Toots & The Maytals and Me…

The music was in Jamaica already, some great musicians played this beat and nobody knew what to call it. I looked at it and I created this word called "reggae." Before reggae, there was this slang in Jamaica, if a girl was not looking so good, we call her "streggae." It was just a joke. If people looking raggedy, we go, "Man, they streggae." Streggae means not looking properly dressed. It's coming from that slang, that's how it came to me, because as a songwriter, I can take a song and make it better, so I composed that word - I went from streggae to reggae. I took that word and said, "Do the Reggay." Before that, people were listening to the new beat in Jamaica and didn't know what to call it. Some people used to call it blue beat and other things, until I released the song called "Do The Reggay."

                         Frederick "Toots" Hibbert creating the name for the genre Reggae

Reggae is a message of consolation, a message of salvation. The youth are going to the school and they have to listen to the words. The parents have to listen to the words. God has to listen to the words. So we have to make it positive. If you sing nursery rhymes, it is nothing. You just blow up tomorrow and the record dies at the same time. But if you give positive words, that song lives forever.

                         Toots Hibbert

Funky Kingston (1973) signed by Toots

Real reggae will always be the same, it's about being positive, not negative... People take other music and call it reggae, but it's not reggae, really, it's more like streggae. Because they don't put proper words, and they put foolish things. It's not meaningful for the kids, it's not about love. It's not the reggae that I wrote and the great Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff and some other great people wrote, that music will always be here.

Real reggae is about stories. We sing about poor people and oppresion and love, that music will always be here. So inferior reggae will always be inferior. People don't use the right instruments: they use a drum machine, they use a keyboard. You need the real piano, the real organ, the real drummer. Reggae music is about the real thing.

                         Toots Hibbert

If I hear about something happening to one of my friends, anybody, I can put it together, I create the music for songs. I play instruments, I play bass, I play organ, I play drums, I play harmonica, I play a lot of things. So I'm a creator of music. If something happens or I hear a story... then I can write a song about it. I'm a songwriter, that's what I am.

                         Toots Hibbert

Reggae was created by musicians who lived in the slums of Jamaica. Even though I created the word "reggae," if it wasn't for these great musicians, I could not have done that. My kind of reggae is a bit different. It's R&B, its rock 'n' roll and gospel.

                         Toots Hibbert

Reggae Got Soul (1976) signed by Toots

I've never really pimped our kids to get albums signed at shows. It seems unseemly and exploitative. Well, all right, there was the time I had Kendall knock on Calexico's tour bus when she was eleven or so, and we also laid in wait for Sonny Rollins, saxophone forever colossus, when the kids were young, but, I promise, Kendall was definitely of legal age when we met the elusive and mercurial genius Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel. As you can see, I mostly believe in the separation of church and state, except sometimes.

The first proper live show to which we brought Kendall, Brendan and Camryn was an unlikely choice: the great reggae singer Toots Hibbert and his band The Maytals at the Ridgefield Playhouse in 2007. Since our children were so  young (ten, eight and six), Erin and I were adamant that if anyone started smoking, we would have to leave. Luckily, the Ridgefield Playhouse, a small venue with only five-hundred seats, had a strict no smoking policy which was rigorously enforced and remarkably observed, probably for the first time in the history of any reggae concert.

Tickets to Toots and The Maytals, 2007

The vibe wasn't like that at our first Toots show in Jamaica in 1983. Erin and I were staying in Negril in a small thatched beach villa, and Toots was playing a gig right across the street at Little Bigga's, an outdoor venue. The show was supposed to start at 11pm. Unfortunately, island time is illusory and punctuality in Jamaica non-existent, so the opening act, Rita Marley and the I Threes, came on around 2am. Through the smoke and haze, Erin and I left and we listened from our hotel room across the street. Toots finally came on at 4am and played his usual incendiary set.

The show with our kids at the Ridgefield Playhouse in 2007 was equally scintillating. Before the show, Erin took two of the kids and went to see Toots to get some vinyl signed. She knocked on the tour bus to no avail. Erin persisted and, after a couple of loud knocks later, Toots opened the door and cheerfully signed the albums. Now it was back to our seats for the kids first show!

Toots had a great band and he was showcasing his recent release Light Your Light. He introduced some strong original songs, reworked some of his classics - "Pressure Drop", "Bam Bam", "Sweet and Dandy", "Funky Kingston" and even sang a moving cover of Otis Redding's "Pain In My Heart." I have always thought that if Frederick "Toots" Hibbert was born in Dawson, Georgia, he would sound like Otis Redding, and if Otis was born in Kingston, Jamaica, he would sound like Toots. I'm not the only one. Keith Richards once said, "As a singer, he's amazing. His voice reminds me very much of the timbre of Otis Redding. When you hear him do "Pain In My Heart", it's an uncanny resemblance." Upon his recent death, Keith added, "Toots was a giant. I loved working with him. I loved hanging with him. I will always miss him."

Other highlights from the Ridgefield show included an uptempo "Monkey Man", and a riveting version of "54-46 Was My Number", a protest song that Toots wrote long ago to profess his innocence on a trumped up maijuana charge which resulted in Toots serving more than one year in jail. He also sang a powerful, reggae-infused take on the civil rights anthem, "We Shall Overcome." Toots was such a mesmerizing and magnetic force on stage, we actually believed it was possible to overcome all. How we need him now!

Toots In Memphis (1988) signed by Toots

Sadly, that was the last time we saw Toots perform live. In 2013, while he was performing in Richmond, Virginia, Toots was hit in the head by a vodka bottle hurled by a drunken idiot. Toots was concussed very badly, had a gash that required six staples and spent the next three years trying to recover from this very serious head injury. It was an especially difficult recovery for a heretofore active seventy-year old artist who had been performing for more than fifty years. His vibrancy dimmed as he suffered severe headaches, anxiety, memory loss and, most unwelcome of all, a fear of crowds. In true Toots selfless fashion, he did forgive his nineteen-year old assailant, and at the court sentencing, his letter was read to the court exhorting the judge for leniency. In part it read, " He is a young man, and I have heard what happens to young men in jail. My own pain and suffering would be increased substantially knowing that this young man would face that prospect."

Though he wasn't able to tour or record for three years, Toots did resume some limited travel and touring recently, and he released his latest album in late August 2020, just a few weeks before he succumbed to Covid complications in Jamaica. Appropriately titled Got To Be Tough, it was his first release in eight years. 

Sadly there will be no more shows, but what a legacy Toots leaves us. It's not many artists, if any, who not only name a musical genre but remain such a driving force in its creation and sustenance. As he sang so well, 

"I want you to know that I am the man

 Who fight for the right, not for the wrong

 Going there, I'm growing there

 Helping the weak against the strong

 Soon you will find out the man I'm supposed to be"

Thanks and praises Frederick Toots Hibbert and all Maytals.

Toots at The Fillmore, San Francisco 2017

Choice Toots cuts (per BKs request)

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

“Do The Reggay”  1968

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKC7Vpipcqg

“Do The Reggay”  unplugged and acoustic 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw66FA6OTqA

“Pressure Drop”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhUarheir6E

“We Shall Overcome”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNxNwvjzGM0

“54-46 Was My Number”  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XjRXBY4B2E

“Funky Kingston” live at Winterland 1975

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6o7vkVxeNg

“Bam Bam” (with Shaggy)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aoh5VfwEjw0

“Peace Perfect Peace”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErQ2UB44k-o

“Sweet And Dandy” excerpt from The Harder They Come

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=if9rI9BoUas

“I’ve Got Dreams To Remember” (Otis Redding cover)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0WLkeLvSJ8

“Pain In My Heart” (Otis Redding cover)

9/11, Stacey McGowan, Kirsty Irvine Ryan, Sting and Me…

I had the privilege to work for Sandler O'Neill & Partners at 2 World Trade Center on the 104th floor in New York City. So many great colleagues worked there, Kristy Irvine Ryan and Stacey McGowan were among the finest. Stacey McGowan was a talented equity trader who specialized in bank stocks, Kristy Irvine Ryan was her trusted and invaluable assistant. Both women possessed disarmingly beautiful smiles and an abundance of talent in the rough and tumble atmosphere of a Wall Street trading desk. Neither Stacey nor Kristy were shrinking violets in any way, manner or form and they were formidable assets to the firm.

Kristy Irvine Ryan

As talented as they were at work, their after work activities were as impressive. Kristy started Secret Smiles in 1998 with two of her closest friends, Meredith Hassett and Louise Ryan. Meredith was a teacher in Harlem who learned of a destitute, struggling single mother whose child was going to have a Grinch-like Christmas. She told the mother to write down what she needed and she would bring it to a "bank charity" to see if they could help. The "bank charity" was her friends' largesse and Kristy and her (then) boyfriend Brendan Ryan helped deliver the goods anonymously to an appreciative mother. From that humble beginning, more than 50 New York families enjoyed Christmas through the generosity and unselfishness of Kristy, her friends and Secret Smiles. When Kristy died tragically on 9/11, her sister Tracey opened a Secret Smiles chapter in Dayton, Ohio and today, they have provided more than 7,300 beds, cribs and bedding to at-risk families in the Dayton area. Kristy's indomitable, selfless spirit lives on in this fitting tribute and legacy to an amazing woman.

Stacey Sennas McGowan

Stacey McGowan was equally remarkable. She was a cherished wife and devoted mother to her two daughters. We had a lot in common: we were graduates of Boston College, met our spouses there, had young kids, loved music in general and the Grateful Dead in particular.  Stacey had a calm presence which belied her occupation and circumstance as one of the principal OTC traders of bank stocks at the firm. In those days, stocks were traded over the counter and there was lots of fussin', feudin' and fightin' over prices, amounts, etc. The machines had not yet taken over. The internet craze had just begun and internet stocks, which were little more than dreams and train smoke, traded with reckless abandon at excessive multiples and preposterous valuations. While stocks like CMGI Phone.com, Pets.com raged unceasingly higher, Stacey and her Sandler traders toiled and trafficked in obscure community bank stocks like Roslyn Bank Corp., Astoria Financial, and Richmond County Savings Bank. These stocks were as unsexy and unloved as their prosaic names implied.

That all changed one day when Jay Sidhu, the very promotional Chairman of Sovereign Bancorp, made a presentation at the Sandler O'Neill offices (and issued a press release) which unveiled Internet Banking. Finally, some "dot com" exposure! SVRN exploded to the upside and there were only a couple of market makers on Wall Street and Stacey was the principal trader. Almost all Wall Street investors decided to buy SVRN at exactly the same time. Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose! The flurry of activity was incredible as Stacey, Kristy, and Sandler O'Neill Head of Equities Bruce Simmons leapt into action. Stacey traded millions of shares that day and never left her post, not for lunch, not for the bathroom, not for nothing. It was her nature as a fighter to complete the task in front of her and not give up. She simply would not, could not stop. The tumultuous activity did exact a physical toll however, as Stacey experienced horrific back spasms after the market closed and she was taken out of the office by way of stretcher after a visit with EMTs. As expected, she returned to her post the next day to continue trading.

Bruce Edward Simmons

One day, Stacey, Kristy and I were talking about music. They both knew that I went to a lot of live shows of all sorts and stripes. Stacey said, "You need to settle a bet. When you go to a show, who do you focus on? Who do you watch the most?" "That's easy," I said, "It's gotta be the drummer. He sets the groove. Like Count Basie said, 'If the drummer has a good night, then the band has a good night.' " Kristy agreed, "See I told you Stacey, that's exactly who I watch." "I'll be sure not to tell your boyfriend, Kristy," I teased. (Brendan Ryan, later her husband, was the keyboardist for The Bogmen, a fun and popular 90s band). Stacey asked offhandedly, "By the way, what was your first Grateful Dead show?" "Boston Garden, May '77," was my reply. "Oh cool," she replied nonchalantly.  

A week or two later, Stacey handed me a cassette with the first set of the Grateful Dead's performance at Boston Garden on May 7, 1977. "Listen, I didn't write any songs on the cover. You were there, you'll remember the songs," she said with a twinkle in her eye and her magnetic smile.  I thanked her for being so kind and thoughtful. I had not heard those songs since that long ago, hazy night, and this was well before Archive.org had the entire Grateful Dead live discography just a point and click away. These tapes were not easy to find, especially a soundboard. It was gold with Jerry, gold!

Grateful Dead, Boston Garden 5.07.77

Sadly, these two lives and so many others were shattered irrevocably on the September 11, 2001. Nineteen years have past, nineteen summers with the length of nineteen long winters and still....my heart aches for the loss of my friends and I wish blessings for their families. It is truly a wound that never heals. 

For the past few years, I have written about the senseless loss of my friends and attached this Sting-Herman Sandler vignette (see below). I guess I'll keep writing, I got lots more friends to write about and celebrate. I only wish the endings were different.

Herman Sandler

Herman Sandler was a founder of Sandler O'Neill, a financial services investment bank. Along with his partners, he ran a very successful and lucrative practice. Herman was also a benefactor, who gave generously to the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and The Rainforest Foundation. He looked like Daddy Warbucks: shaved head, glasses perched on the top of his forehead, fit and disciplined like the US Army Captain who had served his country in Vietnam. He was tough and he did not suffer fools. I was lucky to work for him and his talented team of bankers, salesmen, and traders on the 104th floor of 2 World Trade Center until I left in May 2000.

In November 1999, Sting was playing four shows at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. One of my clients was a big Sting fan and asked if I could get tickets. Tickets were at a hefty premium since the venue was so small - only 3,000 seats vs. Sting's normal Madison Square Garden gig with 20,000+. I bought tickets through a ticket broker and I asked Herman for backstage passes. Herman was on the board of The Rainforest Foundation and he was friends with Sting and his wife, Trudie Styler. Herman said, "No problem." Everything was no problem with Herman, even his boat was named "No Problem." Herman secured the backstage passes the next day and handed them to me. No problem.

Sting backstage pass 1999 “no problem “ thanks Herman!

The night of the show, I met the client and her trading assistant for a quick dinner at the Ocean Grill. They were very excited to see Sting. We finished our meal and headed over to the Beacon. The backstage entrance is near the loading dock, so we flashed our passes and we are escorted in. A roadie tells us that there is no real backstage area, so we can stand along the wall or go to our seats. I look at the wall. That doesn't look very promising and it's too early to go to our seats. "Lets try this again," I tell the clients, "Follow me." We go back where we came from and an elevator door opens. Another roadie gets off. We get on. Taped to the elevator wall is handwriting: Sting 6, Costumes 5, Band 4, Catering 3. This is helpful. I press 6 and up we go.

Outlandos D’Amour. (1978) signed by Sting, Andy Summers

The elevator opens on the 6th floor into an anteroom and Sting has his back to us. He is being interviewed, speaking into a mic attached to a large tape machine. I walk by Sting, nod, and my clients follow me and stand in the corner. Actually, they cower in the corner, they are so star struck. The interview concludes and I greet Sting. I tell him I work for Herman Sandler. "Herman is a great friend and a good man. We're doing some great work together on the Rainforest Foundation." Sting signs a couple albums and I ask if he will take a picture with my two guests. He agrees. I coax them out of the corner and they flank Sting as I take a picture. No iPhone in those days, I rely on a throw away camera just purchased at Duane Reade. I take the picture, no flash. I stall, "Hey Sting, we got everything working now," as I take another picture. No flash again. Sting says, "You got everything working except the camera." He laughs, shakes everyone's hands and leaves. We head back to our fourth row seats and Sting puts on a great show. My clients were very grateful that they got to meet Sting, less so when my pictures got developed and came back blank.

Synchronicity (1983) signed by Sting, Andy Summers

Tragically, Herman Sandler died on September 11, 2001, along with sixty-six of his Sandler O'Neill colleagues and some of my best friends. Sting later performed his song "Fragile" at one of the World Trade Center benefits and dedicated it to Herman's memory. 

I miss Herman Sandler, David Rice, Frank Salvaterra, Bruce Simmons, Howard Gelling, Tom Clark, Tom Collins, Doug Irgang, Stacey McGowan, Kristy Irvine Ryan, Mike Edwards and all the other Sandler O'Neill colleagues who senselessly died that horrible day. Although the years pass, their loss is a wound that never fully heals.

David Harlow Rice

Frank Salvaterra

Joe Henderson and Me…

It was a Lester Young record of a tune called "D.B. Blues." That was the one that did it for me. I can remember when I was ten, eleven years old, my brother, who was not a musician but a scientist, helping me learn that solo. It was like, just these three notes, then these next three, then these next three and I started to play along with Pres (Lester Young). After a while, that just gave me such a great feeling being able to do that.

                Joe Henderson

It was a magic year for me. Lionel Hampton came to my town and some alto player that was working with him got ill. There was a guy who came from Chicago who came to my small town to take up residence. This guy could convince you that he knew Jesus Christ himself. So he told Lionel Hampton, “Man, I know this little kid in this town who could play that music. I know that.” Lionel is standing up there with a toothpick in his mouth, and he says, “Hey, man, go get your horn.” I boogied on home and got my horn. Next thing I know I’m up there on the stand. I’ve got all my friends out there, so I’m in good company. All of a sudden, I’m looking at this music, watching these notes fly by. I’ll never forget that. I mean, these notes were just flying by so fast. I thought, “How do these guys read so fast?” It took me a few years to get that skill together, where I could handle that a little bit. This guy named Bobby Plater, who played with Lionel’s band at that time, I was sitting to his right. Naturally, he knew the book, and he knew that I was lost, so he pointed out where we were and he kept me on track. Just getting a chance to hear some players when I was younger was the greatest thing that could have happened to me. I definitely was within earshot of some very valuable information. You hear people talking shop. You learn more by that, sometimes, than with an instructor standing up there giving this spiel on twentieth-century contrapuntal harmonic technique and all that kind of thing. If you’re within earshot of people just running that down, you’ve got a lot of information.

                Joe Henderson

The Kicker (1967) signed by Joe, Kenny Barron, Ron Carter, Louis Hayes

Charlie Parker was too much for me to understand. My musical capacity wasn't up to it. I had been listening to Rhythm and Blues, and I had gone through that generation. I was always around Country and Western music as well. I know as much about Johnny Cash as I do about Charlie Parker, because I grew up in that area... a lot of Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, and all those cats who were really doing things around that time. I'm talking about the real deep blues players.

                  Joe Henderson            

The trouble was, because we were filming the movie in England, the film company needed us to use musicians from the British Commonwealth, for tax purposes. So we figured out a little scheme. I told Antonioni I would fly to Canada – part of the British Commonwealth – and record the music there, with Canadian musicians. And I did in fact fly to Toronto and make recordings there, even though I knew already we weren’t going to use them. I never told the Canadian guys that, of course, but as soon as I could, I hopped on a flight from Toronto to New York. In New York, I got all the top musicians into the studio as fast as I could – Jack DeJohnette, Ron Carter, Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson. We recorded the score, and I put those tapes in the boxes marked “Canada” and then flew back to London. I handed them over to Antonioni, and as soon as he listened to them, he knew! “Is that Joe Henderson?” he asked, his eyes lighting up. “And Jack DeJohnette?” He was such a huge jazz fan, he could tell who was playing by the sounds of their instruments and the way they played.
I felt bad misleading the Canadian musicians, but in the ’60s there really was a vast gap between the quality of American jazz musicianship and that of the rest of the world. In order to give Antonioni the level of music he wanted, I had no choice but to use New York musicians, who fortunately didn’t care a thing about getting credit. Eventually, when the Blow Up soundtrack was released, the New York musicians were listed on it, so the secret was out. But for a long time only Antonioni and I knew.

