brian Wilson all responded. With his deep, buttery baritone, Solomon transformed these songs into his own. They were equal parts soul shoutin' and soul testifyin', the profane never straying too far from the sacred.

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Solomon Burke handing out roses, BB Kings, March 4, 2005

For his encore, Solomon invited all the ladies on stage to join him on "Everybody Wants Somebody To Love." Even in his sixties and confined to a wheelchair, his unerring eye and appetite for the ladies remained intact. Of course, Erin and Karen bounded up on stage and sang back up with a bevy of other beauties. The chorus never sounded better. After the show ended, the curtain closed and Solomon was whisked by wheelchair to his dressing room. Erin followed in hot pursuit with some vinyl.

Here's what she told me:

She followed Solomon into his dressing room with the albums, and he received her with a warm bear hug and a solicitation to sit on his lap while they looked at the albums. Erin declined his gracious invitation and told him what a terrific show he had just performed. He again requested that she sit on his lap, tapping on his thigh. She laughed and wisely handed him the albums, placing them in his lap. Then, Solomon signed the albums with beautiful inscriptions, "You are the best, May God's blessings be yours",  "You are God's blessed" and "To Erin, Love & God's blessings." While others were now in the dressing room, including his daughter, and other back up singers, Solomon was still trying to get a lap dance. Even off stage, the sacred Solomon never strayed far from the profane. Erin thanked Solomon for the show, grabbed the vinyl and left. Without a lap dance!

Solomon Burke, business man, ladies man, minister, mortician, singer, songwriter, soul shouter. As producer and "co-writer" Jerry Wexler described him, "A piece of work, wily, highly intelligent, a salesman of epic proportions...the best soul singer of all time." 

Amen. Long live the reign of King Solomon!

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King Solomon and friends, BB Kings March 4, 2005

Choice Solomon Burke Cuts (per BK's request!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qU5Ny7mF_1g

"Cry To Me"   Live 2002

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vy7lsju3RmA

"Cry To Me"  original 1962  re-released 1987  Dirty Dancing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJylh19OfCg

"That's How I Got To Memphis"  Live 2005 with Buddy Miller

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2OgM6CflF8

"Diamond In Your Mind"  Solomon sings Tom Waits   2002

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0bsWl-GnOo

"Don't Give Up On Me"  Live....truth, respect, words

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDtCOvAEpUM

"Everybody Needs Someone To Love" Live with The Rolling Stones  2002

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZW4jyPxqFY0

"Everybody Needs Someone To Love"  Live 1987

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GimsDeBWTSs

"Down In The Valley"  Live  2005

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4lciVIIO4s

"Got To Get You Off My Mind"  1965 #1 Single

Lou Reed and Me...

My God is rock 'n' roll. It’s an obscure power that can change your life. The most important part of my religion is to play guitar.

               Lou Reed

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Transformer (1972) signed by Lou Reed

What I wanted to do [was] write rock & roll that you could listen to as you got older, and it wouldn't lose anything. It would be timeless, and the subject matter and the literacy of the lyrics.


               Lou Reed

The Velvet Underground (1967) signed by Lou Reed

Lou Reed, an influential rock icon, began his career as a member of the Velvet Underground, a semial New York City rock band in 1965. Brian Eno, the acclaimed producer and recording artist, once quipped, "They only sold 30,000 copies (of their first album) in the first five years, but everyone who bought one started a band." Lou was the principal lyricist for the band, using writing skills he honed as an honors graduate with an English degree from Syracuse University in 1964.

Berlin (1973) signed by Lou Reed

 Lou's writing was spare and graphic. His biggest Top 40 hit, "Walk On The Wild Side" released in 1972, was a bleak description of hookers, transgenders, and male prostitutes in a gritty urban landscape, not the usual Top 40 lyrics then or now. Featuring saxophone and upright bass, it was an unusual sonic departure with jazz overtones, David Bowie said upon listening, "I had never heard anything quite like it. It was a revelation to me."

Rock n Roll Animal (1974) signed by Lou Reed

I saw Lou many times over the years, the last time at the Knitting Factory on November 30, 1998. A downtown New York City club, the Knitting Factory featured an interesting mix of avant garde jazz and rock and roll. Diverse artists like Pharoah Sanders, Cecil Taylor, Charles Lloyd, and David Byrne were some of the shows I saw there. It was small and intimate with a capacity around three-hundred including a small upstairs balcony.