           Herbie Hancock recording Blow Up soundtrack for filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni

I was supposed to be in Miles Davis’ band before Wayne (Shorter) got there. Trane had recommended me to Miles when he was getting ready to leave the band in the early part of 1960. But Uncle Sam had more power than Miles did. I got drafted, went over to Europe and did my stint in the military for two years. Fate has a way of dealing our cards to us. And I don’t regret having been in the military. I got a chance to learn French and German and meet Bud Powell, Don Byas, Kenny Clarke and a lot of people who were living over there at the time.

Joe Henderson

Bas Ra (1965) signed by Joe Henderson

Born in Lima, Ohio, Joe Henderson was one of fourteen children, surrounded by siblings and music. His first musical interest was as a drummer, "I wanted to play drums. I'd be making drums out of my mother's pie pans. But they said I'd gotten a high enough score that I could play anything, and they gave me a saxophone. It was a C melody. I played that about six months and went to the tenor. I was kind of born on the tenor saxophone." The banging and clanging on pie pans would lead to one of the most distinguished careers as a tenor saxophonist in the annals of jazz history. Joe also benefited from his older brother's taste in music, "I remember one of my brothers, in particular, who is a scientist, had this Jazz At The Philharmonic collection. He was a jazz buff and it was very good for me to be around that early on, because before I started to play the saxophone, I knew what the saxophone was supposed to sound like. I heard a bunch of people like Lester Young, Illinois Jacquet, Coleman Hawkins and Wardell Gray." They were worthy mentors and role models in the early development of Joe's playing and artistry.

The geographic location of Lima also played an important role. While it may not be a hotbed of jazz creativity now, Lima had a flourishing jazz and music scene then. It was a mid-point from the East to Detroit or Chicago and, as bands came through town, they played shows at local venues which Joe was able to attend, and in Lionel Hampton's case, actually sit in. Very heady stuff for a teenager, but Joe wasn't your typical teen. He wrote his first song, "Recorda-Me" when he was only fourteen or fifteen. Joe explained, "The first tune that I ever wrote, as a teenager, was a tune that I later retitled "Recorda-Me." This was before the Bossa Nova was introduced to North America by Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd. My tune had a kind of generic Latin beat to it, without any specific rhythm, like a Pachanga or a Bolero or a Samba. But when I first heard this Bossa Nova (above the gunshots because I was in military training at the time). it caused me to go back to "Recorda-Me," not to rewrite it, but to change the rhythm of the melody line, in order to fit the Bossa Nova pulse. So (Antonio Carlos) Jobim had a profound effect on even the way that I proceeded with melodies that I already had." 

Released in 1963 on Joe's debut album Page One, “Recorda Me” has become a jazz standard with additional recordings by Chick Corea, Art Farmer, McCoy Tyner and many others. Fresh off a two year stint with the US Army, Page One was recorded with trumpet deity Kenny Dorham and featured McCoy Tyner on piano, credited as "Etc." due to a contractual squabble between Blue Note and Impulse Records. An impressive debut, it never led to the kind of acclaim which Joe received until late in his career. Despite releasing twenty-seven records as a leader, and appearing on hundreds of sessions, Joe remained relatively unknown, until the early 1990s when he was 'rediscovered' and won four Grammy awards for his songbook editions: Lush Life: The Music of Billy Strayhorn, So Near, So Far (Musings For Miles), Double Rainbow: The Music Of Antonio Carlos Jobim, and Porgy & Bess. 

Ellington Is Forever (1975) signed by Joe, Kenny Burrell, Ernie Andrews, Jon Faddis

As Joe recollected about his late career resurgence "There have been more gigs and that kind of thing, and the remunerative part of that equation has gotten to the point where it could have been - should have been - all of the time. You're talking to a pretty pleased person here... My brain is just buzzing as a result of this late recognition.” Pete Yellin, a fellow saxophonist and collaborator was more direct, “When Joe was at the height of his powers, Jazz wasn’t getting as much as acclaim. Now, if Joe Henderson came on the scene... look how he can play compared to Wynton Marsalis. Look how much he can play. I mean, Wynton is a great musician, a great spokesman, a great role model, a great human being, a great historian and everything, but look at what Joe played, man, compared to what Wynton played. I mean, it’s not even comparable. So if Wynton is a Pulitzer Prize winner, Joe should have been getting those kinds of awards, ‘cause to me, he’s almost as powerful as Charlie Parker, as powerful as Trane, you know, the way he turned Jazz around. People started combining modal with bebop, and he just brought the stuff to another area that was powerful. I’m telling you, every tenor player, and many alto players who were coming up in New York, Michael Brecker included... you can think of so many, they just imitated Joe Henderson, period. Imitated!”

Like many important and overlooked Jazz artists, Joe was hiding in plain sight. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to enjoy his well deserved renaissance for long. He suffered a stroke in 1998 which curtailed his performing and recording career, and eventually died in 2001 after a battle with emphysema. He was only sixty-four years old, but what a legacy of recordings he left behind.

In addition to his compositions which have become jazz standards - “Serenity”, “Punjab”, “The Kicker”, “Black Narcissus”, “Isotope” - two of my favorite tracks feature his singular saxophone on other leader’s albums: “Song For My Father” featuring Horace Silver and “The Sidewinder” with Lee Morgan. Horace, too, remembered his time with Joe fondly, “Joe was always a consistent soloist. He wasn’t hot one night, cold the next. I never heard Joe have a bad night. He told me one day on the phone, “I can’t understand why I’m so popular [now]. I’m playing the same thing I’ve always played.” It took people awhile to catch up to him. He was kind of a loner. He was on good terms with everyone in the band, but he wasn’t the buddy type of guy who would hang out with everybody in the band, or go out drinking. When the gig was over, he went to his room. Of course, Kenny Dorham discovered him first. But if I hadn’t, somebody else would have recognized his abilities and pushed him up the ladder of fame. I’m glad I was the one who primarily did.”

Ellington Is Forever Volume Two (1977) signed by Joe, Kenny Burrell, Ernie Andrews, Gary Bartz, Sir Roland Hanna

Sadly, I only saw Joe once at Blues Alley in the early 1990s. He was touring in support of his recent release, a tribute  to the Brazilian master composer Antonio Carlos Jobim. He played mostly Jobim songs with skill and beauty. His encore was “Recorda Me”, its Latin beats and rhythms fitting in seamlessly with songs from the Jobim canon. After the show, I knocked on the dressing room door, and his tour manager answered, came out and shut the door carefully behind him. I could see Joe resting comfortably on a chair through the sliver of the opening. I thanked Joe’s manager for a wonderful performance, showed him some vinyl and asked if Joe wouldn’t mind signing some. “Yes, I’d be happy to get them signed,” he replied. I said, ‘I’d really like to thank him personally if you don’t mind.’ “Yeah, he really doesn’t do that, let me just get them signed.” With that, he took the albums and closed the dressing room door. Then I remembered, Joe’s nickname was “The Phantom,” he had a penchant and innate skill for disappearing after shows, sometimes even before shows much to the consternation and dismay of club owners and patrons. Just then the door slid open again, and the tour manager emerged victorious with signed albums. “Here you go, Joe really liked your vinyl, especially the Lee Konitz album. He really liked that one.” ‘That is a great album. Thanks again,’ and as the door remained slightly ajar, I could see my quarry. The Phantom had not entirely eluded me, ‘Thanks again Joe, that was a really great show.’ He smiled and waved, and that was the last time I ever saw The Phantom.

Duets (1967) signed by Joe, Lee Konitz, Elvin Jones, Jim Hall, Dick Katz, Eddie Gomez

Renee Rosnes, a wonderful pianist who performed with Joe, said it perfectly, “ I was consistently awed by Joe’s incredible artistry. From night to night, he played with such joy and command, and he inspired the same from his band mates. He wasn’t a leader who directed verbally, but rather spoke through his horn. Joe used to say, “Heaven is on the bandstand,” and could often be found looking skyward with his hands in a prayer-like stance, as he listened to the sounds being created around him. It was almost as if he was summoning the muses. I have many cherished memories of playing with him.”

Though The Phantom is gone, his glorious songs play on. Fortunately, Heaven is not only on the bandstand, it’s also on his vinyl!

Reflections (1991) signed by Joe, Frank Morgan, Ron Carter, Mulgrew Miller

Choice Joe Henderson Cuts (per BKs request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWeXOm49kE0&list=PL68FF74CDEBB152A2

“Song For My Father” (1964) with Horace Silver 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHN6-yWFKPc

“The Sidewinder” (1963) with Lee Morgan 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwRbcb4ADjY

“Recorda Me” (1963) Not a bad first tune for a fifteen year old!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY_Y_p7KBxQ

“Punjab” (1964)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYId7D4IPSg

“Black Narcissus” (1976)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ud0HIA-sEfQ

“Isotope” (1964)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5e2RTJjvK8

“Serenity” (1964)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r8L-9ay7uE

“A Shade Of Jade” (1966)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqpAyp1V0J4&list=PLUj6v_kUAv5eQVYkV-pyrfoUjwJTnDgGb

“Double Rainbow” (1995) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMLo05EGuBw

“Desafinado” live at Carnegie Hall 1994

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhB0maxWdH4

“The Kiss” (1966) from the Blow Up soundtrack 

Jim Hall and Me…

My feeling about my own playing is that I'm not a virtuoso, but I listen well and react to other players well. Even in my own trio, I never think of the group as a guitar plus a supporting rhythm section. Each one of these guys is a creative, growing musician. and I treat them that way.

               Jim Hall

The Jimmy Giuffre 3 (1957 recordings, 1988 reissue) signed by Jim

Jim was one of the first guitar players I really liked. I bought an Art Farmer album, Live At The Half Note, when I was fourteen, and it featured Jim. I saw there was another way to play the guitar. His sound was warmer than other guitarists, and he's so musical. I heard it all there. He played with space, but it's not just that. His chords, his beautiful lush chords, he was a hip guitar player. He played hip.

               guitarist John Scofield

50 Years Of Jazz guitar (1978) signed by Jim, Kenny Burrell, Pat Martino, Les Paul

You've still got to make music, though. All of the technical things? Those are just tools, and there still has to be something personal at play. I'd rather hear B.B. King play three notes than hear a lot of guitar players play all night with their zillions of chops, because there's something about B.B.'s intelligence. I always figured I've made a living recovering from mistakes. You take something where you maybe didn't literally mean to play it, and you try to make it fit somehow, and it's fun. So that's what I'm interested in - making what everyone does right for the moment and for the music.

               Jim Hall

Easy Living (1966) signed by Jim

I know a guitar when I see it, that's about it. I have very little connection to the actual instrument. When traveling, I've gotten to the point where I just check the electric thing through, because it's gotten so complicated traveling. And it's disappeared a couple of times overnight, so I just sort of try and separate myself from it. It's a piece of wood, I can get another guitar. It's not my dog or my wife.

               Jim Hall

Intermodulation (1966) signed by Jim

It got me practicing, I'll tell you that. It was daunting. I learned so much from Sonny. Sometimes, we'd be playing something with a nice groove. He wouldn't even have to tell us, but by the force of his playing, he would stop everything and kind of take the tune apart and examine it, then put it back together. It was a great experience, personally and musically.

               Jim Hall on performing with Sonny Rollins

Concierto (1975) signed by Jim, Ron Carter, Steve Gadd, Sir Roland Hanna

By the time I began studying with him, I had already transcribed a bunch of his solos, even if I wasn't too advanced a player. There was this liquid quality to his music, and there was so much coming out of him. He'd phrase like a horn, and his chord voicings were incredible. He was doing so much orchestrally, and he'd ask me questions that opened lots of doors. He'd say, 'Have you heard what Sonny Rollins does with this tune?' and I'd be off down a new avenue.

               guitarist and former student Bill Frisell

Duets (1967) signed by Jim; Lee Konitz, Eddie Gomez, Elvin Jones, Dick Katz, Joe Henderson

The first time I heard Jim Hall I was under the influence. I was visiting my friend Tommy W. in his home in the 1970s. Tommy's dad was a dentist who had his office in a separate wing. Each Saturday, Tommy's family would leave in the afternoon to visit family relatives in a nearby town. Tommy always begged off accompanying them, there was homework to finish or some other fetching excuse. That left us to explore his father's office unsupervised, and, inevitably, we would end up in the dentist chair hitting on nitrous oxide, among other things. Sufficiently lubricated, we would listen to music, and one fine sunny, stoned day, Tommy introduced me to Jim Hall Live!. Thelonious Monk's " "Round Midnight", Charlie Parker's "Scrapple From The Apple", and Jerome Kern's "The Way You Tonight" were revelatory in the hands of Jim Hall as his dexterous and fleet, quicksilver runs on guitar transformed these songs. Maybe it was the nitrous, or the smoke, or the booze, but there was definitely something happening that demanded further examination and exploration. Sadly, after two or three more excursions, Tommy's father noticed the declining nitrous tank levels, and I was banned from future 'play dates.' However, all was not lost. To this day, whenever I visit a dentist and recline back in the chair, I have fond remembrances of those warm, narcotic days past.

Jim Hall Live! (1975) unsigned, thank you Tommy W.
“If I had to pick one Jim record, it would be that one. I would go as far as saying there’s a consensus there. That was the ideal band, the ideal tunes, the ideal setting.” Pat Metheny

Born in Buffalo, raised in Cleveland, Jim Hall was an influential guitarist. Premier Guitar magazine states boldly, "It could be argued that the jazz guitar tree is rooted in four names: Django Reinhardt, Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery, and Jim Hall." I might add Les Paul, Joe Pass, Herb Ellis or Kenny Burrell for their consideration, but that is a minor quibble. 

Jim started out listening to country music,"The first music I heard was my uncle Ed playing the guitar and sort of singing country songs. My mom played the piano a little bit. She kind of played church music on the piano and she had what I guess is the good sense to buy me a guitar when I was a kid. I started playing at about 13." Everything changed when Jim listened to a Benny Goodman record, "I heard Charlie Christian's solo on 'Grand Slam.' Two choruses of the Blues in F, and it was like a spiritual awakening, which I've never had otherwise. That really changed my life. I didn't even know for sure what it was he was doing, but it sounded so amazing, I wanted to be able to do that. And the great thing about it, is that when I hear that now, I have the same reaction, which is, 'Gee that sounds great. I wish I could do that.'

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

Upon graduation from high school, Jim studied at the Cleveland Institute For Music where his music education flourished. Counterpoint, music theory, and exposure to classical composers Bartok, Hindemith, and Mozart widened Hall's knowledge and circle considerably. When he received his Master's, he and and a friend decided to light out for a new territory - Los Angeles. Jim explained, "A saxophone player named Ray Graziano and I drove (for payment) this lavender Cadillac convertible to Los Angeles from Cleveland."  Doesn't every Angeleno (circa 1955 or now!) need a lavender Cadillac convertible? After staying with his aunt and getting a job as a sheet music clerk, Jim recalled his big break, "A French horn player called me to rehearse with them for a quartet. It was one of those things of being at the right place at the right time. Chico Hamilton called and said, 'I'm looking for a guitar player.' John (my friend) said, 'I just happen to have one.' It must have been the next day or so, I went over to Chico's house and auditioned and I got a job with Chico Hamilton who was forming a new quintet."

Alone Together (1972) signed by Jim, Ron Carter

This led to Jim's first appearance on vinyl in 1955, The Chico Hamilton Quintet, Featuring Buddy Collette. Four other albums soon followed with Chico and Jim's career was off and running. Over the next ten years, Jim would record with Jimmy Giuffre, Art Farmer, Bill Evans, Paul Desmond, and Sonny Rollins on some of their important works. He also found time to tour with Ella Fitzgerald and appears on her 1960 smash hit, Ella In Berlin: Mack The Knife. Jim remembered his time with her and her talent fondly, "I took (guitarist) Herb Ellis' place with Ella. That was a marvelous experience. I told Tommy Flanagan once...that her pitch was so good, I would tune up to Ella. If I had a choice, I would listen to Ella and tune my guitar to her. And playing with that great rhythm section, (drummer) Gus Johnson and (bassist) Wilfred Middlebrooks, it was great. I really learned a lot from that. I had to practice my rhythm guitar playing quite a bit. Also what was interesting was working with somebody who was that famous. Huge crowds would turn out to see her. All of that was pretty different for me. I went to South America for the first time with her. We were in Brazil and Argentina, that was fascinating."

Where Would I Be? (1971) signed by Jim

After nearly ten peripatetic years on the road, Jim got married in 1965, and he and his wife decided to settle down and live in New York City, He joined the Merv Griffin television show band, an artistically unsatisfying job. Though the band had other accomplished jazz artists (Bob Brookmeyer, Benny Powell, Richie Kamuca, and Jake Hanna), they were a neglected sidebar to Merv's Borscht Belt shtick and inane patter. By default, he got to play with Count Basie, Duke Ellington and others when they visited, but, mostly, Jim thought the music was "garbage." Jim recounted, "I was there for three-and-a-half years, I guess. Merv had some fascinating guests, I remember, but the music, you can imagine what that was like....Then the Griffin show, fortunately for me, moved out to Los Angeles. I didn't go with them, I started doing other stuff." That other stuff led Jim to releasing more than forty albums as a leader/co-leader and appearing on hundreds of sessions.

Jim Hall and Red Mitchell (1978) signed by Jim “The Blue Dove”

I saw Jim Hall many times over the years in jazz clubs in New York City. He looked like a mild mannered accountant or bookish college professor, but when he plugged in and started playing furious riffs on his guitar, there was no denying his magnetism, charm and virtuosity. A riveting performer on stage, he was humble and self-effacing off stage. He signed each of his vinyl with a seeming bemused indifference.

Near the end of his career, Jim reflected on his playing, "I'm enjoying playing more and more, I'm having fun. I keep younger guys around me to keep me stretched out. And I'm not as hard on myself, I don't mind messing up a bit. There's always tomorrow. I hope my own playing is changing daily. I keep experimenting with new things. I have good feelings about music because I'm always most interested in the next performance." Affixed to the inside of his guitar case was a sticker, "Make musical sense." A benevolent dictum, he  accomplished so much more. Jim Hall, a virtuoso guitar player and wonderful listening experience, especially without nitrous.

Music Of Bill Evans (1986) signed by Jim, Eddie Gomez, John Harrington, Hank Dutt, Jean Jeanrenaud, John Sherba

Choice Jim Hall Cuts (per BK's request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDs8JxxAnlU

Jim Hall plays with Merv Griffin 1965

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9Jvst3madw

”Blue Dove"  Jim Hall and Red Mitchell  Live at Sweet Basil's  1978, two masters exquisitely play an old Mexican folk song...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIq5w-NogWA

”The Bridge"  Live with Sonny Rollins

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjsJQ4EYRNM

”My Kinda Love"  Live with Art Farmer, Steve Swallow, Walter Perkins

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcWo7yxpdhg

Easy Living"  Jim Hall with Paul Desmond

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Kt88RUPw14"

“Fly Me To The Moon"   Jim Hall Live!  1975

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTKpxU8aaKY

”Autumn Leaves"  Alone Together  1972

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

”The Answer Is Yes"  Concierto  1975  written by his wife, Jane

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZtuMZxXZN0

”My Funny Valentine"  Live with Kenny Barron, Scott Colley, Lewis Nash  2009

Bonus:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45cX7ZOA-Lk"

“Grand Slam"  Charlie Christian...It all starts here!

All Across The City (1989) unsigned, World Trade Center 1 and 2 in background

Don Walser and Me…

My mother passed away when I was not quite twelve years old. My father worked twelve hours each night about ten months out of the year. For company, I kept the radio on all night and listened to those great old country songs. They helped shape my life and gave me a goal in this world. That goal was to keep those old songs alive.

               Don Walser

Rolling Stone From Texas (1994) signed by Don

Don Walser is one of the greatest undiscovered country singers that I've ever heard. Besides being an incredible interpreter of classic country music, Don is probably the most innovative and creative yodeler who ever knocked his tonsils together in a song....I think after you listen to Don, you'll agree he's a true American treasure.

               producer/musician Ray Benson

It didn't matter where we played. Whether I was just sitting on a bunk in the barracks playing for the fellas or at Lincoln Center - as long as people were enjoying the music, we had a ball.

               Don Walser

Rolling Stone From Texas (1994) back cover signed by Don

Don Walser started singing in West Texas dance halls and honky tonks in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He had a regional following when he recorded a single,  "Rolling Stone From Texas."  As he later wrote in his 1994 CD liner notes, "Rolling Stone From Texas" was written when I was eighteen years old. First recorded in 1964 and was rated four stars in Billboard magazine. I didn't know then or now what that means." Despite this early success, Don didn't want to move to Nashville to pursue a career in music, so he did the next best thing. He joined the National Guard, and he remained a Guardsman for the next thirty nine years, releasing singles in the early 1970s on Camaro, an obscure record label in Memphis, Tennessee, and occasionally playing in local Austin clubs.

Don Walser and his music found an unlikely champion in Jeff Pinkus, the bassist in the Austin-based thrash and hardcore punk band, Butthole Surfers. Jeff heard Don play in 1990 at Henry's Bar & Grill and when it closed, he introduced him to David Thompson III, the manager at Emo's, the pre-eminent punk rock club in Austin. As David explained, " Don and his band played our club weekly and he became fast friends with all the employees as well as the patrons. For a yodeling cowboy, you would not think he would have fit in a punk club like Emo's but it was a perfect match..... I was truly blown away with not only his voice but his Texas manners. It was not unusual for all the punks at Emo's to be "two-steppin'" to his music and it was not unusual for him to be on a punk rock bill with other bands." I am sure the tattooed and pierced Emo patrons were never quite the same after being exposed to Don and his yodeling!

Tish Hinojosa’s Border Tour (1995) signed by Don, Tish, Butch Hancock, Santiago Jimenez

The first time I saw Don Walser was at the Barns of Wolf Trap in Vienna, Virginia in 1995. The Barns seats around 400 in a beautifully restored, acoustically perfect circa 1730 wood structure. Even though Don had been singing for decades, he had just released his debut CD, Rolling Stone From Texas. He had recently retired from the National Guard so he was finally able to concentrate on his music. Don was part of a revue called "Tish Hinojosa's Border Tour" which included conjunto accordion master Santiago Jimenez Jr., Lubbock, Texas songwriter Butch Hancock, and singer Tish Hinojosa. All great artists, but Don stole the show. He came out wearing bib dungaree overalls with a large Stetson hat and sat down on a stool with his guitar. He was so grateful to be there and his kindness and courtesy were infectious. He sang most of his first CD and highlights were Marty Robbins' "Don't Worry 'Bout Me", Eddy Arnold's "I'll Hold You In My Arms", and Don's "Rolling Stone From Texas" and "The John Deere Tractor Song." Don's voice was revelatory. So clear, precise, forceful and his yodeling was otherworldly. After the show, he signed CDs, t-shirts, posters, etc.. Mostly, it seemed he just wanted to shake your hand. As Howard Kalish, his fiddle player said, "When he said he was pleased to meet you, he truly was."

La Sirena (1995) signed by Don, Tish, Butch, Santiago Jimenez

The last time I saw Don, he was playing at the venerable Twist 'n' Shout in Bethesda, Maryland in 1997. The Twist 'n' Shout was an American Legion bar during the week, but it transformed into a honky tonk roadhouse on weekends with a great mix of blues, boogie, cajun and country bands. The club was immortalized in Mary Chapin Carpenter's swinging ode "Down At The Twist 'n' Shout" which Mary sings with great gusto backed by Beausoleil, the expert cajun band. The venue couldn't shake its American Legion dive bar roots with the beer-soaked linoleum floor, dropped ceiling and Budweiser on tap. No hipster micro brews here, most of the suds ended up on the teeming dance floor.  Mix in a bunch of sweaty, boozy patrons and it was a perfect Saturday night.

Watermelon Records (1995) signed by Don, Butch Hancock

Don played a remarkable set, showcasing his latest release, Texas Top Hand (1996). Some friends of mine were astounded with his voice and performance. "Who is this guy?" they gasped. "He's really good" was a quick rejoinder. After the show, Don sat at a table signing 8"x10" publicity photos. When it was my turn, I told Don how much my wife and I love his music. "Where is she?" Don asked. I said,  "Erin would love to be here but she's eight months pregnant with our first baby, so she thought she should stay home." "That's a shame." he offered. I said, "Yes, we loved your show at the Barns with Tish a couple of years ago. Don, I really love your version of "Wine Me Up", that's such a great Faron Young song, and you crush it. Would you sign your photo with "Wine Me Up?" "Sure" Don says, as he starts scribbling away and hands me back the photo with a big warm smile. 

It reads: 

"To My Pals, Neil & Erin, Have A Great Life & Have A Healthy Baby, Don Walser"

A beautiful and thoughtful inscription from a thoughtful and beautiful man.

Wine me up indeed!

“To my pals Neil +Erin Have a great life & have a healthy baby” signed by Don

Choice Don Walker cuts (per BKs request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zFoM7TR27U

“Wine Me Up”

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

“John Deere Tractor Song”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdNht2kiSNQ
“Rolling Stone From Texas” live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1yJaqLrWzI

“Hot Rod Mercury”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tG-awDe-6c
“Cowpoke”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upNSJmplTBE
“I’ll Hold You In My Arms”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2KLMKAwWdY

live at Threadgill’s 1994 with Carrie Rodriguez on fiddle

Reuben Wilson and Me…

Music was around me growing up and there was a piano to play. I dug boogie woogie and began playing the piano at a young age.. Years later in my mid-teens at a music store, I saw an organ. I played around with it and got a good feeling. Seven or eight years later, I heard Jimmy Smith who just floored me. Soon thereafter, I got a gig where the owner asked me if I could play the organ. I practiced for two weeks and he said I was ready. At first, I was nervous, but eventually I got in the groove.

                         Reuben Wilson

On Broadway (1968) signed by Reuben

Actually, I went to see him in New York City around 1969. Between sets they were asking if anyone wanted to play the (Hammond) B3, so I said, what the heck. Afterwards Jimmy says, "You sound real good, let's go out and catch (organist) Don Patterson with Sonny Stitt." So I am in Jimmy's Mercedes driving around NYC. We get to the club, of course, everyone notices Jimmy. Patterson invites Jimmy to play with Stitt. Not taking anything away from Patterson, but Jimmy stole the show. It was like he had fifteen fingers, that is what it sounded like with all the sounds he got out of the B3. You know thinking back to when I heard "The Sermon", I used to think, I can't play like that. But I learned from Jimmy that night, seeing him perform taught me that I can do that, if I practice real hard.

                         Reuben Wilson on the towering influence of Jimmy Smith

Love Bug (1969) signed by Reuben, George Coleman

See I came up with this idea of playing pop music with jazz. I didn't think that they should be limited. In a lot of ways, it had already been done, but not necessarily given the appreciation. They used to have a lot of jazz musicians in Motown. They were background players. So instead of having them in the background, it was just a matter of bringing them to the foreground. When I went to Grant (Green) with these things that I wanted to do, he was just ecstatic. He was like, "Yeah man, let's go. This is hip. C'mon Ru, let's do this thing.”

                         Reuben Wilson

A Groovy Situation (1970) signed by Reuben

Actor, boxer, composer, musician and Godfather Of Groove, Reuben Wilson is a man of many talents. Born in Mounds, Oklahoma, Reuben and his family relocated to Pasadena, California when he was five years old. Surrounded by music as a child, Reuben recalled his early efforts on the piano in the liner notes on Love Bug, his masterful album released in 1969, "Except for a half dozen basic lessons with Austin McCoy, I was self-taught as a pianist. But before I could even get seriously involved with the piano, a friend introduced me to the organ, and I knew this was the direction I wanted to take." 

The Sweet Life (1972) signed by Reuben

Before concentrating solely on music, Reuben's first profession was the Sweet Science. As a boxer, Reuben was quite successful, winning eleven of thirteen bouts, which led to actor Kirk Douglas purchasing his boxing contract. This led to Reuben's appearance as a boxer in the 1954 Otto Preminger film "Carmen Jones" which also starred Pearl Bailey, Harry Belafonte, Diahann Carroll and Dorothy Dandridge, a very impressive cast. Fortunately, his acting and pugilist careers were short lived, and Reuben focused his prodigious talents on his music which extends to the current day.

After honing his craft in Los Angeles nightclubs, Reuben took an ill advised gig in Las Vegas, a five month dour sojourn which he remembered, "Las Vegas was a big drag. There was nothing happening there musically, so I moved back to Los Angeles." Some truths, to be sure, remain resolute and inviolate whether it is Las Vegas in the 1960s or the 2000s! Fortunately, the Los Angeles jazz scene was quite fertile and Reuben said there was no dearth of influences upon his return, "Richard Groove Holmes was working around town then, and he became a big influence, though my original inspiration had been Billy Larkin of The Delegates. Later, I listened to Jimmy Smith and learned a lot from him, of course." Indeed, the fountainhead of all modern jazz organ is the brilliant and mercurial Jimmy Smith.

The Cisco Kid (1974) signed by Reuben

At the end of 1966, Reuben moved to New York City, "I soon noticed that there was a different approach to music. The way of life affects your playing. In New York, you really have to get your thing together." Reuben was signed to Columbia Records by John Hammond, a descendent of the gilded Vanderbilts who is undoubtedly the most famous producer/talent scout in the history of recorded music. Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen are just a few of the artists that John "discovered." Sadly, the Wilson record remains unreleased but Reuben did sign with the exalted Blue Note record label and produced five acclaimed albums from 1969-1971.

Reuben remembered his Blue Note recordings fondly in a 2004 interview with The Irish Times, "At Blue Note, we were free to play pretty much what we wanted because the label was all about finding something fresh. They accepted what you were going to do and they didn't dictate anything. I think the only dictation I got from them was they didn't really want me to record any blues, but that was alright with me because I had another thing in mind anyway. I wanted to take straight ahead Jazz and mix it with Pop." It helped enormously that Reuben had impeccable jazz accompanists on these seminal soul jazz vinyls: Grant Green and Melvin Sparks on guitar, George Coleman on saxophone, Lee Morgan on trumpet, and Idris Muhammad and Bernard Pretty Purdie on drums, all jazz leaders with their own impressive discographies.

Got To Get Your Own (1975) signed by Reuben

Got To Get Your Own (1975) back cover, living the dream!

The vicissitudes of the music industry and the waning interest in Jazz forced Reuben to retire from music in the 1980s. Fortunately, hip hop artists like A Tribe Called Quest, Brand New Heavies, Nas and Us3 began to sample his songs and rekindled interest in his funky beats. As Reuben said, "Sampling was a big thing for me because it brought new interest and a new audience for me. I don't think people knew so much about the original artists such as myself who were on those records, but it did kind of put the name back out there at the time for people who knew about it in the past."

Organ Blues (2002) signed by Reuben

I was blessed to see Reuben twice, once at S.O.B.s in New York City in the late 1990s with the Godfathers Of Groove (Grant Green Jr. on guitar and Bernard Pretty Purdie on drums) and recently at the Jazz Forum in Tarrytown, New York  with Paul Bollenback on guitar and Carmen Ettore on drums. At the Jazz Forum, it was a classic Hammond B3 trio, or in this case a Roland VK7 trio, which was Reuben's instrument of choice. They opened with the blues chestnut "Kansas City" then Stanley Turrentine's soul jazz classic "Sugar." Paul Bollenbeck played fluid, glistening.runs on guitar while Carmen Intorre supplied a stolid back beat with crisp drums and snares, and Reuben offered tasty organ fills. "On Broadway", culled from his first Blue Note release in 1968 opened with some extended organ comps followed by the furious funk filth of guitarist Paul Bollenbeck. Other highlights included "Misty", a beautiful ballad with exquisite brush work by Carmen Ettore, and the finale was "Orange Peel", a Wilson original, a slow, bluesy, and languid burner. It was an exceptional evening of virtuoso playing.

The hands of a master craftsman,

Reuben Wilson Jazz Forum, Tarrytown NY 2019

Paul Bollenbeck 2019

Paul Bollenbeck with Reuben Wilson and Carmen Ettore at the Jazz Forum 2019

Now it was time to visit with Reuben. He was in great spirits as he signed the vinyl. "Oh man, Wilis, I loved him. As soon as he heard me, I was in his band. We really had fun," he said as he signed Funky Reggae, an album Willis Jackson helmed in 1974. I mentioned that I loved his version of "On Broadway" which he just played. "Thank you, that's a great song and this album is really important to me," he said as he signed his first Blue Note release. Next came Boogaloo To The Beastie Boys, a 2004 release which featured Reuben and his colleagues covering Beastie Boys classics, quite a rare reversal from hip hop artists who usually sampled Reuben. Akin to a father sampling his children’s tunes, it is stunning in its simplicity and grooves, I asked Reuben whose idea it was to cover the Beasties? "Oh they were around, and I liked them so I was happy to do the record," he replied modestly. He laughed when he saw Got To Get Your Own, "This record became a hit all over again. I was playing with the Fatback Band in Europe in the 80s and it was being played all over." Yes, it just proves that great music always finds a way into you soul, no matter the age or genre. I thanked Reuben for his time and especially his music.

Funky Reggae (1974) signed by Reuben

Boogaloo To The Beastie Boys (2004) signed by Reuben

The Godfather of Groove grooves on. Thanks Ru, so glad you and your friends do, and continue to do, your thing.

Blue Breakbeats (1998) signed by Reuben

Choice Reuben Wilson Cuts (per BKs request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z9_9wk7E8A&list=PLSg9IPPSegpV-cuoYWE7MsAOM3Dmp6tal&index=9

“Stormy”    Love Bug    1969

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRfeFaCHOdU&list=PLSg9IPPSegpV-cuoYWE7MsAOM3Dmp6tal

”Inner City Blues”  Reuben covers Marvin Gaye!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ww_6Ni2cdQ&list=PLSg9IPPSegpV-cuoYWE7MsAOM3Dmp6tal&index=19

”Sugar”   Reuben covers Stanley Turrentine! 1974

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnmfbHkgOvY&list=PLSg9IPPSegpV-cuoYWE7MsAOM3Dmp6tal&index=26

”Light My Fire” Godfathers Of Groove cover The Doors!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPs6kmr1s5E&list=RDwRfeFaCHOdU&index=6

”Hold On, I’m Comin’”   Reuben covers Sam and Dave! 1969

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZlMnUKYDWk&list=PLSg9IPPSegpV-cuoYWE7MsAOM3Dmp6tal&index=2

”Brass Monkey”   Boogaloo To The Beastie Boys   2004

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZFMlC8bKHc&list=RDwRfeFaCHOdU&index=2
Blue Mode  entire album 1970 

So long from The Godfather Of Groove!

Ray Barretto and Me…

Jazz was no accident. I've loved it since I was a kid hearing Louis Armstrong. Salsa was no accident, either, having heard greats like Marcelino Guerra, Machito and Arsenio Rodriguez. I always had the essence of both worlds. I got into the Latin thing more out of economics. In jazz, the conga is not an essential part of the rhythm section, so while I might record with an artist, I never got called for the gig. In Latin music, the conga is an essential, so Latin became a way of earning money.

               Ray Barretto

Barretto Para Bailar (1960) signed by Ray

But it wasn't always funning around, at least for me, because while Ray was resting his body, his mind was going full blast with ideas - some simple, some heavy duty. Ray would either call me or send for me with instructions to bring a pencil and music paper, then he would proceed to tell me about whatever idea he had in mind. Ray wasn't just another percussionist, he was a fully-fledged musician who read and understood music in its true form.

               pianist/arranger  Louie Cruz on Ray Barretto

Guajira y Guaguanco (1964) signed by Ray

I don't carry my own drums anymore, so these days I play pretty much what is put in front of me. But my favorite drums were the ones with the tacked-on mule-skin head that you tuned with Sterno. They had a special organic quality.

               Ray Barretto

El Ray Criollo (1966) signed by Ray

It was war on stage, but you learn to get slick. I would follow a band that just left the stage burning, maybe Larry Harlow or Eddie Palmieri, and all the stops were out. They were shooting machine guns everywhere. I would go on stage and start with a son montuno like “Hipocrasia y Falsedad” and cool things down-take it back to basics. You don’t have to follow fire with fire; you can be cool and build it up. Then I’d finish the set with “Que Viva la Musica” or something and have the audience back. But learning to do that came with experience.

Ray Barretto

Hard Hands (1968) signed by Ray

Born in New York City in 1929, Ray Barretto was raised in Spanish Harlem. He was deeply influenced by the big band music of Count Basie and Duke Ellington. He joined the Army in 1946 and, while stationed in Germany, Ray heard "Manteca" on a jukebox, a song co-written by Dizzy Gillespie and Cuban percussionist Chano Pozo. It is one of the first jazz compositions to use the Clave, a 3-2, 6-8, or 12-8 rhythmic pattern which is the basis for many Afro-Cuban jams. "Manteca", slang for marijuana, became a jazz standard. As Ray later acknowledged, "Chano was my first influence. He did not come out of jazz, he was placed there by Dizzy and it was not his natural element ..Chano was a salty, earthy dude and he played like it."

When he returned home from his stint in the Army, Ray said he purchased his "first congas from a bakery on 116th Street in Harlem that used to import drums from Cuba. For 50 bucks you would get yourself a nice drum with a tacked-on head that you heated up with Sterno to get in tune... so you would put the Sterno on the floor and turn the conga over, and it would dry the moisture from the skin and bring it up to pitch. This was before there was a rim on the conga drum. Now you just turn a wrench and it tightens the skin...I used to take those drums and put them on my shoulder and get on the subway, and anywhere between 110th Street and 155th Street in Harlem there were places to jam every night. I spent three, four years just going to jam sessions.”

Midnight Blue (1963) signed by Ray, Kenny Burrell, Stanley Turrentine

In the late 1940s, Charlie Parker heard Ray play at a jam session and asked him to sit in with his band. A couple of years later, as Ray's prowess and renown grew, he joined Tito Puente's band as a conguero (replacing the great Mongo Santamaria), and Ray's beats and rhythms helped propel the band, especially on Tito's Dance Mania (1957) which became a best seller. Ray joined Prestige Records in the late 1950s as a session musician, and he recorded with many jazz artists during this time including Kenny Burrell, Arnett Cobb, Herbie Mann, and Wes Montgomery. Ray and pianist Red Garland (of the John Coltrane Quartet) eventually recorded and released their own version of "Manteca" in 1958.

The Dynamic Duo (1966) signed by Ray, Jimmy Smith

Ray's solo career began in 1960 and continued for the next forty-five years as he released over fifty-five albums as a leader. In 1963, following singles released by Chubby Checker and Smokey Robinson, Ray helped stoke the Watusi dance craze with "El Watusi", a Top 20 hit. Ray began recording for Fania Records, an influential Latin label started by Jerry Masucci and bandleader Johnny Pacheco. His first Fania records, Acid(1968) and Hard Hands (1968) were intoxicating blends of Latin boogaloo, soul and funk. 