 Lou always put on a good show, especially in New York. He was clean and sober since the 1980s and a long way from the wreck he was in the 1970s. I remember an old college friend saw him in Boston in the late 1970s and he told me that Lou was a mess. Lou had just released Metal Machine Music, an unlistenable suite of industrial noise (on two LPs of course!) and he performed it exclusively at this show. The music was grating, but my friend really enjoyed the show from a sociological viewpoint. Lou was being heckled mercilessly by fans who wanted to hear his hits, but Lou didn't care. He was strung out, and he was alternately nodding and combative, a memorable and combustible performance.

New York (1989) signed by Lou Reed

 After a crisp and loud Knitting Factory show, I went upstairs to the dressing rooms to see Lou. There was a line of folks with backstage passes waiting. When the door opened, I slid in with the small group of close friends and family and entered. There were a couple of couches in the dressing room where Laurie Andersen (Lou's wife and noted performance artist) was sitting. I saw Lou and asked him to sign a couple albums. He looked at me warily. I sensed his suspicion, so I said, ‘Hey Lou, my brother-in-law just saw you perform at the White House for Vaclav Havel (the recently elected President of Czech Republic and huge Velvet Ungerground fan). He said it was surreal. What did you think? ‘ After a long, uncomfortable pause, Lou replied, "It was........surreal." He quickly signed the albums, then he looked past me, "Bill? Where's Bill? Has anyone seen Bill?"

That was my cue. Bill was his tour manager and Lou didn't want to spend any more time talking to me. I was an intruder and it was time to leave. So I left. Thereafter, whenever boundaries blur, I act creepy or stalk some other artist, one of my closest friends pulls me back with this unsubtle reminder: "Bill? Where's Bill? Has anyone seen Bill?"

Hope our paths cross soon.

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New Sensations (1984) signed by Lou Reed

Choice Lou Reed Cuts (per BKs request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FdWPeHFAMk

“Sweet Jane” Rock N Roll Animal 1974

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG6fayQBm9w

“Walk On The Wild Side” Transformer 1972

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SHCsgqZvQM

“Coney Island Baby” Coney Island Baby 1975

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo9nZEalABQ

“Berlin” Berlin 1973

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWFgGxe-CjI

“Pale Blue Eyes” live 1998

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCpkwAkNJj0

“Perfect Day” live at The BBC 2003

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQsJK0voNRI

“September Song” Lost In The Stars 1985

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7Ch4O7wmuY

“Heroin” Rock N Roll Animal 1974

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZH96BsL1R3U

“Dirty Blvd.” New York 1989

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4VEXl4vsq4

“Waiting For The Man” live with David Bowie 1997

Mitchell-Ruff and Me...

I learned long ago that it does no good to complain about the piano. Once you start complaining, you’re throwing yourself into another state. You think, ‘This damn piano,’ and you get mad at it, and when you get angry, you play angry and you can’t project who you really are, because you’ve been transformed into an angry person and all kinds of things are going through your mind. Instead you say, ‘What does it do? Will it do anything? Let’s check it out.’ You try to work with it, and sometimes it’s a lot of fun, because many pianos give you a different response from the one you’re used to, and that makes you play differently.

Dwike Mitchell

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After This Message (1966) signed by Mitchell Ruff

I write this years later, remembering it as if I had just stepped out of Strayhorn's apartment or slipped into the wings at Lincoln Center, with Ellington's voice shivering me in the heart. It was indeed a landmark, a transition for a still young artist who had come from what seemed like nowhere, had arrived somewhere, and was going he knew not where. The one thing I do know about that magical evening—about the totality of that experience with those creators and ambassadors of the music that was born and bred nowhere else but in America—is that it seemed to me a calling: a "call to assembly" was the phrase they used when I was a young army private. I knew I was on notice, and I had to heed the call.

A Call To Assembly (1991) by Willie Ruff

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Appearing Nightly (1957) signed by Mitchell Ruff

Dwike Mitchell and Willie Ruff formed the Mitchell Ruff Duo in 1955 after playing rhythm in the Lionel Hampton orchestra in the early 1950s. They were small town Southern boys, Dwike from Alabama, Willie from Florida, who met in the US Army in 1947 and bonded over their passion and love of music. Mitchell Ruff became an acclaimed jazz duo and they were the first jazz band to play in the Soviet Union in 1959, playing at conservatories in Leningrad, Kiev and Moscow, and in China at conservatories in Peking and Shanghai in 1981. They were wildly received and celebrated.

They were an unlikely pairing. Willie Ruff is as outgoing and effusive as Dwike Mitchell is shy and reclusive. Both are classically trained virtuoso musicians, Dwike the florid pianist with tremendous technique, Willie the kinetic upright bassist and purveyor of exquisite French Horn. Mitchell Ruff opened for all the major bands in the 1950s, including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie, and they released some glorious recordings.


Dwike Mitchell is simply the greatest jazz pianist that most people have never heard. Don't take my word, ask Duke Ellington or Billy Strayhorn. Strayhorn was Duke's arranger, right hand man for nearly thirty years and the brilliant composer of "Chelsea Bridge", "Lush Life", and the Ellington theme, "Take The A Train." Billy and the Duke had become staunch fans of Mitchell Ruff and would see them perform regularly at the Hickory House in New York City. As Strayhorn was dying of cancer, he  wrote a piece for Mitchell Ruff, "Suite For Piano And Horn", which appears on Strayhorn: A Mitchell Ruff Interpretation (1972) and features other classic Strayhorn songs. This is one of the few compositions Billy wrote for anyone other than Duke Ellington. When Billy died in 1968, Ellington curated and stage managed his memorial (which established a scholarship at Julliard), and Mitchell Ruff played "Suite For Piano And Horn." As Duke told Ruff when they finished, "Strayhorn smiled tonight." Fitting praise and an august honor from the highest music royalty.

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Strayhorn: A Mitchell Ruff Interpretation (1972) signed by Mitchell Ruff

In 1971, Willie Ruff joined the Yale School Of Music  and he has had an esteemed career in academia, culminating in receiving Yale's highest award in 2013, The Sanford Medal. As a result of Willie's academic responsibilities, Mitchell Ruff club performances were rare. Erin and I were lucky to see them twice, once at the Duke Ellington School Of The Arts in Washington, DC for a Jazz Freedom Concert in 1987, and at the Yale Summer School Of Music in Norfolk, Connecticut in 2003. Two very memorable performances.

The Jazz Freedom Concert was a fundraiser to create awareness for the plight of Czechoslovakia's Jazz Section, jazz enthusiasts who promoted jazz through magazines and concerts since the 1968 Soviet Union invasion.This organization was abolished in 1984 (with an apparent nod to George Orwell) and two of its leaders were given 16 month prison sentences in 1987 for "illegal economic activities." Sonny Rollins (sans saxophone) served as MC, author Kurt Vonnegut and noted Czech author Josef Skvorecky gave readings, and the Mitchell Ruff Duo and The Billy Taylor Trio delivered sparkling sets. The concert was broadcast live over Voice Of America to Eastern Bloc countries. Perhaps it really wasn't President Reagan imploring, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" that caused the Cold War to end...

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Brazilian Trip (1966) signed by Mitchell Ruff

After the concert, there was a small reception for the artists. I made a beeline to Willie Ruff with some albums. I told him Brazilian Trip (1966) was one of my favorites. He laughed, "Tanto Canto, that's a great song." I agreed, it is the first song and it has a beautiful and intricate French Horn solo. Brazilian Trip is brilliant and it is my favorite bossa nova jazz album by far. Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd's Jazz Samba (1962) is close, and there are some great recordings by Jobim, Gilberto, and Bonfa, but this virtually unknown album, recorded in Brazil with some (then) unheralded performers and their original compositions is stunningly beautiful. Its neglect is criminal. I asked Willie when he was finished signing where Dwike was. "Oh Dwike's already left. He doesn't really do these things."