Acid (1967) signed by Ray

In the 1970s, Ray joined the Fania All Stars which popularized Salsa music in New York City and far beyond, playing sessions with Celia Cruz, Johnny Pacheco, and Charlie Palmieri. Highlights with the Fania All Stars included selling out Yankee Stadium in 1973 and a subsequent live album which featured a 10 minute fiery descarga (jam) between Mongo Santamaria and Ray on "Congo Bongo", and participation in Zaire '74, a three night concert in the beleaguered African nation which was to take place before the Muhammad Ali-George Foreman "Rumble In The Jungle." Unfortunately, Foreman got cut by his sparring partner and the fight was delayed for six weeks, but the concert went on as scheduled and 80,000 grooving music fans listened to James Brown, BB King, Bill Withers, Celia Cruz and the Fania All Stars. Soul Power, a 2008 documentary film, reveals Ray and these wonderful musicians in all their musical glory.

Ray's first love was jazz, and he returned to it in earnest when the Salsa craze peaked in the 80s. He led numerous bands and released many recordings including Homage to Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers (2003), a tribute to his mentor, friend and fellow percussion genius. Through the years, I saw Ray perform many times in Intimate clubs like the Jazz Standard and Birdland in New York City.  He always had wonderful musicians accompanying him, young lions of the Latin jazz scene like pianist Hilton Ruiz, tenor saxophonist David Sanchez, trumpeter Ray Vega and pianist Robert Rodriguez.

Senor 007 (1966) signed (faintly) by Ray

When I met Ray, I was struck by how kind and generous he was. After seeing him hunched over his congas, he was surprisingly tall, and when he clasped my hand, I could feel the calluses and strength of all those years beating on those skins. He smiled when he saw the Senor 007 album cover, draped by a bevy of ersatz Bond girls. He gave me a sly nod when I asked if he had enjoyed this photo shoot. He enjoyed looking through his early recordings (and it is an impressive catalog), but he identified himself mostly as a jazz musician, albeit a famous Latin jazz one.

Perhaps the esteemed producer Orrin Kneephews described Ray best: “He brought a quality as a percussionist that wasn’t about an ethnic thing but more about a beat and feel that added tremendously to those blowing dates. I used Ray on the merit of what he did for Prestige, particularly those Red Garland sessions. This is an excellent player, a man who lends a quality to what’s happening, a broad-based jazz percussionist. One of the important records I did with Ray was with Eddie ‘Lockjaw’ Davis on Afro Jaws. The use of a horn background with Lockjaw was an unusual thing. He was a funk player, but we put him in an African-Latin mode and he brought a quality to it like nobody else.“

Ray Barretto, a fabulous musician, songwriter and band leader, his beats and rhythms sustain.

Carnaval (1974 reissue of Latino! and Charanga Moderna) signed by Ray

Choice Ray Barretto Cuts (per BKs request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mhq5cmJG61Y

“Acid” Acid 1968

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uZx9KnlTyg

“El Watusi” Latin Soul Man 1962

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C7cfAaoBVQ

“Mi Ritmo Te Llama” Hard Hands 1968

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

“Fever” live in France 2000

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6kagefW6zc

“Ban Ban Quere” live 1970s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A2Wwyuqa6g

“El Negro Y Ray” Carnaval 1963

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCLeS1ICPuo

“Indestructible” Indestructible 1973

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0MTTTOB8nQ

“Start The World I Want To Get On” live with Charlie Palmieri

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bstf--ymw20

“Ritmo En El Corazon” Ritmo En El Corazon 1988

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W777MIR8-ko

“Guantanamera” Live in Zaire with Celia Cruz 1974

The Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia and Me…

To be alive in America is to hear all kinds of music constantly – radio, records, churches, cats on the street, everywhere music, man. And with records, the whole history of music is open to everyone who wants to hear it. Maybe Chuck Berry was the first rock musician because he was one of the first blues cats to listen to records, so he wasn’t locked into the blues idiom. Nobody has to fool around with musty old scores, weird notation and scholarship bullshit. You can just go into a record store and pick a century, pick a country, pick anything, and dig it, make it a part of you, add it to the stuff you carry around and see that it’s all music.

Jerry Garcia, Rolling Stone 1969

Old & In The Way.(1974) signed by Jerry, Dave Grisman, Vassar Clements, Peter Rowan

There was a time in my life when I was one of those guys who toted around a tape recorder. I used to follow bluegrass bands around and record them. I was of the analytical bent. I was a comparer – this show was better than that, and blah blah blah.

  Jerry Garcia

A friend asked me recently, "If you could only keep one signed album, which would it be?" An impossible quandary, but after much deliberation, I proffered Old & In The Way (1975) as a response. Recorded by Owsley (aka Bear, Dead sound man extraordinaire and erstwhile LSD chemist) with stunning artwork by Greg Irons (Fillmore poster artist and Yellow Submarine movie collaborator), Old & In The Way is a heartfelt tribute to the roots of the Grateful Dead, and an homage to the hillbilly and bluegrass passions of Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, Peter Rowan, Vassar Clements, and John Kahn.

Old & In The Way is a bluegrass super group that played only a short while but left an indelible mark on the music landscape, and introduced thousands of Deadheads and others to the wonders of traditional Appalachian music. The music of A.P. Carter and Mother Maybelle, Bill Monroe, the Stanley Brothers and The Louvins. That high lonesome sound which courses through Appalachia from the Scottish Highlands drenched in plaintive melodies buried deep in my melancholy Celtic soul. It is extraordinary music played by extraordinary musicians: Jerry Garcia on banjo, Peter Rowan on guitar and lead vocals, David Grisman on mandolin, John Kahn on acoustic bass, and Vassar Clements on fiddle. When I met Vassar Clements at a concert in 1993, he said, "Boy, I wish we'd get together and make another."  No wonder, Old & In The Way is one of the biggest selling bluegrass albums, only recently surpassed by the multi-platinum O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack in 2000.

John Kahn on bass, Jerry Garcia on banjo, David Grisman on mandolin. Peter Rowan on guitar

I met Jerry Garcia and most members of the Grateful Dead on March 15, 1993. My brother-in-law, Matt, was friendly with Dennis McNally, their longtime publicist, who invited Matt (plus one) to a cocktail reception at the Library Of Congress in Washington DC. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) and Librarian of Congress James Billington were the hosts, and they were celebrating Grateful Dead drummer and ardent musicologist Mickey Hart's CD release "The Spirit Cries: Music from the Rainforests of South America & the Caribbean" (1993) culled from archival recordings. Matt plus one became Matt plus eight, as Matt never thought those rules applied to him. He wanted to share his good fortune with his friends. And he did. Always.

After a brief conversation with security, Matt and his party of eight were ushered into the Great Hall for the reception, an impressive two story, beaux arts room built in the 1890s. It was an incongruous mix, grungy Deadheads, Senators, Congressmen, Capitol Hill staffers, Library of Congress officials, members of the media including Tim Russert, and the Grateful Dead, all mingling as canapes and carafes were passed by white gloved waitstaff amidst this glorious setting. It wasn't long, but it was a strange trip indeed.

Workingman’s Dead (1970) signed by Jerry, Bob Weir, Billy Kreutzman, Mickey Hart, Robert Hunter, Phil Lesh

Prior to the reception, I narrowed my choices from my extensive Dead vinyl discography to three albums:Old & In The Way (1975), Workingman's Dead (1970), and Skull And Roses (1971). Now it was time to get signatures. I was excited to meet the band and they were roaming the room, so I went around and around. Jerry Garcia, fresh off a stint in rehab, had a glass, actually a very large chalice, of red, red wine. Jerry's cup was runneth over. Evidently his idea of recovery wasn't the same as mine, but he was in good spirits, especially when he saw the Old & In The Way album cover. "Man, that's my favorite album," he said in his distinctive, high-pitched voice. Jerry was warm, charismatic and imbued intelligence and generosity, and there was always a crowd around him.

Skull & Roses (1971) signed by Jerry, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Robert Hunter, Bill Kreutzman

Bob Weir, not so much.  When I asked him to sign Workingman's Dead, Bob said, " No." Forcefully I said, ‘I got everyone else to sign it, now sign it.’ He complied. There was no hesitation. I have never done that with any artist before or since, but Bob had a faraway look in his eyes and I felt I had to compel him. Later, there was a huge scrum around Jerry, and Bob was alone. I sauntered up to him with Skull And Roses, and politely asked him to sign it. As the crowd swelled around Jerry, Bob needed me. "Sure" he said brightly as he reached for the album cover. I told him that I had read about a touchscreen music database that he was working on for an upcoming jazz project/musical. Tell me about it, I offered. "It's about Jazz" he said vacantly. ‘Really, what kind of jazz?’ “Old jazz." Now, I am getting pissed, jazz is in my wheelhouse. ‘What kind of jazz? Are we talking bebop with Charlie Parker and Dizzy? Cool jazz with Miles and Chet? Or are we going back to Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, and Buddy Bolden?’ The faraway look returned. "Really, really old jazz" came the cryptic reply. It was time to move on. So long Bobby Ace...

Bill Kreutzmann, aka Bill the Drummer, was much more engaging. A talented drummer and jazz enthusiast, Bill told me his heroes were Max Roach and Buddy Rich. I asked him if he ever heard Rich Versus Roach (1959), a duet album with some ferocious drumming between these two jazz giants. He said he hadn't and he'd love to have a copy. So I dropped off some tapes a couple of days later at the Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown to fulfill his request.

Rich Versus Roach (1963) signed by Max, Stanley Turrentine, Phil Woods

Unfortunately, Phil Lesh did not attend the Library of Congress reception, but I did catch up with him at a show a year later and he signed Workingman's Dead and Skull And Roses. Matt, an ever attentive host, spotted keyboardist Vince Welnick at the reception and suggested I have him sign one of the albums. I declined. The only Grateful Dead keyboard player I was ever interested in meeting was Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, a co-founder and the original keyboardist, and he died in 1973. I don't mind waiting a long time before I visit with Pigpen....

A piece of the Grateful Dead died in 1973 with Pigpen. Pigpen was instrumental in the transition from Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions to The Warlocks to the Grateful Dead. According to Jerry, "He'd been pestering me for a while, he wanted me to start up an electric blues band. That was his trip . . . because in the jugband scene we used to do blues numbers, like Jimmy Reed....Pigpen was the only guy in the band who had any talent when we were starting out. He was genuinely talented. He also had no discipline, but he had reams of talent." Pigpen's father was a 1950s DJ (his handle was "Cool Breeze") and he was wholly immersed in blues and soul: the music of Elmore James, Lightnin' Hopkins, Jimmy Reed, and Otis Redding. Certainly, Pigpen was the best singer and front man in the early days, and his versions of "Turn On Your Love Light", "Hard To Handle", "Smokestack Lightnin' " and "In The Midnight Hour" were often the highlights of those early shows.

If Pigpen was the soul of the Grateful Dead, then Jerry Garcia was the heart. Reared as a folkie and avid bluegrass fan, Jerry and his Old & In The Way cohort, Dave Grisman met at a Bill Monroe show in 1964, and taped their heroes like latter day Deadheads. Jerry once said, "I used to be a bluegrass music freak, and I spent a lot of time taping bands. I loved being able to do it, and I loved having the tapes afterwards and being able to trade them around. I think that's healthy stuff." No coincidence this became the template for the laissez faire attitude for the tapers section near the soundboard at all Dead shows in the ensuing decades.

I was lucky to see the Grateful Dead fifty or so times between 1977-1995, more shows than some, fewer than many. Their music was an intoxicating blend of blues, country, improvisatory jazz, soul, and rock and roll. I saw them for the last time at RFK Stadium in Washington DC on June 25, 1995. A friend insisted I come along, "The circus is in town" he reminded me. So we went. Bob Dylan opened and Jerry came out for the encore and played guitar with Bob on "It Takes A Lot To Laugh, A Train To Cry", the last time they would play together. The Dead performed and there was nothing revelatory about the show, at times, the music was as plodding and thick as the sultry, suffocating DC air. The encore was "Brokedown Palace", a fitting sign off and the last time I ever heard Jerry sing "Fare thee well."  A couple of weeks later, the Grateful Dead played their last show ever at Soldier Field in Chicago.  

For me, the Grateful Dead died when Jerry Garcia died August 9, 1995. But the music never stops and it still resonates. They left behind some great recordings and memories. And lots and lots of tapes.

Choice Grateful Dead Cuts (per BKs request)

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

“Viola Lee Blues” live in Golden Gate Park 8.28.67

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reAZ8yq-H2A

“Dancin’ In The Streets” Fillmore West 6.08.69

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82ADE0DUeM4

“Bertha” live at Fillmore East, NYC 4.26.71

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhL03mLfu2I

“Dark Star” Live Dead 1969

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3oaodK8zdtI&list=RD3oaodK8zdtI&start_radio=1

“Sugar Magnolia” Grateful Dead with Duane Allman Fillmore East 4.26.71

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPTNN6nw_70

“Cold Rain And Snow” live at Capitol Theater 2.21.71

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5EoQ3GkH4Zc

“Uncle John’s Band” Grateful Dead 10.31.80 Radio City Music Hall

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bpIs3d1N_6o

“Ripple” Grateful Dead Fillmore East, NYC April 1971

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WgPV9DFkQFs

“It Hurts Me Too” Grateful Dead with Duane Allman Fillmore East 4.26.71

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REz4QFfjiM0

“Not Fade Away > Goin’ Down The Road Feeling Bad” Manhattan Center, NYC 4.05.71

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT0662mthec

“Brokedown Palace” with Clarence Clemons, Shoreline Amphitheater 6.21.89

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI_c3Lc6FLE&list=PL4NlLjtvFKRkfpp8ojZ6N7hzicrKNlNTG&index=9

“White Dove” Old & In The Way, live at The Boarding House 10.01.73

Skull & Roses signed by artist Mouse Kelly

Cecil Taylor and Me…

Mother was a force to be reckoned with. When I was five years old, I asked for piano lessons, and she said to me... "You will be one of three things. You will be a dentist, a lawyer, or a doctor." And then she pointed at the piano and said, "You will practice for six days a week and I will supervise. You will get the basics, and on Sundays, you may do what you want." And so, isn't it interesting? I started to invent musical sounds on Sunday when I was five or six years old.

                         Cecil Taylor

Well, mother took me to see the great Ella Fitzgerald. I can remember sitting in the Paramount Theatre in 1944 and I was stunned by her improvisation on "Lady Be Good." And then getting to know Babs Gonzales, who really revolutionized the concept of words at the time. The relationship between Babs and the best rap people, it's very interesting that people don't think about that. But when you listen to Babs and you hear the lilt, his presence in terms of where he placed his words in terms of the rhythm section, it was really amazing.

                         Cecil Taylor

Unit Structures (1966) signed by Cecil

It's all part of the muse, the dance. To use the muscles of the body doing exercises, the body becomes a construction. In order to dance, one must be cognizant of the relationship between the fingers and the arms, in space, in duration... This idea of rhythm, rhythm exists in everyone, in the way we walk... Sometimes when it goes really well, you wonder, "Who's at the piano?" Sometimes you get lost, but you always try to reach that level of transcendence.

                         Cecil Taylor

You have to open yourself up when you play with him. He makes you play you, as forceful and individual as he himself is. We played a club a few years ago, and after about eight bars of Cecil's piano, the owner came running up and told him to get out of the club. He wouldn't even let us finish one song.

                         bassist Buell Neidlinger, liner notes Looking Ahead! (1958)

Looking Ahead! (1959)) signed by Cecil

Arranger, composer, free jazz avatar, pianist, poet, MacArthur Fellow, and all around l'enfant terrible, Cecil Taylor lived a remarkable life. Born in Queens, New York, Cecil was classically trained at the NewYork College of Music and the New England Conservatory in Boston, where he studied European composers Bela Bartok, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Igor Stravinsky. Upon graduation, Cecil moved back to New York City, "When I came out of the conservatory, the first thing I did was to go see Thelonious Monk. If you ever saw him dance on stage with his elbows extended, you saw the joy. It was like he was playing piano for the first time, and when he hit the keyboard with his elbows -- ha ha! No one played piano like Thelonious." Cecil began playing, honing his craft with other jazz artists, "You know, I played in Johnny Hodges' band for about a week in 1955 in Chester, Pennsylvania. That experience was so wonderful, such a pleasure I didn't even touch the piano for the first four days, until the wonderful (Ellington band trombonist) Lawrence Brown said, "er, Cecil, the piano has eighty-eight keys. It'd be nice if you'd play one note occasionally."

Of his early days in New York City, Ceci recalled, "My working experience began at a place called Club Harlem, and the piano had seven keys that didn't work. You started at 9, took fifteen minutes off each hour, worked until 4am and got $7. I also played at the Apollo Bar with a very tall alto player. We used to groove on "Dark Eyes." I would gig on Friday and Saturday and I recall walking in there one night, and the bartender saying, "Oh shit, it's going to be a weird weekend." To be sure, Cecil's singular and challenging way of playing was already being noticed, and, unfortunately, often castigated.

Soon, Cecil was leading his own band at the fabled Five Spot in 1956 and in the studio working on his first release Jazz Advance. Trombonist Roswell Rudd remembered the Five Spot scene well, "Once Cecil had pioneered the opening of that place, Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane played there, Sonny Rollins, Mingus, you know, it goes on and on. But to walk into this place and hear this band of.Cecil's, it was just amazing. It was a great mixed reaction. People were being struck dumbfounded by what they heard, and some people just jumping up and running out. You know, it was great!"

Dark To Themselves (1976) signed by Cecil

This would be the enduring arc of Cecil Taylor's career, some people loved his music, others hated it, all found it challenging. The percussive and, at times, atonal dissonance enraptured some, enraged others, but Cecil remained nonplussed throughout. As he later observed, "When I listen to Jazz Advance, I understand why it was anathema to many musicians and to the academy that was in vogue at the time. And I also understand why I like it. You know, one doesn't decide to become a musician. The forces of nature decide that for you. You don't have any choice in the matter, and once you make a commitment to music, everything else that you do affects your playing." So Cecil followed his muse and released groundbreaking vinyl for the next nearly sixty years and the accolades and sometime derision followed as well. 

His complex rhythms and sprawling songs (upwards of an hour in length) made it difficult for Cecil to have commercial success. Nightclubs were loath to book an artist considered avant-garde and radio play was an unlikely source of exposure.  In a 1990 interview with DownBeat magazine, Cecil confided, "I was washing dishes in a restaurant at the same time I was being written about in places like DownBeat. And it was very good for me, because I had to decide what I really wanted to do. Did I want to pursue my ideals badly enough? It was the only way to learn that I did." Such uncommon resolve and commitment made him the revered artist that he became, and the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship and Kyoto Prize were just rewards for his artistic endeavors in his later years.

I saw Cecil only once, maybe twenty-five years ago at the Village Vanguard in New York City. It was an event, as he performed infrequently, mostly concert hall recitals, so an intimate performance at a hallowed jazz club was a treat. He had a trio with him and he began to play, actually attacking the piano with the ferocity of a drummer. He was loud and percussive, and as aggressive as anyone I have ever seen. The first song was a suite really, and lasted over forty-five minutes. At times, he was loud and cacophonous, other times tender and gently melodic, but he was always a kinetic force, alternately pounding or caressing the keys to achieve the sounds that he wanted. When he finished, Cecil toweled himself off like a prizefighter and dug into the second round, er, song which lasted about thirty minutes. His stamina was incredible. That poor concert Steinway never had a chance, it was pummeled into submission! As the great Max Roach once said, "Cecil is one of the most challenging musicians I've ever worked with. To put it in lay terms, it's like being in the ring with Joe Louis, Jack Johnson or Mike Tyson. It's like being on a battlefield, but it's warm music."

Historic Concerts (1979) signed by Cecil, Max Roach

After the show, I caught up with Cecil near the kitchen, an esteemed waiting area at the Village Vanguard. I was struck by how slight he was, maybe 5' 6", 140 pounds if I'm being generous, which belied the thunder and the wondrous, enveloping sounds that he had created on stage. Cecil was surrounded by well wishers but he was happy to sign the vinyl. "I can see you have Max (Roach) on here already. We had a lot of fun playing together." He really liked Looking Ahead!, one of his early releases, "Wow, this helped get everything started." I thanked Cecil for his time and especially his music.

Cecil Taylor was an uncompromising and unyielding artist. By the sheer dint of his virtuosity, he influenced so many. Frank Zappa, Archie Shepp, Sun Ra and even Jerry Garcia were counted as among his fans and admirers. While no one plays piano like Thelonious Monk, as Cecil once said, no one plays piano like Cecil Taylor either, and we are all the richer for his artistry and integrity.

Choice Cecil Taylor Cuts (per BKs request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EstPgi4eMe4

Free Improvisation #3 (1981)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD7JTpXZ1To

The World Of Cecil Taylor (1960)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2Tdye6xuGI&t=580s
Unit Structures (1966)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwdsVV9XjKI

Cecil Taylor Unit Live In Paris (1969)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yJWcxzZBVE

Conquistador (1966)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS7PY8_1vhw
Historic Concerts (1979) Cecil Taylor and Max Roach

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

Cecil Taylor and Max Roach live 2000

Hank Jones and Me…

Bluebird (1955) signed by Hank, Donald Byrd., Jerome Richardson

My idol is the great Art Tatum, there’s nobody like him. Maybe somebody will come along years from now or who knows, maybe they’re already here and I haven’t heard them. But he is absolutely the greatest pianist I’ve ever heard for ideas, technique, stamina, everything. He has a wonderful sense of humor, it’s there in his interpolations, and he plays in such a way that anybody who never heard him before can understand what he does. He’s always listening carefully, and he has a great ear. He has that blinding technique, can do anything he thinks of, and with either hand. His technique, I think, is a gift from God. Put all that together, you’ve got an Art Tatum. That’s how he was.

               Hank Jones

West Side Story (1957) signed by Hank

The Talented Touch (1958) signed by Hank

You know, what I enjoy the most is when I don’t make too many mistakes. Because every time you sit down at the piano you’re challenging yourself. But it’s not a competition. What you’re doing is you’re trying to make each performance better than the last one. That’s what you work for. That’s what you hope for...not perfection, because I don’t believe there is such a thing as perfect. Perfection is something you strive for that you never actually reach. It’s a place where you and the instrument become one—your mind, your fingers, your body. I’m still trying to reach that level.

               Hank Jones

Jay & Kai (1955) signed by Hank, J.J. Johnson

Portrait Of Art Farmer (1958) signed by Hank, Art Farmer, Roy Haynes

I don’t think I’ve done my best yet. That’s a goal that I’m working toward, and I haven’t gotten there yet. It’s like the story, and it’s true, about the guy who was interviewing George Shearing, and asked George if he’d been blind all his life. And George answered, ‘Not yet.’ So, no, I haven’t done my best yet.

Hank Jones

Bags & Trane (1961) signed by Hank, Milt Jackson

Happenings (1966) signed by Hank, Clark Terry

He was the first one to use all those harmonic devices that later guys like Dizzy and Charlie used, It sounded new to people who heard it for the first time. But it wasn’t new to someone who’d listened to Art Tatum. Mozart, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff-that’s what he was, all rolled into one. He had a great impact on me, especially harmonically. I couldn’t play lyrically the way he did-few people could-so I just worked to adopt his harmonic ideas.

Hank Jones on Art Tatum

Jazz At The Lymans (1967-1971, private press) signed by Hank, Elvin Jones, Milt Hinton, Coleman Hawkins, Clark Terry

Jazz At The Lymans private press back cover

In some respects, Oscar was very close to Tatum. He had the required technique to do it. And he admired Tatum, as we all did. But nobody played exactly like Tatum. We have to establish that he was in a class by himself. Players like Oscar, who play a fine piano, actually play a style that’s reminiscent sometimes of Tatum, but not completely. And Oscar would be the first one to acknowledge that.

Hank Jones

Elvin! (1962) signed by Hank, Elvin Jones, Frank Foster, Frank Wess

Strike Up The Band (1976) signed by Hank, Bobby Hackett, Richard Davis, Bucky Pizarelli, Zoot Sims

Hank Jones is my favorite Jazz pianist. Well, maybe top 3, certainly top 5. Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Hank was raised in Pontiac, Michigan, the eldest brother to composer and trumpeter Thad and drummer extraordinaire Elvin. Most people think that the Marsalis clan from New Orleans is the First Family in Jazz. They would be wrong. Flatly, grossly, indisputably wrong. While brothers Wynton, Branford, Delfaeyo, Jason, and papa bear Ellis are very accomplished, their efforts pale in comparison to the prodigious talents of the Jones freres. Thad Jones was a brilliant arranger and trumpeter who made his bones playing with the Count Basie Orchestra before starting The Mel Lewis-Thad Jones Big Band. Elvin Jones was the drummer of choice for Miles Davis, Charles Mingus and Bud Powell, before settling in for a six year gig with John Coltrane. And Hank Jones is Hank Jones. Game. Set. Match.

Jones Brown Smith (1976) signed by Hank, Ray Brown

Our Delights (1978) signed by Hank, Tommy Flanagan

Hank studied classical music at first, and his mother was a difficult task master. She threatened him with his very sustenance if he didn't practice enough, "Either you practice or you don't have dinner," came her steely direction. She helped instill a work ethic and dedication which would last Hank's entire recording and performing career, some seventy-five years and hundreds and hundreds of recordings. As he once said, "You see, there is no magic involved in playing the piano. It takes hard work, continuous hard work. Whatever skills are involved, it’s a matter of practice. You can never reach a point where you don’t think it’s necessary to practice anymore. It’s always necessary to practice everyday. If you can do that, then you can maintain whatever skills you have, and perhaps even increase your skills. To me, that’s the only way to do it." Clearly, Hank Jones was not Allen Iverson!

The Trio (1977) signed by Hank

Groovin’ High (1978) signed by Hank, Mickey Roker

In 1944, Hank relocated to New York City and as his career evolved, he played with many great artists on some of their seminal recordings, everyone from Billie Holiday to Billy Eckstine, Ella Fitzgerald to Coleman Hawkins, John Coltrane to Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong to Jackie Gleason. Hank is one of the rare jazz artists to play a sold-out Madison Square Garden. On May 19, 1962, he accompanied a shimmering Marilyn Monroe as she sang a sensuous "Happy Birthday Mr. President!" to President Kennedy. As Marilyn slinks and simmers on stage to greet a well lubricated Peter Lawford at the podium, a furtive image in the background darts to the piano. That would be Hank, barely twenty feet from stardom and infamy.

Ain’t Misbehavin’ (1978) signed by Hank, Kenny Burrell, Richard Davis, Teddy Edwards, Roy Haynes

Tiptoe Tapdance (1978) signed by Hank

Hank was also the staff pianist for CBS from 1959 - 1976 and he played on The Ed Sullivan Show and The Jackie Gleason Show. Experiences ranged from the sublime, accompanying Frank Sinatra, to the ridiculous, accompanying assorted jugglers, elephants and circus acts. When pianists talk about having range, I don't think this is what they have in mind, but Hank delivered the goods with his usual aplomb and good taste. 

The Big Challenge (1957) signed by Hank

I saw Hank perform many times through the years, and I was always struck by his deft touch, his exquisite lyricism and his impeccable rhythm and swing. Always dressed in a beautiful suit and tie, he was urbane and elegant. In fact, one of his first albums was simply titled Urbanity,which featured a provocative cover drawn by illustrator David Stone Martin, whose work has been displayed in The Metropolitan Museum Of Art and The Smithsonian. Belying Hank's stately, dignified playing, the bawdy drawing seems more likely from the pen of Toulouse-Lautrec, who famously depicted Parisian prostitutes, than from Stone Martin who went on to illustrate more than 400 (mostly jazz) album covers.

Steal Away (1994) signed by Hank

In 1994, Hank recorded Steal Away, a collection of folk songs, hymns and spirituals with bassist Charlie Haden. It is a gorgeous offering performed with warmth and reverence by two jazz masters. It is one of my favorite albums in any genre. They capture the blues, folk, and gospel inherent in these (mostly) spiritual "Sorrow Songs", songs that have been sung through the ages like "Amazing Grace", "Go Down Moses", "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", and "Wade In The Water." Author and civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois presciently described these songs in The Souls of Black Folk: "Through all the sorrow of the Sorrow Songs, there breathes a hope - a faith in the ultimate justice of things. The minor cadences of despair change often to triumph and calm confidence. Sometimes, it is faith in life, sometimes, a faith in death, sometimes, assurance of boundless justice in some fair world beyond." Though Du Bois' words were written in 1903, they reflect Jones' and Haden's timeless work nearly a century later.

Steal Away Program, April 14, 1996, signed by Hank

Steal Away ticket - Gaston Hall, Georgetown University

I saw Charlie Haden and Hank perform these songs on April 14, 1996 In Washington, DC at Gaston Hall, Georgetown University. Gaston Hall, named for Georgetown's first student, William Gaston, was completed in 1901 and it is a beautiful auditorium, replete with an intricately carved wood ceiling, ornate murals and great acoustics. It seats 740 patrons and many prominent folks have speechified there through the years including Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, would-be Presidents Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, and, even fake Presidents Kevin Spacey and Bono. As uplifting and edifying as I'm sure those speeches were, they were not Hank and Charlie! They performed Steal Away in its entirety, a program of enduring beauty, unyielding faith and unending hope. It was a glorious event in a glorious venue.

An Evening With Two Grand Pianos (1979) signed by Hank, John Lewis

A couple of years later, I saw Hank perform solo piano at the old Iridium in New York City, near Lincoln Center. As always, Hank was wonderfully expressive, his delicate touch informing the jazz standards "My Funny Valentine", Duke Ellington's "It Don't Mean A Thing" and his younger brother Thad's "A Child Is Born." I spent some time with Hank in his dressing room and he was warm and cordial, as he was each time I met him. He seemed born of infinite good cheer. I mentioned how important Steal Away was to me. In times of sorrow or gladness, it was a source of strength or celebration. He smiled, "That's very kind of you to say. Charlie and I had a lot of fun recording and performing those songs."  I told him that I bought many copies over the years and gave them as presents for anniversaries, birthdays, weddings, etc. "Thank you" came his modest reply. I mentioned how much I enjoyed their version of "Spiritual", a song written by Charlie's son Josh and covered recently by Johnny Cash on his brilliant American Recordings II. "I'm sorry I didn't play that tonight. You should have asked me before the show and I would have been happy to play it," Hank added thoughtfully. I asked about his (then) recent release, Sarala, recorded with Malian band leader Cheick-Tidiane Seck, an Afro-Pop soul groover, it seemed an unusual diversion in the Hank Jones' oeuvre. "Yes, it is very different. I had an opportunity to record with some very interesting musicians. I like it, and I think you will too," Hank confided. Before leaving, I begged him to record a follow up to Steal Away. "Yes, that sounds like a good idea." he admitted. 

In 2012, Come Sunday was released posthumously, another beautiful collection of sacred song duets by Hank and Charlie Haden recorded three months before Hank's untimely passing in 2010. I'd love to take credit for its release, but I had nothing to do with it. Sometimes, great art is its own benefactor.

Porgy & Bess (1959) signed by Hank

In the liner notes to Hank's 1959  Porgy & Bess:

Nat King Cole wrote: 

"I've been digging Hank Jones for many years. His ideas and style make him one of the most exciting pianists around anywhere. Anybody who hasn't heard him has been cheated." 

George Shearing added: 

"He's equally at home swinging or playing a ballad. His taste is impeccable at all times. Hank Jones is undoubtedly one of the finest pianists it has ever been my pleasure to hear, and certainly one of the most under-rated." 

High praise indeed from two fellow jazz piano masters. 

It is hard to believe that Hank Jones was just getting started in 1959. There were fifty more years to enjoy his elegance, erudition and unparalleled musicianship. In his early nineties near the end of his life, he was still performing. In one of his last interviews in 2009, he said, "I'm just going to keep going until I get it right.... If you stop playing, you stop learning. And then your fingers fall off." Thankfully, his fingers never fell off and he left a wonderful legacy. Thanks again Hank for all the tunes and the treasure.

I guess, Hank Jones is my favorite jazz pianist.

The Pretty Sound (1959) signed by Hank, Joe Wilder

Choice Hank Jones' Cuts (per BK's request!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfUW7t8Hc6c

"Spiritual" -  Hank Jones and Charlie Haden

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziWaNUwrV7w

"Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen" - Hank Jones and Charlie Haden

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHt1_HXN8LI

"Happy Birthday Mr. President"  Marilyn Sings, Hank Plays

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhREC3QGWkc

"Maningafoly" Hank with Cheick-Tidiane Seck

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u37RF5xKNq8

"Autumn Leaves " Hank with Cannonball Adderley, Miles Davis and Art Blakey

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIFIdOPVh10

"Someday My Prince Will Come" - Live Duet with Chick Corea

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PS0tIebPKE

"Moon River" - Hank Jones and Kenny Drew

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP8MTdg6tQI

"Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin' " - Hank, Ron Carter and Grady Tate

Hangin’ Out (1984) signed by Hank, Joe Wilder, Rufus Reid

Jazz Is A Kick (1962) signed by Hank, Curtis Fuller, Bob Brookmeyer

Pat Martino and Me...

Jazz is a way of life, not an idiom of music. Jazz is spontaneous improvisation. If you ever walk out of your house with nowhere to go, just walking for the pleasure of it and observing what’s around you, you’ll find that you improvise. Everyone in life improvises; jazz is just relative degrees of improvisation.

               Pat Martino

East! (1968) signed by Pat

I was flabbergasted, man! Martino stayed on my mind because I knew there was another standard out there that all guitar players had to recognize, and he was setting it. He showed us that there was much more to the guitar than we were hearing.

               George Bernson seeing Pat in the early 1960s in Harlem

Bahia: The Clear Evidence

The organ trio format is, and always was, a unique experience. There’s something about it that makes it a different instrument in itself. Unlike a normal rhythm section with keyboard, bass and drums, the use of organ unifies two separate functions into one identity, and there’s a strength in that that’s unlike any other instrumentation. As far as drawbacks, there are none, as long as that particular format isn’t compared to another.

               Pat Martino

A Change Is Gonna Come (1966) signed by Pat, Jack McDuff, George Coleman, Bernard “Pretty” Purdie

The guitar is of no great importance to me, the people it brings to me are what matter. They are what I'm extremely grateful for, because they are alive. The guitar is just an apparatus.

               Pat Martino

Walk On By (1966) signed by Pat, Jack McDuff, Benny Golson, Red Holloway

Pat Martino, a revered jazz guitarist, declared in a recent interview, "A jazz musician doesn't retire."  And he would know, he has overcome health setbacks and tragedies in his lengthy career while still performing at peak level, the embodiment of perseverance, persistence and recovery. Born Pat Azzara in Philadelphia, he grew up surrounded by music. His father was a saloon singer (stage name = Mickey Martino) who encouraged Pat to play guitar. A seminal influence was the recording of Johnny Smith's "Moonlight In Vermont." Pat remembered, "When I was ten years old, I copied all of Johnny Smith’s solos and I experienced a drastic confrontation because of that. My father used to take me around to different nightclubs almost like a protege and when the time came for me to take a solo, I would take a Johnny Smith solo. The only problem with that is that the ensemble that I was sitting in with didn’t play it in the same key. That forced me to be a little more realistic and I had to get involved. First of all, I had to learn to transpose and a number of other things. I think it was an essential series of metamorphoses that took place because of it. But when you come down to the source and reason for Johnny Smith coming into my life, that was mainly my father."

Strings!

Under his father's watchful tutelage, Pat's talents blossomed and he quit school to go on tour: "When I first went on the road at age fifteen with guys like Willis Jackson, Red Holloway and Sleepy Henderson, I wasn't concerned about being creative. It was just a job to me, and I was infatuated by the traveling. What really made me realize this attitude would not fulfill me was a four month period I spent working with Sonny Stitt. Sonny is such an inspiration and every night on the stand was a challenge. Suddenly, I knew I had to meet that challenge." 

Bar Wars

He met that challenge and so many more. In those days, Philadelphia was a thriving jazz nexus with home grown stars like John Coltrane, Benny Golson, the Heath Brothers, Lee Morgan and McCoy Tyner, not to mention the Hammond B3 jazz greats Jimmy Smith, Charles Earland, Richard "Groove" Holmes and Jimmy McGriff. Asked about these legends and all the jazz activity, Pat noted recently, " I don’t know what to say about that other than the fact that Philadelphia is so close to New York City. There is a professional core of activity in the industry. Philadelphia is a suburb of New York City. It is merely 90 miles away." Notwithstanding the shrieks and protests of aggrieved Philadelphians, and especially their rabid sports fans, Pat does have a point. In the jazz world, we are all just a suburb of New York City!

The Sensual Sound Of Sonny Stitt

Another influence was his friendship with producer Joel Dorn, The Masked Announcer who made his bones as a DJ in Philadelphia. Pat reminisced in the late 1990s, "Joel and I go back to the late 1950s and early 1960s. We are very close friends. It is kind of hard to think about him in terms of music alone. With regards to what Joel means to me is that he has been authentically involved in jazz for that long. Over forty years. As an elder, in his own right, it comes down to respect and the honor of survival for so many years. He was one of the major DJs in Philadelphia during the 1950s. It was because of Joel Dorn that I got turned on to the Montgomery brothers. The first time that I heard Wes Montgomery was "Grooveyard" by the brothers and it was Joel who played it. That started the avalanche." As the French say, Apres moi, le deluge!

Lusty Moods

After touring with Wiilis Jackson and Lloyd Price, a twenty-two year old Pat entered the studio to record his first vinyl, El Hombre in 1967. Since then, more than thirty-five records have been released as well as appearances on hundreds of sessions. In 1980, however, Pat's life almost tragically ended. Unbeknown to most, Pat had suffered severe headaches since he was ten years old. He spent time in sanitariums (undergoing gruesome electro-shock therapy) and he was misdiagnosed as manic depressive, bipolar or schizophrenic. He was battling debilitating seizures while he was managing his career. Pat revealed in his 2011 autobiography Here and Now, "Right in the midst of a really heavy duty, burning section (In 1976 at the Riviera Jazz Festival in France), I stopped playing and stood there for about thirty seconds. During these moments of seizure, it feels like you're falling through a black hole." Thankfully, it didn't happen that night in front of two-hundred thousand festival-goers, but it did four years later in Los Angeles while he was teaching at the Guitar Institute of Technology.

50 Years Of Jazz Guitar

Pat collapsed and was rushed to a hospital where he was given two hours to live. Doctors correctly diagnosed AVM (arteriovenous malformation) behind Pat's left ear, "a bundle of worms" as Pat's surgeon, Frederick Simeone delicately described it, and 70% of his left temporal lobe was removed, thereby saving his life. However the surgery was not without consequences. Pat suffered severe amnesia, and when he awoke, he didn't know his name, his parents, his career as a musician, songs he had written. Nothing. He was essentially a tabula rasa. In order to stimulate neural activity, Pat's father would play his son's records, "I would lie in my bed upstairs and hear them seep through the walls and the floor, a reminder of something that I had no idea that I was supposed to be anymore, or that I ever was."  As he convalesced in the sanctity of his parent's home, Pat healed and stated matter of factly about his return, "The reason that I got back involved with the guitar was strictly boredom." Nevertheless, it was an arduous road to recovery, as nearly seven years passed before the release of his first album post surgery, aptly titled The Return in 1987. 