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Plus Strings And Brass (1958) signed by Mitchell Ruff

Sixteen years later, we saw Mitchell Ruff perform at the Music Shed on the beautiful Stoeckel estate in Norfolk, Connecticut. This estate was bequeathed in 1939 to Yale University by Ellen Battell Stoeckel, the daughter of wealthy industrialist and philanthropist, Robbins Battell. The Music Shed was built in 1906, seats 1500, and is constructed with cedar and redwood imported from California (apparently you could cut down Redwood trees in the early 1900s). As beautiful as it is, the Music Shed acoustics are equally extraordinary, and many artists have performed on this stage throughout its illustrious history including Enrico Caruso, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Jean Sibelius and Dave Brubeck.

The Mitchell Ruff show was exceptional.  Willie, a gifted speaker and educator, introduced each song and gave some needed back story. Dwike Mitchell did all his talking through his playing. They played "Autumn Leaves", Willie dropping the bottom with a beautiful bass solo introduction and setting the groove, then Dwike coming in with quicksilver runs on this familiar melody, darting in and out, his phrasing alternately loud and delicate. I never saw Art Tatum, but I have seen Dave Brubeck, Oscar Peterson, Hank Jones, Chucho Valdes, Brad Mehldau and so many others. No one comes close to Dwike's piano artistry. No one.

They played the blues - "The Catbird Seat", a filthy funk redolent of a 4am vibe, standards - a rollicking "They Can't Take That Away From Me" from the Gershwin catalog, and classical - Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite" complete with Ruff's extended French Horn solo and introduction, followed by the magnificent comping of Dwike Mitchell. And don't get me started on their sublime version of Brahms "Lullaby"... It was a thorough and complete musical education in ninety minutes.

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The Catbird Seat (1961) signed by Mitchell Ruff

After the show, I headed backstage. Willie was holding court, surrounded by many well wishers. I looked around for Dwike. No sign of him. I asked Willie. "Oh, he's back there, hiding out." I was determined not to lose my quarry again so I went back-backstage. There was Dwike by himself. I thanked him for his performance and especially his remarkable piano prowess. I told him how beautiful and meaningful his music is. He signed the albums, thanked me and I left.

Mitchell Ruff performed for nearly 60 years together (until Dwike passed in 2013), as Willie noted, "the oldest continuous group in  jazz without personnel changes." They were ambassadors and statesman who traveled the world delivering beautiful music to educate and enrich the lives of so many.

They definitely enrich mine.

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Dizzy Gillespie Live (1981) signed by Mitchell Ruff

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Jazz Freedom Concert (1987) signed by Kurt Vonnegut

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Jazz Freedom Concert (1987) program insert

choice Mitchell-Ruff Cuts (per BK)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU2i4Hk57c8
"The Catbird Seat"  recorded live in New Haven CT  1961

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stMhIeHHIiU
"Autumn Leaves"  After This Message  1965

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSX2-vtkEUM
"Tanto Canto"   Brazilian Trip  1966

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS7WDCcL6-Q
"Nao Deixa"   Brazilian Trip  1966

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYkD2KwNO3k  

"Sem Mais Chorar"   Brazilian Trip  1966

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otcIZGtZ2w0
"Firebird"   Breaking The Silence   2009

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxSeU9NcXtg
"Take The A Train"   Strayhorn: A Mitchell-Ruff Interpretation  1971

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmpympipB98&list=PLKvJuExD_6vxVJ_87HdgyKLVxKCCE92ke
"Con Alma"    Dizzy Gillespie with Mitchell Ruff at Dartmouth . 1971

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJNo8haXWS4
"Deixa Pra La"    Brazilian Trip   1966

Dwike Mitchell and Willie Ruff at Duke Ellington School of Arts, Washington DC 1987 photo by me

Dwike Mitchell and Willie Ruff at Duke Ellington School of Arts, Washington DC 1987 photo by me

Etta James and Me...

Etta James was someone who knew how to make an entrance. I was in the Chess building when she first turned up in 1960. She walked down this narrow hallway and there was no missing her. She was a big lady in those days, maybe 200 pounds. And she was the first black woman I’d seen with blonde hair. She had quite an entourage with her – a hairdresser, a dressmaker, a bull dyke lesbian dressed as a man, even a midget. It was like a live action Fellini movie. I never did find out the midget’s role in all of it. Etta always liked an entourage. She was a colorful character. She was drinking and taking drugs. She was out there. And she had this voice that my father knew how to get the best out of.

               record label President Marshall Chess

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Rocks The House (1964) signed by Etta

Nemesis: a long-standing rival, foe or adversary, or the inescapable agent of someone's downfall. In my business career, I have had several. Despite my best efforts and intentions, things just didn't work out with some clients. I'd recommend buying a stock, and it would go down. A lot and quickly. Or I would recommend selling a stock, and it would go up, up and away. Chemistry, kizmet, karma, all blameless and held harmless. A good friend and business colleague termed them "nemesis" accounts. We all have them, he wisely counseled me. I learned to accept them as infrequently as they occur and move on.