Since then, Pat has released a bunch of vinyl and he has had an amazing recovery and transformation. His fleet fingers and facility have come back, just not all of his memories. A story from Pat's autobiography illuminates: in the early 2000s, the actor (and old friend) Joe Pesci went backstage to visit with Pat after a performance at the Blue Note. Pat complimented Pesci on his work in My Cousin Vinny, Goodfellas and Raging Bull. Pesci said, "You don't remember me, do you? I'm going to tell you what you used to drink at Small's Paradise in 1963. A Grasshopper." A memory bubble burst, Pat explained, "At the moment he described the drink, a series of images appeared in my mind. I flashed back to Small's Paradise, I remembered the bartender in between sets. I had forgotten all about that, until he used that word, that name of the drink, which was the trigger for me to reclaim those memories."

Headed And Gutted

Pat seems quite zen about his surgery and its aftermath, "My original intentions prior to neurosurgery had a great deal to do with craft and climbing the ladder of recognition by others. It had to do with the desire to achieve five stars as opposed to two stars for the judgment of an album. And then after the neurosurgery, that no longer had any meaning to me. I am more concerned with the reality of the moment, the enjoyment of that moment. I'm more concerned about the players that are with me, about their feelings, about the emanation of compassion and other virtues that we share together in the process. These are the things that I find much more rewarding than my achievement as a famous musician. Now it's just enjoyment and friendship and compassion and concern. It's an enjoyment of all things, as opposed to the enjoyment of specific things."

Nothing Butt

Over the years, I have seen Pat several times and it is always a remarkable show, his skill and dexterity never seems to diminish. This past summer, my son Brendan was home from college and he wanted to hear some jazz in New York City with a friend and I. Only a couple of weeks remained before school started again, so I suggested that we see Pat Martino with his quintet at the Jazz Standard, featuring Adam Niewood on tenor sax, Alex Norris on trumpet, Carmen Intorre on drums and Pat Bianchi on Hammond B3. We went. It was fun. 

The quintet gathered on stage and it was incendiary from the start, Pat's fleet fingered runs pushed the whirring purr of the Hammond B3, while the drums crisply cracked and the horn section delivered taut solos. Most of the selections were from Pat's 2017 release Formidable, and highlights included Charles Mingus' lovely composition "Duke Ellington's Sound Of Love", Dave Brubeck's standard "In Your Own Sweet Way", the exquisite ballad "In A Sentimental Mood" by Duke Ellington as well as an updated version of "El Hombre" which was reinvented with tenor sax and trumpet, instruments not found on the 1967 original. For the encore, a bubbling fusion-y "Joyous Lake", one of Pat's last recordings before his unfortunate cerebral aneurysm, an important and personal recording to him.

Boss Shoutin’

Now it was time to take the boys back to meet the master. The show ended and Brendan and his friend were locked in a deep, private discussion. I wasn't listening, finally I said, "Hey, what's up?" "Well, Wes wants to go first, he doesn't want to go last, and I told him..." I laughed, 'Hey Bren, I'm going first, I've done this once or twice, and you guys can figure the rest out.' I got up from our table adjacent to the stage, pushed back the velvet curtain and went backstage, the boys followed, still chattering. Pat was sitting alone and greeted us warmly. I introduced Brendan and his friend and told him how great his performance was. I handed Pat the Sonny Stitt record, "Oh yes, Sonny was such a great player, I learned so much from him." Next came Willis Jackson's Boss Shoutin', a 1964 album that credited Pat Azzara on guitar, before he had adopted his father's stage name. "Yes Willis and I were very close for a long time. We played on a number of recordings. It was great fun." How about all those great Hammond B3 players? "Oh yes, I played with them all, they were great musicians. That was good work and most of them lived nearby." I mentioned that Brendan had met some great jazz artists in the past like Sonny Rollins, Ron Carter and Pee Wee Ellis, but this was Wes' first jazz show, and what a terrific experience it had been. Pat was so humble and modest, "Thank you, that is really nice to say. I'm honored." The boys and I thanked him again and took our leave, grateful that we had met and heard such a formidable artist.

It's hard to imagine a more humble and virtuosic musician whose gratitude and humility shines so bright. Perhaps Pat says it best in a recent interview, "I’ve reached a point where I’m looking for no pedestal other than the ground I walk on...The greatest thing that I’ve achieved in life is tomorrow morning. To awake to the sunshine. To feel natural to all that has happened. To have no expectations."

I'd give him at least five-hundred stars, not that he's keeping score.

Single Action

Choice Pat Martino Cuts (per BKs request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sD_9dTwmidw

”Sunny"  Pat Martino Live  1972

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWPXOjJaxb0

”In A Sentimental Mood"   Formidable  2017https

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppETN4gdLd8&list=RDppETN4gdLd8&start_radio=1

“Just The Way You Are"  Nothing Butt...   1980 with Willis Jackson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK4oD5d5zjc

“Send In The Clowns"   We'll Be Together Again   1978

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0LbGlGfbAU

“El Hombre"   El Hombre   1967

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBBxc0lp1dchttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh8cbmGJdQM

“The Good Life"   The Good Life  1963 with Willis Jackson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pii9x-cE2IM"

“Full House" . Live at Padova Jazz Festival .  2018https

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pukMHa0Gnv4

”Groove Yard"   Remember: Tribute To Wes Montgomery   2005

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iA05BfOq0PI

”Joyous Lake"    Stone Blue  1998

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh8cbmGJdQM

"In Your Own Sweet Way"     Formidable   2017

Bonus picks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bZ-YsyPEy8

"Groove Yard"   Wes Montgomery . 1961

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

"Moonlight In Vermont"  Johnny Smith with Stan Getz  1952

Spicy (1966) signed by Pat, Houston Person

Exit (1976) signed by Billy Hart “Be Encouraged”

Dr. Billy Taylor and Me…

When I was learning to play, I asked my Uncle Bob to teach me the way Art Tatum did. He said, "I'm self-taught, I can't do that. You'll have to teach yourself." But he gave me my first record: The Shout (1934) by Art Tatum. All I could think when I heard it for the first time was, 'Wow, who are those two guys?'

               Billy Taylor

Coltrane was quiet. One of the things he talked to me about was Art Tatum. He wanted to know everything about him. He was very excited about Art's technique. "How does he do that?" Trane said, "It sounds like a glissando." I told him it was fingering and a glissando together, as one motion, and that Art was fingering that fast. Trane was pretty amazed.

               Billy Taylor

Cross Section (1953-54 recordings, 1956 release) signed by Billy, Earl May

When I sit down at the piano, in my mind, I'm out to play elegantly and to swing. All of my mentors did this, playing the way they were thinking. The way you look and feel is the way you sound. I tried to live up to that...Friends used to come into Birdland and in between sets, they'd tell me they were bringing their girlfriends in the next night and asked if I could play some romantic ballads to help get things going!
               Billy Taylor

There are many adjectives one could apply to Billy's playing - it is exciting, warm, and technically brilliant. He has a lot to say and he says it - from one end of the piano to the other - interpolating fugue-like variations into many of his uptempo tunes. He executes satin-smooth scale passages with equal facility in either hand (I'm jealous!) and a firm yet delicate touch. He has refined and even chiseled his style with loving care, like the excellent craftsman that he is, so that it resembles a finely cut diamond. It is polished, elegant, yet always contains the basic element essential in jazz - a good swinging feeling.

               pianist Marian McPartland, The New Billy Taylor Trio liner notes (1957)

The Billy Taylor Trio With Candido (1954) signed by Billy, Candido

One day he came into Birdland to get some money from the boss. By then, I was the house pianist and was practicing my music lesson. I was studying with a wonderful teacher who was helping me with my classical playing. I would take a lesson and wouldn't go home because I'd be late for the gig if I did. So I went there and practiced my lesson before the club opened. Bird came in and heard me. He said, "That's nice, I like that." I said, 'It's Debussy.' He said, "I know that." I said, 'What do you mean you know that?' and laughed, turning back to play. I figured he was just putting me on. Well, Bird went to the back to get his money. When he came out, I was playing Debussy's "Arabesque #1" again. Bird took an alto horn off the bandstand and played the line I hadn't played yet. I was blown away.

               Billy Taylor on meeting Charlie Parker

My Fair Lady Loves Jazz (1957) signed by Billy

If Billy Taylor did nothing else in his seventy years as a jazz pianist and composer, he wrote one of my favorite songs in 1963, "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free." Part rollicking soul groover, part gospel homily, it is an uplifting and moving song, reflective of the hardships and the struggles of the civil rights movement. It became a civil rights anthem. Billy recalled the song's humble origins, " My daughter Kim came home from school one day singing a spiritual. But she didn't really know what it was and didn't have the proper feel behind it. I said, 'Kim, this is part of your heritage. You can't be singing a spiritual like that, you have to have more feeling. I sat down at the piano and said, 'The spiritual is so much a part of our tradition that I can sit here and make one up on the spot. This is the feeling you need to have.'  I made up a little ditty. Then I asked if she understood. She said, 'Yes, Daddy,' and went back to playing with her dolls. After she went back to her room, I got to thinking, 'Hey, this isn't a bad little tune.' So I wrote it down. Spirituals suggest things about who we are and what we're about and what we long for."

While the melody took a scant fifteen minutes to write, it took Billy eighteen months to complete the words, "I struggled with the lyrics. I called Dick Dallas, a young man I had been writing music with in those days. My words weren't saying what I wanted the song to say. Dick helped me finish the lyrics." Over the years, the song has been covered by Jazz artists Illinois Jacquet, Junior Mance, Shirley Scott, Soul artists Solomon Burke, Irma Thomas, Marlena Shaw, and neo-Soul artists John Legend and Emeli Sande. Even Levon Helm of The Bandsings a down home, dragged through the bayou, rock and roll rendition. Of course, the definitive reading (and Billy's favorite) remains the treatment by the incomparable Nina Simone in 1967. It doesn't get any better than the High Priestess of Soul testifyin'!

The New Billy Taylor Trio (1957) signed by Billy, Earl May, Ed Thigpen

Born in Greenville, North Carolina, raised in Washington, DC, Billy Taylor was a jazz pianist, educator, Emmy award winning broadcaster (well known as the on-air correspondent for CBS New Sunday Morning for more than twenty years), composer of more than three hundred songs, and the recipient of more than twenty honorary doctoral degrees, Billy also earned a doctorate while teaching at the University of Massachusetts in 1975. I have yet to meet a more genial, affable and erudite musician on or off stage than Dr. Billy Taylor!

Like many musicians, Billy's musical exposure started in the church where his father led the choir at the Florida Avenue Baptist Church in Washington, DC. By his own admission, he was not blessed with the singing talents of his father. Billy was more interested in the piano, so he decided to "sing through the piano." By luck (or providence!), he lived near Henry Grant, Duke Ellington's piano teacher. Billy remembered, "Once I decided I wanted to soak myself in good music, Henry Grant, my music teacher who lived across the street, encouraged me. Duke had studied with Mr. Grant. I remember taking lessons with him and the phone would ring. Mr. Grant would excuse himself for ten to twenty minutes. When he returned, he'd apologize and say it was Duke Ellington. Of course, I'd ask tons of questions. It was an amazing feeling to be taught by the same guy who had taught Duke!'

One For Fun (1959) signed by Billy, Earl May

After graduating from Virginia State College with a music degree in 1942, Billy returned home to hone his skills in Washington, DC  before moving to New York City in 1944. His first day in New York, he met tenor saxophone great Ben Webster at Minton's, a famed Harlem jazz club on West 118th Street, renowned for its cutting sessions and late night duels. Later that night, Billy met the redoubtable Art Tatum, and they struck up a friendship as Art mentored Billy throughout his early years. Billy recalled, "Art Tatum just took to me. Every opportunity I got, I followed him around. He was legally blind, but he didn’t like people to make a big deal out of helping him, so I’d help him get a cab as if I were getting a cab for myself and then get into the cab with him. We’d go to after-hours places or wherever he wanted to go. Sometimes I’d ask, ‘How do you do that, Art?’ and he’d show me, but most of the time, if I hung around him enough, he’d play everything I wanted to know.” For a recent college graduate, it was an auspicious first night in New York City, and by the third day, Billy was invited to join Ben Webster's band. How the music gods smiled as the trajectory of Billy Taylor's career was ignited.

Billy spent the next sixty-five years performing, writing and, most of all, proselytizing the wonders of jazz. He was a tireless and indefatigable ambassador. In addition to his time in academia, Billy co-founded the Jazzmobile in 1964, an attempt to bring music to the masses, free and outdoors, away from smoky nightclubs and pricey, ornate concert halls. The first Jazzmobile was little more than a flatbed truck with beboppers blowing wildly as they drove through Harlem. It helped that John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmy Heath, and Horace Silver were early participants. More than fifty years later with over four million visitors, Jazzmobile lives on and it has fulfilled Billy Taylor's mission. Eight free concerts were held this summer at Grant's Tomb, a National Memorial Park on Riverside Drive in New York City, a fitting testament to the power of music and the legacy of Dr. Billy Taylor.

Right Here, Right Now! (1963) signed by Billy

In 1994, Billy became the Artistic Director at The Kennedy Center and hosted Billy Taylor's Jazz at the Kennedy Center, an informal interview and jam session with jazz legends Donald Byrd, Kenny Burrell, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Joe Williams and many others. The format was simple: Billy and a distinguished guest would talk about their careers, influences, and music, and then each artist would perform with Billy's trio, usually bassist Chip Jackson and drummer Steve Johns. Each show was then edited for later broadcast on NPR. Erin and I were lucky to attend these shows which were held in the Theater Lab of the Kennedy Center. In those days, The Theater Lab was a bit of a ramshackle venue, maybe one hundred folding chairs strewn about a plywood platform stage. It has since been refurbished into a posh, nearly four-hundred seat auditorium.

Where’ve You Been? (1981) signed by Billy

The access to backstage was merely the slight push aside of a dark, heavy curtain, and there we were, hanging with Dr. Taylor and friends. Billy was as warm and gracious offstage as on, and his intelligence and wit was infectious. He laughed when he saw one of his first albums, Cross Section, "Look how young I am, and stylish! Those pants look awfully short." He loved the cover of The New Billy Taylor Trio. His colleagues, bassist Earl May and drummer Ed Thigpen, recline on a Mies Van Der Rohe day bed while lighting cigarettes. "I told them not to smoke," Billy wisely counseled, a non-smoker and teetotaler throughout his life. He loved the Atlantic Jazz Piano cover, "These are some of my favorite pianists," he said, as he looked at the names already inscribed: Dave Brubeck, McCoy Tyner, and Barry Harris. Erin and I thanked him for his kindness, generosity and artistry. 

Atlantic Jazz Piano (1986) signed by Billy, Dave Brubeck, Ray Bryant, Kenny Barron, Sir Roland Hanna, Barry Harris, Tommy Flanagan, Hank Jones, Junior Mance, Andre Previn, Dwike Mitchell, Horace Silver, McCoy Tyner

Dr. Billy Taylor spent so much time as a broadcaster, educator and fundraiser that people forget how powerful a jazz pianist he is, with his formidable and enduring chops. Not many can claim a direct line from Duke Ellington to Art Tatum, and his influence informs and sustains many. As Ramsey Lewis told me at a show recently, "Billy Taylor is a great and underrated jazz pianist!" High praise indeed.
Dr. Billy Taylor, a life so well lived. Jazz, joy, love and service so inherently entwined.

Atlantic Jazz Piano (1986) back cover signed by Monty Alexander, Harold Mabern, Randy Weston, Roger Kellaway, Gonzalo Rubalcaba

Choice Billy Taylor Cuts (per BK's request)

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

“I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free"  Live with Billy Taylor Trio

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

”I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free"  Nina Simone  1967

https:://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtKBCil6qTk

”Mambo Inn"  Live with Candido 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LBkZRqMIG0

Ben Webster and Billy Taylor Live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRJUGnUq9io

”Goodbye"  Cross Section  1954

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O7Yg0NDqwE

"Summertime"   One For Fun  1959

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTkzT1UmaT0

"Caravan"  Live with Chip Jackson, bass  Winard Harper, drums  2000

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bbvNAzS5rU

"I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free"  Billy Taylor meets Les McCann!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjlxOv2ljhI

"I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free"   Junior Mance  1994 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltHAw3QZEDE

"Take The 'A' Train"  live with Dave Brubeck

Bonus cuts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeJo8MAqcdY

Art Tatum plays "The Shout"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st0ICUPYPAY

"I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free"  Electric Dirt  Levon Helm  2012

The Blasters, Dave Alvin and Me…

But the thing about The Blasters was that we were just playing our version of old Rhythm & Blues, all hopped up and fast, but that’s all there was. It struck a chord that night, and several other nights in several other cities we were banned from. It wasn’t like we were calling for people to burn down the city, you know, we were just playing our songs. Our attitude was always that when these things happened we didn’t stop playing, because we weren’t going to let that stop us from playing. Our job as musicians is to play. And your job as a promoter, this that and the other, is to make sure these things don’t happen. Whether that’s the right attitude or not, that was our attitude. 

               Dave Alvin

The Blasters (1981) signed by Dave

I had a '61 Fender Mustang, still have it ... and a lot of the people in the audience liked The Blasters... but then there's an element of the audience that hated The Blasters. We were almost like their older brothers who liked rhythm and blues. And they were going to show their displeasure. One kid threw this beer bottle really well and he threw it right at my head, and I raised — in maybe the greatest moment of my life physically — I raised the guitar up to cover my face at exactly the time that it got to my face, but the guitar got in the way and, yeah, there's about a six-inch-long, quarter-inch-deep gash in the Mustang to this day from that beer bottle. That kind of stuff happened. I remember it was in the mid 90s when I started relaxing before I went onstage, because I could go, 'Oh, wow, nobody's gonna throw anything. I think those days are in the past for me.'

               Dave Alvin

Teenage Cruisers (1980) signed by Dave

I don't know if "Fourth Of July" is my most Chandleresque song, but it was definitely trying to say a lot with a little. Sometimes I try to say a lot with a lot. But that song was trying to say a lot with a little. When I was writing it, I had a third verse, which I threw away, because the weight of the song with the third verse felt too heavy. On the other hand, with just the two verses and the little part that goes 'whatever happened/I apologize,' it felt like, 'Is that enough? Is that possibly enough? I get it. But will anyone else?' Here's what I've learned over time, and my only advice to a young traditional roots rock songwriter is that a song you think is entirely personal and no one else will get it is sometimes the most universal. I don't know too many songwriters who were trained or schooled as songwriters. So it's a feel thing. When X wanted to record the song and we recorded a couple of demos for Elektra, one of the producers, who is a notable musician who shall remain nameless, said, "I'm not getting enough. It needs more." So I thought, well, maybe I should pull that third verse back into it? But then I thought, no, it's getting the point across. They're either breaking up or they're staying together.

               Dave Alvin

See How We Are (1987) signed by Dave, John Doe, Exene Cervenka, DJ Bonebrake, Tony Gilkyson

There are many musical traditions in our household. Birthdays are celebrated with a raucous and rousing "Birthday" by the Beatles and the soulful ebullience of "Happy Birthday" by Stevie Wonder. Christmas treats run the gamut, Chet Baker to John Fahey to Frank Sinatra, and even, Jacob Miller's "Natty Christmas" makes a festive and green Yuletide appearance. Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated year round (as it should be!) and the more maudlin and morose the melodies the better. The talents of Paul Brady, Van Morrison, Sinead O'Connor, and, especially Shane MacGowan and The Pogues on "Carrickfergus", "Raglan Road", "Ye Auld Triangle", "The Homes Of Donegal", "Peggy Gordon", "Streams Of Whiskey" and "Wild Mountain Thyme" stoke and soothe my Celtic melancholy. "Grand weepers and grim reapers", as Tom Waits once described his music, "...beautiful melodies telling me terrible things." Amen brother Tom, amen.