 I guess Etta James is my music nemesis. I saw her first at the Clinton Inaugural festivities in Washington, DC in early 1993. They had tents on the Mall where a lot of great artists were performing free concerts. I grabbed some albums and went to see Etta, Al Green, and McCoy Tuner. Before her show, I gave Etta an album to sign. She gave me a withering stare. "This is not me. You have the wrong lady." Uh-oh. I looked down at the album, in my haste, I grabbed an Etta Jones album, a great jazz singer, but not the legendary soul and blues artist Etta James. She let me squirm for a bit, but she good naturedly signed the Etta Jones album "Wrong Lady," and I left her to listen to some wonderful music.

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Christmas With Etta Jones (1990) signed by Etta James “Love always, wrong lady”

 In 2010, I saw Etta James again at BB Kings in New York City near the end of her career. She was such a powerful and emotive singer, and she lived the songs she sang. She was particularly feisty that night, and she berated Beyonce for playing her in an upcoming movie (the then unreleased "Cadillac Ranch"). "How she gonna play me if she's never met me?" she hectored B from the stage. Etta always spoke her mind freely and forcefully. She had lived a very difficult life. Growing up, her mother was a prostitute, then Etta became addicted to heroin, and she got ripped off by husbands and record companies her entire life. It was not an easy path, and she let you know she earned every hard road she walked. She sang her hits, "At Last", "You Can Leave Your Hat On", "I'd Rather Be Blind", "Tell Mama" and "Good Rockin' Daddy" with great gusto and a tight band backing her. Her performance was riveting.

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Tell Mama (1968) signed by Etta

 After the show, I brought some albums to get signed. Etta James Sings (1970) contained a re-worked version of her 1955 hit "Roll With Me Henry" written by Etta, Hank Ballard, and Johnny Otis. The original version was considered too risque for radio, so it was retitled, "Dance With Me Henry" and became a top 5 hit for Georgia Gibbs (whoever that is?!). When Etta saw the album cover, she erupted. "I ain't signing this motherf......! Who the f... do you think that is? You think that's me on the cover? That's some record company trying to rip me off. Where did you get this f....... album?" Her language was as coarse as a Wall Street trading desk, or a Lee Elia rant, and I was very comfortable in either milieu. 'I'm sorry,' I said meekly, but Etta remained furious. She wanted to throw the album out and she didn't want to give it back. I felt I was lucky to escape with my limbs intact and the unsigned album. But she did sign Rocks The House (1964), aptly titled, since Etta James rocked every house she ever sang in.

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Etta James Sings (1970) reissue Of 1961 Miss Etta James ) cursed and unsigned

 She once said, "I sing the songs that people need to hear." And she was as strong and formidable offstage as she was on.

Etta James suffered no fools. Except me. Twice.

Choice Etta James Cuts (per BKs request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZt1xKtPbUQ

”I’d Rather Go Blind” live at Montreux 1975


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qJU8G7gR_g

”At Last” At Last! 1960

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bwZSEtoUVU

”Tell Mama” Tell Mama 1968

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMqXNnlf77Q&list=PL7kxDmBpYYTLI4J8prfSVNqf71LkHdT_j

”Sweet Memories” Etta Sings Funk 1969

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfgsND7MngQ

”Roll With Me Henry” 1955

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cMFqQiQOnw

”Purple Rain” All The Way 2005

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HV8gtII6BbU

”A Sunday Kind Of Love” Heart Of A Woman 1999

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvtjaTiIrxM

”You Can Leave Your Hat On” Burnin’ Down The House

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQ15dMt4GBM

”I Sing The Blues” The Right Time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kap4Zt_2arI

”I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” Love’s Been Rough On Me 1997