Hard Line (1985) signed by Dave

Another great tradition occurs on our Nation's birthday, and surely we are not alone when we play "Fourth Of July" by the Los Angeles punk band X turned up way past eleven. It just sounds better that way. "Fourth of July" was written by the incomparable American roots music avatar, Dave Alvin, who formed The Blasters in 1979 with his older brother Phil. The Blasters released four critically acclaimed albums from 1980 to 1986 until Dave departed. Thereafter, the brothers remained estranged for decades, following in a great rock and roll bickering siblings tradition, advanced by the peevish Forgertys of Creedence Clearwater Revival, the petulant Davies of The Kinks, and the fractious Gallaghers of Oasis. Fortunately, Dave and Phil have enjoyed a recent rapprochement, and they have released two albums in tribute to their early rock and roll influences: Big Joe Turner and Big Bill Broonzy. As Dave acknowledged, "We argue sometimes, but we never argue about Big Bill Broonzy", the subject of their 2014 album, Common Ground: Dave & Phil Alvin Sing and Play The Songs Of Big Bill Broonzy, "Big Bill, he was the entrance drug into prewar blues. That's the record Phil came home with that was all late '30s recordings, and that was an eye-opening thing." Of his relationship with his brother, Dave recently confided, "Well, we’re getting along great. We actually haven’t been this close in decades. Over the past year, he’s had two life-threatening health issues, and that’s brought us even closer. For years there was a lot of… anger’s not the word, but misunderstandings. And there still are. But brothers are brothers. Brothers are gonna fight, brothers are gonna quibble, and brothers are gonna love each other. That’s just the way it is." Yes, it was not always lilacs and lilies for the brothers Alvin. 

Lost Time (2015) signed by Dave

Lost Time promo (2015) signed by Dave and Phil

The Blasters never really fit into the Los Angeles hard core punk scene of the 1980s. The nihilistic speed metal and the discordant thrash of Black Flag, The Minutemen and the Circle Jerks was alien to Dave and Phil. At their core, they were blues and R&B aficionados. Dave described his early influences, "I wanted to be cool, that's about it. I wanted to play music from an early age which is one of the reasons why, when I was a certain age, I started sneaking into clubs. I had three older cousins, they were like ten, twelve years older than me, we’re talking about when I was like five and six. My cousin Donna was a wild girl, with a beehive hairdo and a jacked up ’49 Ford and she was an R&B chick. She liked Ray Charles and Big Joe Turner and doo-wop and rockabilly and things like that. My cousin Mike played acoustic guitar and banjo and he liked Ramblin’ Jack Elliot and Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee and folk blues kinds of things. And then my cousin JJ grew up on a ranch and he liked Buck Owens. My view of the musical universe was really based on my older cousins’ tastes and by the time I was eleven or twelve, I was collecting old records and by the time I was thirteen or fourteen, my brother and I were sneaking into bars. It was like, 'We like this music, where can we go hear it?' At the same time, my mom would drive me to see Jimi Hendrix and a year later we were copping rides from guys to get to a club like the Ash Grove or to neighborhood bars. In those days, where we lived, you could find blues and honky tonk music and all that stuff in neighborhood bars and that was my education to a great extent."

Non Fiction (1983) signed by Dave

For a kid straight outta Downey, CA, this was splendid training and breeding. Dave became the principal songwriter and lyricist for The Blasters, and he found the perfect voice for his music, "Now, I was never a singer. When I was a little kid, I got kicked out of choir. My older brother Phil was one of the star choir singers of the Catholic Church and I was asked not to be part of it. So when I wrote songs for the Blasters, I'd go to rehearsal and sing them for like an hour and my brother would sit and listen and say, 'Sing it again, sing it again.' Then, when he would step up to the microphone, he'd say, 'Okay, I got it' and I'd never sing the song again. I mean, I had this brother with this big, loud, magnificent blues voice." Unfortunately, the Alvin talents did not translate into fame or commercial success. Director Walter Hill solicited The Blasters for the music for 48 Hours, a hit film and a breakthrough for Eddie Murphy. Alas, Dave didn't like the script and refused to participate. As he said later with apparent equanimity, "We never sold out, which was both a good thing and a bad thing."     

Over There (1982) signed by Dave

After leaving The Blasters in 1985, Dave joined X briefly and played guitar on See How We Are, a record featuring "Fourth Of July" which has been a staple in our house ever since. He also joined The Knitters, an acoustic side project led by X vocalists and former husband and wife, Exene Cervenka  and John Doe. Featuring an engaging mix of mostly covers of country (Albert Brumley's "Rank Stranger", Merle Haggard's "Silver Wings"), folk ("Walkin' Cane" from the 1880 quill of James Bland), blues (Lead Belly's "Rock Island Line") and rock (Steppenwolf's "Born To Be Wild"), The Knitters have released two albums in their modest discography: Poor Little Critter On the Road (1985) and The Modern Sounds Of The Knitters (2005).

The Knitters: Poor Little Critter On The Road (1985) signed by Dave, John Doe, Exene Cervenka, DJ Bonebrake

back cover signed by Billy Zoom

As a solo artist, Dave has released twelve albums and his range is extraordinary. From burning down the house rockers "Wanda and Duane" and "Haley's Comet" to country weepers "Bus Station" and an exquisitely re-imagined "Border Radio" to the folk bluster of "King Of California" and the Civil War horror of "Andersonville", there is little that Dave cannot write, sing and master. He is a consummate storyteller and a ferocious guitar slinger. I have seen him many times over the years, whether bashing on guitar with The Knitters at Irving Plaza in New York City and at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in San Francisco, or fronting Dave Alvin & The Guilty Women at the Santa Monica Pier, or performing at smaller clubs like the Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia, Dave always delivers the goods. Each time, I met Dave after a show, I found him to be generous, his wit and humor as dry and laconic as "Dry River", a song he wrote about his childhood. "I was born by a river, but it was paved with cement..." Asked in an interview whether it bothered him at his shows that 'there's some clown yelling all night for "Marie, Marie" or "Fourth Of July"? Dave's response is telling, "And oftentimes, I'm that clown. I may be the rare artist who doesn't get tired of playing songs that he wrote. Part of it is that I'm always startled that I wrote them in the first place."

Blue Boulevard (1991) signed by Dave

In April 2005, I saw a very memorable show at Cafe Nine, a small venue in New Haven, Connecticut. Touted as 'The Musician's Living Room' (accurate if your favorite musician's living room resembled a dive bar!), Cafe Nine is housed in a decaying brick building. Dave was playing an acoustic show with Chris Miller, his sole accompanist on guitar. I entered and walked into the bar. The stage to the right of the door entrance barely held room for one, let alone two guitarists. When the show started, Dave and Chris squeezed in, and the front door was sealed shut, in probable defiance of the (absent) fire marshal.  All tardy patrons were thus denied admittance, and more than a few banged on the door, their clamor and pleas to no avail.

The crowd was what you might expect. Aging rock fans clinging to their fading hopes, swilling Heinekens, spilling Budweisers, and blotting out the last vestiges of a Sunday night in a sweat box. Dave and Chris were in fine spirits and played stripped down songs off Dave's recently released Ashgrove, titled after the legendary Los Angeles music club on Melrose Avenue, the site of many concerts where Dave and Phil saw their heroes - Big Joe Turner, Lightnin' Hopkins, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee - in their well spent youth. Dave and Chris played a mix of newer songs - "Rio Grande", "Ashgrove", "Everett Reuss" and "Nine Volt Heart" and worked in some Blasters' favorites - "Marie Marie" and "So Long Baby, Goodbye." to placate the boisterous fans who were pleading for more Blasters. Near the end of the show, during a guitar tuning break, Dave asked for requests for the encore. A fusillade of shouts erupted. One particularly persistent fan insisted on "From A Kitchen Table", a wistful ballad of unrequited love, regret, and love letters never read.

Ashgrove (2004) signed by Dave

I hope this letter finds you
Wherever you may be
'Cause I mailed some awhile back
And they were all returned to me
Ain't nothin' I can tell you 'bout the hometown
Everything changes, but nothing's new
Just Sunday night at the kitchen table
Finishin' a beer and thinkin' of you.

And I still work the same job
Just live with my mom for free
'Cause ever since the old man passed on
It just got harder to leave.

Well I heard a rumor that you got married
Though you swore that you never would
I guess you finally got your own kids now
You ever tell 'em 'bout the old neighborhood?
Like the time we stole your dad's car
Drove all night down Imperial Highway
You kept sayin' "Maybe we should turn around, "
And I said "It don't take much to get away."

But I still work the same job
Just live with my mom for free
'Cause ever since the old man passed on
It just got harder to leave.

Guess that's all that I've got to tell you
I guess things turned out how they're meant to be
I just hope that this letter finds you
But until then I'll just keep it with me.

”From A Kitchen Table”

A beautiful and mournful song, it even includes a haunting clarinet solo on the record, hardly fodder for a rockin' Sunday night encore. Dave laughed, "You know, that's a really tough song to play in a bar." Then he added over the din, "But it is Sunday night, so what the hell, let's give it a go." The crowd grew more reverent as Dave spun his tale about the broken dreams and unfulfilled promises which led to the quiet desperation and desolation of a Sunday night missive written from a kitchen table (or a barroom!).  Despite the ongoing revelry and bacchanalia in Cafe Nine, the irony was not lost on me. Once again, Dave Alvin was reading our mail!

Dave Alvin & The Guilty Women (2009) signed by Dave

After the show, I chatted with Dave briefly as he signed a couple of vinyl. I thanked him for his music. What was it like hanging with Big Joe Turner? I'm also a really big fan, I said. He paused. A long pause. He was deliberate and careful in his words, "It was like....hanging....with Joe Turner," he said with a thin smile. He drew a cigarette on the cover of Romeo's Escape, an homage to an ever present menthol, always dangling from his lips. I declined to ask him about his brother, I thought he was probably inundated with requests. In fact, he later wrote, "What's Up With Your Brother", a duet with Phil, to address all fan's concerns. Mostly, I just thanked him for his songs and music. I said, 'It was ballsy to play "From A Kitchen Table" in a bar, especially, this bar.' Ever modest, Dave replied, "Thanks, I wasn't sure that was going to work, but it turned out fine." Yes, it did.

Eleven Eleven (2011) signed by Dave

As he once said about his heroes, "Big Joe and T-Bone and Lightnin’ and whoever, who didn’t quit. It wasn’t even a lifestyle, it was just life. You just played music."
Dave Alvin, a well lived life playing and writing music, American music. Like he says, "Everything changes, but nothing's new."

Romeo’s Escape (1987) signed by Dave

When I look back on my time in this racket, the one thing I know is that you never know what people are going to like. I didn't think anyone would like "Fourth of July" when I was writing it. All I knew is that I liked it. But as a songwriter, you have to persevere through that board of critics that's in your head going, 'You might as well just throw this away. Nobody's going to like this one.' You just have to get to a place of acceptance.  

               Dave Alvin

Tulare Dust: A Songwriter’s Tribute To Merle Haggard (1994) signed by Dave

Choice Dave Alvin Cuts (per BKs request) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhu807VUY24

"Fourth Of July"  X: See How We Are  1987

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJf4r5E4qHI

"Fourth Of July"  King Of California  1994

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXd1bG3ArNQ

"From A Kitchen Table"  Blackjack David  1998

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG1hoB0nOeg

"Everett Reuss"  Live 2010  Genius storyteller!

"No, because disappearing is poetry, finding him is journalism.."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6W25W6c4pY

"Everett Reuss"  Ashgrove   2004

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im-407BAbnA

"King Of California"  Live from Austin, TX  1999

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcvabni9GF4

"Andersonville"  Live at Bottom Line, NYC with Richard Thompson on guitar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEdMgz2fmo0

"Border Radio"  Live From Austin, TX  1999

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxM7lNF9M3A

"Ashgrove"  Live with David Hidalgo and Pete Sears  2017  Listen and learn!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1iPfrJ8D8E

"Kern River"  Tulare Dust  Dave sings Merle!  1994

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AZyAoIL8GE

"Dry River"  Live From Austin, TX  1999

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o239IMppW5w

"Key To The Highway"  Common Ground  Dave & Phil Sing Big Bill Broonzy  2014

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

"What's Up With Your Brother"  Dave & Phil Live in Auburn, CA  2.11.16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRCfky62TvU

"Wanda And Duane"   Blue Blvd  1991

Bonus tracks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmaXdkC0zE4

"Border Radio"  The Blasters

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPuQPJLxW8o

"Burnin' House Of Love"  The Knitters on Letterman  2005

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N5HAOsw57I

"Goodbye Again"  Rosie Flores and Dave Alvin  1990  

Roadhouse Revival: Tour of the USA flyer (1996)

J. J. Johnson, The Trombone and Me…

From the beginning, I decided I wanted to play trombone in Lester Young's linear manner. Many trombonists were using tricks and gimmicks, glissandi and wah-wahs which I wanted to avoid. Then I heard Dizzy and Bird and was floored like everyone else by this new music. It was difficult at first, Dizzy gave me the most encouragement... he extended himself. He knows a lot about the trombone. He taught me positioning and how to deal with the so called bebop situation.

                          J.J. Johnson

I had the encouragement from people like Dizzy when I was struggling with lines of bebop tunes. I recall Dizzy planting seeds, saying "J.J. try it this way." I was amazed when it worked out because Dizzy is not a trombone player and nobody realized that he knew anything about trombone technique, but he did. He'd show me little tricks with the slide, and sure enough, it would be easier. It wasn't only Dizzy, though, people planted little seed here and there that paid off dividends in a big way.

                         J. J. Johnson

Jay & Kai (1955) signed by J. J., Hank Jones

Johnson is to his horn what Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie were to theirs. When he came to full power, his work had the dreamy smoothness heard in Lester Young, the crackle of Roy Eldridge's fourth gear lyricism, the rhythmically intricate contempt espoused by Charlie Parker for the limitations of articulation, and the gnarled wit of Dizzy Gillespie.

                         critic Stanley Crouch

It started with the very first time I ever heard Stravinsky's The Rite Of Spring. Then, I became hooked on classical music. The person who introduced me to Stravinsky was (trumpeter-composer) Johnny Carisi. I don't know how it happened that we, meaning a bunch of musicians, were at his place at one time, just talking about things and he said, "Hey I want you to hear something," and he played Stravinsky's The Rite Of Spring. And this had nothing to do with jazz. But it blew my mind, it blew everyone's mind who was there.

                        J.J. Johnson

Pinnacles (1979) signed by J. J., Ron Carter, Tommy Flanagan

J. J. Johnson is one of the most important musicians of the bebop jazz era (or any era!), and his contributions and compositions on the trombone were truly revolutionary. His towering influence continues to this day, as the noted trombonist (and long time SNL band member) Steve Turre stated, "J.J. did for the trombone what Charlie Parker did for the saxophone. And all of us that are playing today wouldn't be playing the way we're playing if it wasn't for what he did. And not only, of course, is he the master of the trombone - the definitive master of this century - but, as a composer and arranger, he is in the top shelf as well."

Born in Indianapolis, J.J. initially played piano when he was nine, before switching to the trombone several years later. As J.J. revealed, "I really cannot imagine what attracted me to it. It's the most ungainly, awkward, beastly hard instrument you can imagine." He proved to be a quick study and his talents were developed and enhanced when he turned eighteen and joined Benny Carter's orchestra for three years, Count Basie for one year, and then he played with the great honking tenor man Illinois Jacquet. He remembered his time with Illinois fondly, "One who really helped me was Illinois Jacquet. 'C'mon J.J. let's play this line in unison,' he'd say, and then he'd tell me that I could do it. He was always a source of encouragement, and after awhile, I began to believe him. I was lucky to be exposed to such people... Jacquet was a wonderful bebopper, but he would do it offstage, over in the corner somewhere when he practiced. He played marvelous bebop, but then he went on stage and played the show he was famous for, honking and screaming." 

Sonny Rollins Vol. 2 (1957) signed by J. J., Sonny Rollins, Horace Silver

More and more, J.J. was attracted to the small groups that were playing bebop in and around New York City, a nascent music championed by the brilliant Dizzy Gillespie and the transcendent Charlie Parker. One memorable session occurred in December 1947 for Dial Records with Charlie Parker who was fresh off a stint at the Camarillo State Mental Hospital. Though J.J. couldn't recall much about the studio gig, the effect of being with Bird, "made your knees shake a lot, bump up against each other." No doubt, it was pretty heady stuff for the twenty-three year old Johnson who had been playing the trombone in earnest for less than a decade to jam with prodigiously talented Charlie Parker. And I'm sure J.J. wasn't the only one with knees knocking in the presence of the indomitable Bird.

From 1949 to 1966, J.J. was quite prolific, releasing more than twenty-four records as a leader, while also appearing on countless sessions with Cannonball Adderley, Donald Byrd, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, and other jazz royalty. However, J.J. grew a bit disenchanted with the New York recording and club scene, and in 1970, at the behest of his friend Quincy Jones, moved to California to become a film composer. As he explained, "After living in New York for so many years, my wife, Vivian, and I felt the need for a drastic change in our lifestyle. As destiny would have it, at the same time, I felt the urge to explore movie composition."

The Great Kai & J. J. (1960) signed by J. J.

The experience was not as rewarding as he had hoped, as he encountered skepticism as a jazz musician, and racism as an African American. In a 1999 interview, J.J. did not mince words, "The film community is a whole 'other world, and I can say without reservation... you're in a very racist element here. There are no black film composers doing the likes of Star Wars, E.T...Jurassic Park. There are none, nor will there ever be one..." Thus his talents were relegated to blaxploitation films - Man And Boy (1971) with Bill Withers, Top Of The Heap (1972), Across 110th Street (1972) with Bobby Womack, Cleopatra Jones (1973) with Millie Jackson, and Willie Dynamite (1974) with Martha Reeves - and, far worse, TV crap like Starsky & Hutch, Mike Hammer, and The Six Million Dollar Man. It had to be a soul crushing experience for a gifted arranger and composer but J.J. soldiered on, keeping his jazz skills fresh by playng in the Carol Burnett orchestra, "So that my chops wouldn't go completely down the tubes, I took many little odd jobs playing studio situations. For a little better than two years I played third trombone under Peter Matz's conducting for the Carol Burnett Show. Not much money, but it was a good way to keep my chops in shape with a predictable activity. We rehearsed every Thursday, we did the show every Friday, so it kept my chops in pretty good shape while I was doing film scoring in the main." It is unfathomable to me that J.J. was relegated to the third trombone chair. Who were the first and second trombone players?! I'm quite sure neither had ever played with Bird, Dizzy or Sonny or composed jazz standards like "Wee Dot", "Lament", and "Enigma", or Poem For Brass which premiered at the Monterey Jazz Festival in the late 1950s.

Jackson, Johnson, Brown & Company (1983) signed by J. J., Milt Jackson, Ray Brown

For seventeen years, J.J. and his wife stayed in Los Angeles, suffering the slings, arrows and indignities of the film industry. Occasionally, J.J. would enter a studio to record, but he released only five or six albums during this time. When J.J. and Vivian left Los Angeles in 1987, they returned to Indianapolis, back to their roots where they had both been born and had family ties. J.J. resumed his recording and touring career with a vengeance until health issues forced him to retire in 1996.

I was fortunate to see J.J. at Blues Alley in Washington, DC in the late 1980s. The small club was packed with jazz fans who were eager to see such a formidable legend in an intimate setting. He did not disappoint. His trombone skills had not eroded, and he played brilliantly as his slide glided effortlessly while blowing intricate bebop jazz lines.

Mad Bebop (1978 release, 1946-1954 recordings) signed by J. J.

After the show, I went back stage with some vinyl for a visit. J.J. was warm and engaging as he signed the vinyl. When I handed him Mad Bebop, he seemed surprised, "What's this? What a crazy cover! I’ve never seen this." I said it was a compilation of Savoy recordings from 1946-1954 that were cobbled together and rereleased in 1978.  "That's definitely not me behind the (trombone) bell," he added. He loved the Jay & Kai album from 1955, as J.J and fellow trombone ace Kai Winding had a long and fruitful partnership releasing fourteen albums between 1953-1969. "He was a great player and we had a lot of fun together." Sonny Rollins Vol. 2 elicited this response, "What a great session this was, especially with (Thelonious) Monk and Horace (Silver). Great players all." I thanked J.J. for his time and his music, hoping to see him perform again which sadly didn’t happen.

J. J. Johnson spent his entire life innovating, composing, arranging, and breaking down barriers wherever he went. Perhaps he summed it up best: "As we all know, Dizzy Gillespie coined that term, bebop. But in my opinion, the towering Dizzy Gillespie and his immense genius and his immense talents far transcended that little box that's labelled "bebop." Dizzy Gillespie was much more than bebop. And so the problem I have with bebop is that it tends to categorize you, and place you in a small box that is very confining and very uncomfortable. I can only hope that I, too, am bigger than the the box that's labeled "bebop." I try to be bigger than bebop, even though I am labelled, always have been and probably will always be labelled "the pioneer of bebop trombone." So be it. I inherited that and I lived with that and that's OK."

BeBop (1988) signed by J. J., Milt Jackson, Jon Faddis, Jimmy Heath, Cedar Walton, Mickey Roker

J.J., thanks for all your music. A lifetime and legacy creating such beauty out of a "most ungainly , awkward, beastly hard instrument,’ far bigger than any box labelled bebop…

Things Are Getting Better All The Time (1984) signed by Al Grey

Choice J.J. Johnson cuts (per BKs request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzXrUKLhTA4
“Willie’s Escape” 1973

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvgf0yPAqGI

“Blue Trombone “ 1957

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6uT4WPbTz0

”Buzzy” J.J. Johnson and friends live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2-nVMoN_BA

”Blue Monk” 1960

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__jCTs9c9iY

”My Favorite Things” Broadway 1963

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoYlZ7IFkqM
“Tune Up” live 1958

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMlNxauBWZE
“Satin Doll” A Touch Of Satin 1961

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKAd2sogy9w
“Blue Bossa” live at Umbria Jazz Festival 1993

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFMfcE5NAL0
“Misty” 1988

Abdullah Ibrahim, South Africa and Me…

Wherever we are as musicians, jazz musicians or contemporary musicians, there's no way you can escape Ellington, or the influence of Ellington. So in South Africa, we grew up with Ellington, and for me, as a pianist and composer, Ellington was, and still is, one of the primary forces in music. He gave us guidelines and guidance, and for us, Ellington was not just an American, he was just a wise old man in the village.                     

                   Abdullah Ibrahim

Duke Ellington Presents The Dollar Brand Trio (1963) signed by Abdullah

Composition means you have to be composed so the message can flow through you - it's like a state of Zen. It serves as a purification, and it's a high. The only way down is to let yourself become the vessel of the almighty.

                         Abdullah Ibrahim

If what I grew up with in South Africa is world  music, I don't know what it means. Perhaps it's to identify it as folklore, but what makes it separate? Satchmo (Louis Armstrong) said, 'All music is folk music. I never heard a horse sing.' The only criterion I have is whether it moves you.

                           Abdullah Ibrahim

Soweto (1978) signed by Abdullah

if you want to be a jazz musician, you go back to Jelly Roll Morton, Ellington, Monk. With us, we were the first; there were no improvisers before us. We had to devise our own vocabulary. With any improvisation, you're going into uncharted waters, putting your life on the line. But Jazz music helps you do that without fear.

Abdullah Ibrahim

Ode To Duke Ellington (1973) signed by Abdullah

Born Adolph Johannes Brand in Cape Town, South Africa in 1934, Abdullah Ibrahim is one of the great jazz pianists and composers. He was surrounded by music as a child, a swirl of African Khoi-san music mixed in with spirituals and gospel which he learned from his grandmother who was the pianist for a local African Methodist Episcopalian Church, and his mother who steered the choir. He started taking piano lessons at seven, and performed professionally by age fifteen. He was a quick and voracious study.

Though he wanted to study medicine, Ibrahim was denied because of his race, nor was he allowed to attend the music conservatory. As he later confided, "So I decided to study on my own - I'm still studying. The quest for knowledge was insatiable in the ghetto. We were reading Langston Hughes and Richard Wright, Shakespeare, the Bhagavad Gita, Confucius. We realized that though we were in bondage, our minds were not."

Ibrahim was lucky to survive the strife that surrounded the rough neighborhood where he grew up, as he later recounted, "We grew up drinking alcohol and smoking pot, and I lost a lot of close friends to gangs and prison. They died of addiction or were murdered. The thing that saved me was the music. In all that horror, it was at least clean, you were dealing with something beautiful."

By the late 1950s, he formed the Dollar Brand Trio (he converted to Islam in 1968 and took his current name) and in 1959 formed the Jazz Epistles with Hugh Masekela on trumpet, Kippie Moeketsi on saxophone, Jonas Gwanga on trombone, Johnny Gertze on bass, and Makaya Ntshoko on drums. This extremely talented band would go on to release the first jazz album in South Africa, an historic and important occasion. The epicenter of jazz and creativity in Cape Town was District Six, as Ibrahim recalled, "A fantastic city within a city. Where you felt the fist of apartheid, it was the valve to release some of that pressure. In the late 50s and 60s, when the regime clamped down, it was still a place where people could mix freely. It attracted musicians, writers, politicians at the forefront of the struggle. We played and everybody would be there."

The Journey (1977) signed by Abdullah

The bonhomie and good times didn't last long, however, as the Sharpeville Massacre of 1960, the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela, and the banning of the African National Congress (ANC) stymied artistic, human and musical development on all levels, and artists like Ibrahim, Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba and others lit out for new territories. In 1962, Ibrahim and his girlfriend (later his wife), singer Sathima Bea Benjamin, settled in Zurich, Switzerland and undertook a three year contract playing at the Club Africana. There, in 1963, after attending a Duke Ellington concert, Sathima cajoled and persuaded the great Duke Ellington to see her husband perform at the Club Africana after Duke's concert. Her persistence paid off, as Duke attended a late night gig at the club, and was very impressed by what he heard. He signed Dollar Brand (as he was then known), and produced and recorded an album in Paris, Duke Ellington Presents The Dollar Brand Trio. It was Ibrahim's first solo album in a career that would span sixty-plus years and more than ninety albums, including his most recent release Balance in 2019. There was a beautiful symmetry to the serendipitous meeting between Duke, Ibrahim and his wife which he related, "She was a young vocalist and somebody asked me if I could accompany her for a concert in Cape Town, which I agreed. You know, pianists don't like to play for vocalists. When I arrived at the rehearsal studio, there was this very beautiful lady, and I asked her, 'What are you going to sing?' She said, 'I Got It Bad, (And That Ain't Good.)' It was amazing because I was working on the song, the Ellington song myself. So that created that bond even before we met Ellington." The album sold well and led to other opportunities with Ibrahim playing clubs, concert halls, and theaters all over the world, which continues to this day. 

If Duke Ellington was Ibrahim's primary influence, Thelonious Monk was clearly second, especially with regard to composition. Ibrahim explained, "At a very early age, I was compared to Monk and Debussy. But for us, what Monk did was so natural; the rhythmic approach people found weird was totally in the African tradition. When I met him, I said, 'Thank you for all the inspiration.' He was so surprised. He said, You're the first piano player to tell me that.' "

Buddy Tate Meets Dollar Brand (1977) signed by Abdullah, Cecil McBee

After some riotous and reckless living, Ibrahim converted to Islam in 1968 and credits the religion with saving his life, "Music was part of the reason, because in Islam the music is naturally integrated. You don't just feel the Koran, you sing it, in remembrance of Allah. I had gone through a bad period, partly in New York. I stopped smoking, I stopped drinking, found an inner peace. There is nothing really I want or need for myself now, because Allah has blessed me. My main concern is for others, for the liberation of my people, the establishment of justice. Music is just a means toward the end." The writer Mandla Langa concurs, "But for religion, Abdullah would have been dead. He's very disciplined, single-minded. Martial arts and music became self-reinforcing themes in his life."

Eventually, Ibrahim and his wife moved to New York City (even living in the Chelsea Hotel for a long time), as did many of his fellow South African jazz artists, a diaspora of exiles and expats in search of a more welcoming and creative environment. Ibrahim would remain in exile until the early 1990s when Nelson Mandela was released, although his intermittent visits, concerts and recordings provided excitement and relief to a beleaguered nation, especially during the scourge of the Apartheid years. Of his song "Mannenberg" (renamed "Cape Town Fringe" on its 1975 US release) which became an anthem for the struggle against Apartheid, Ibrahim recalled its unusual origin and success. While he was in the studio recording other songs, he saw an upright piano, similar to the ones he had played at home and in small clubs.  "I thought, 'Great, an old upright piano,' I touched this piano, and I thought, 'What?' I sat at this piano, and it goes first time (the opening notes of Mannenberg). Wow! This thing sounds so nice, it's grooving. I tell my musicians that I work with, that a lot of music is written right there. So they bring pens and pencils and paper. I'm a composer, you don't know when it's going to happen. So this is how "Mannenberg" was written." The muse had struck. Ibrahim and his colleagues, especially saxophonist Basil Coetzee, completed the thirteen minute song in one take, an intoxicating groove which belies its intense subject matter - the annexation in District Six and the removal and bulldozing of ancestral homes that was so abhorrent and, unfortunately, so common in 1970s South Africa.

Cape Town Fringe (1974) signed by Abdullah

While they knew they had a great song, now they had to sell it. Among the record companies in South Africa, they found no takers, “So now we're in Johannesburg, nobody wants it. (Recording engineer) Rashid Vally has this little record shop, so I say to Rashid, 'Why don't we just make demos and put loudspeakers outside and play them?' We sold over 10,000 in two weeks over the counter without covers... it was incredible." Remarkable, even more remarkable when you consider a hit in South Africa in those days sold 20,000 copies in total.

The song and its significance became part of the cultural fabric of South Africa, as Ibrahim allowed, "And the public and the people picked up the song, and it was played and sung everywhere. And, in some regards, it has become almost like an unofficial national anthem of South Africa." A hit in 1975, it was revived at anti-apartheid protests and rallies in the 1980s and 1990s. Writer Mandla Langa explained, "The tune became a popular metaphor for all the townships where trouble brewed." The song was also smuggled into Robben Island and played for the still incarcerated Nelson Mandela, the first music Nelson had heard in decades. Ibrahim also played at the 1994 inauguration of Nelson Mandela, an event which I'm sure he never thought would occur. As Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel so eloquently eulogized Ibrahim colleague and saxophonist Basil Coetzee in March 1998, "It seems like just yesterday that I first heard that riff... that special sound that helped build that wider family during a time of deep repression, when speech was not enough. That sound which is something we can feel but not explain, which gave voice to the speechlessness of those times." An amazing song by equally amazing musicians.

Black Lightning (1976) signed by Abdullah

I saw Ibrahim recently at the Jazz Standard in New York City. He performed with his band Ekaya, consisting of baritone and tenor saxophone, trombone, bass and drums. The show started with Ibrahim on stage alone playing the ruminative ballad "Dreamtime." Blessed with an exquisite touch, he spaced his notes with deliberate care. It was elegantly beautiful. Then the bassist joined him with a bow, along with a flautist. More like chamber jazz on this track, each song flowed seamlessly into the next, a sprawling suite of uncompromising beauty and elegance. Ibrahim would play solo and then a knowing glance to his fellow musicians off stage would beckon them to join him as they did in mid-song. Languid blues would be followed by free jazz, a cascading cacophony of notes supplied by the formidable front line of trombone, baritone and tenor saxophone. Even "Mannenberg" made an appearance, its jaunty and rollicking groove punctuated by several fine saxophone solos. Near the end of the performance, he worked in "Skippy" from the pen of Thelonious Monk, a cut from his recent release Balance. It was disjointed and dissonant, perfectly imperfect in the Monk tradition. Overall, a beautiful night of music rendered by expert musicians.

Now it was time for a visit to get some vinyl signed.  When I met him back stage, Ibrahim was peaceful and humble like the Zen master he is. I thanked him for his wonderful performance and handed him some of my favorite records. When he signed his first album Duke Ellington Presents Dollar Brand, he grew pensive, "Duke was a great man. We all stand in his shadow." He smiled warmly as he signed Cape Town Fringe, a seminal album in the struggles of the South Africa, "That was a lot of fun to record." I thanked him again for his time, and especially his music. I was reminded of one of his recent statements, "Some do it because they have to do it. We do it because we want to... so we do not require much sleep, so we have to do it." 

Thanks Abdullah Ibrahim for the inspiration and hope. Sleep is definitely overrated!

Buddy Tate Meets Dollar Brand (1977) signed by Abdullah

Choice Abdullah Ibrahim Cuts (per BKs request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Get3oF_ibuo

“Manenberg” (1974)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq9OqWdJ7x4&t=225s

“Dreamtime” and “Nisa”   Solo Piano  live at Paste Studios, 2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3B2LYP65ow

“The Pilgrim”  Mannenburg- Is Where It’s Happening  (1974) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4kO98avbDg

“Black Lightning” (1976)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YvSKhMiVnA

“Skippy”   The Balance   (2019)

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

“Soweto”  (1976)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL_k5Q5WEBs

“African Herbs”  (1976)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBf7yGbxtHw

“Water From An Ancient Well”  (1985)

African Marketplace (1980) signed by Cecil McBee

Lou Donaldson and Me…

I started on the clarinet when I was 9 or 10 years old. There was an Alcoa Aluminum plant in my hometown and the company had a band, which, of course, was all white. My mother went over to the bandleader and spoke to him. I have no idea what my mother said but he gave her a clarinet to give to me...From time to time the Alcoa band would have some tough music to play. They’d call my mother, who could play anything on the piano. She was a music teacher in town. When her students missed notes, she’d have a switch to encourage them to make the notes the next time. That’s why I was the only one in my family who didn’t play piano. I didn’t want to get whacked with that switch. 

                         Lou Donaldson 

Blues Walk (1958) signed by Lou

I was walking by the band room one day, and I hear this squeaking and squeaking and squeaking. I'm like, 'What's all that?' I stuck my head in the door, 'Who the f*ck is making all that noise?' And the band director said "Whatchu talkin' 'bout?" And I said, 'Man, that's the worst clarinet I ever heard. Give me that thing.' He said "Okay", so he put some music up, you know, a Barnum and Bailey march or something. I knew every thing because I played this in college. So I played. He said, "What's your name? You're the best clarinet player I've heard. You play saxophone too?" I said, 'Yeah.' I lied, I had never touched a saxophone, but he didn't know. He gave me a saxophone and a clarinet and said, "Take this back to the barracks and just start practicing. I'll call you when I can get you into the band." He called me about two weeks later, and by that time, I had the saxophone under my belt. And that's how I got in the band.

               Lou Donaldson joining the US Navy band and becoming an alto saxophonist

Good Gracious! (1963) signed by Lou, John Patton, Ben Dixon

My first encounter with Bird was unbelievable. I went to a place in Chicago where Gene Ammons played. Ammons had a great band, of course, everyone in there was using 'vitamins'...and this guy was laying over in the corner sleeping. He looked like a bum. Finally, somebody came in there and said, "Can you get him to play one?" I'm looking around, I didn't know who they were talking about. So finally, I went over there and woke him up. Somebody gave him a saxophone...he didn't have a saxophone, his saxophone was in the pawn shop. And man, you talk about playing a horn. I had never heard anything like that in my life. That made me almost go crazy, because the tone seems like it would cut right through your chest...that cat was playing some stuff! And I had never heard nothing like that before. I said, 'Who the hell is that?' Guy says, "That's Charlie Parker"...I knew that was something nobody else could do, and I was going to be one of the first ones to get on board with it.

               Lou Donaldson meeting Charlie Parker for the first time, circa 1944

Gravy Train (1961) signed by Lou

Then I heard Charlie Parker and my whole approach to the saxophone changed. I got what he was doing instantly. I had seen him a few years earlier in Chicago... when he was with Billy Eckstein’s band. Parker was so messed up he could hardly play anything. The suit he wore looked like he had been wearing it for six months. At first, I thought he was a bum. Then someone told me he was the guy I liked so much on the Jay McShann records... I still it, “The Jumping Blues” with Jay McShann in 1942, which had “Sepian Stomp” on the other side. I played that record until you could see the aluminum in the disc. Parker was the only one playing that way even then, and all of us were trying to figure out what he was doing.

                         Lou Donaldson 

The Sermon! (1958) signed by Lou, Jimmy Smith, Kenny Burrell

Blues is jazz. If it wasn't blues, it sounds like other music. A note is a note, but when you play a note with a blues feeling, it sounds different from other notes. I've heard a million guitar players play the shit out of a guitar, but non of them sounds like B.B. King. You know why? Because of the way he bends his notes on the guitar. The blues, if you never had 'em, you can't play 'em. You can't play the blues when you're at home, and Mama and Papa are paying the rent. You can't play the blues. Now, when you get married, and you have two or three kids, and the first of the moth is coming up, you start feelin' 'em! You watch musicians, you listen to 'em in their 20s and 30s, and listen to 'em when they get be 50 and 60. There's a different sound in that music.   

               Lou Donaldson

Signifyin’ (1963) signed by Lou, John Patton, Ben Dixon

We made about 10 or 15 hit records. The biggest one we made, “Alligator Boogaloo,” we made the date and we were three minutes short. I said, 'We don’t have no more material.' And the guy said just play anything for three minutes so we can fill out the time. So I just made the riff and naturally, the guys could follow it. That’s the only damn thing that sold on the record. All that other stuff we had been rehearsing, our relatives wouldn’t even buy it. Music is a funny thing. Sometimes it’s what you don’t do that works. That’s what happens today. Too many cats are playing past the money, you know what I mean? They want to play like Trane, and Trane played past the money. See, if he played the joints where I played, they’d throw him out after one song.

               Lou Donaldson on his biggest hit, "Alligator Boogaloo"

Alligator Boogaloo (1967) signed by Lou, Dr. Lonnie Smith

Ninety years young, Lou Donaldson was still blowing a formidable alto saxophone when I saw him perform recently at the Blue Note in New York City. Though diminutive in stature, he was a commanding presence when he ascended the small stage accompanied by his fine musicians, Mike LeDonne on Hammond B3 organ, Eric Johnson on guitar, and a "young lion", the ferocious McClenty Hunter on drums. Lou introduced his accomplished band mates, then he said, "Tonight, we're going to play straight ahead jazz. There will be no fusion, no confusion. No Kenny G, no Spyro Gyra, no Heavy D, no Snoop Doggy Dogg, and no Fifty Cent, 'cause he ain't worth a quarter." The first song was "Blues Walk", perhaps Lou's best known composition, a breezy, bluesy romp that set the mood. Lou was not kidding when he admonished the Blue Note audience, he (blues) walked the talk!

Hot Dog (1969) signed by Lou, Dr. Lonnie Smith

Born in Badin, North Carolina, Lou attended the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro in the early 1940s. He was an honor roll student and his parents wanted him to study law. Lou had other ideas and interests, "My father was a AME Zion minister and he listened to church music, spiritual music for many, many years. And that's related to the blues. After I started playing, I heard nothing but the blues in the South, that's all we heard down there. When I was in the U.S. Navy, I heard Charlie Parker and he was one of the greatest blues players of all time. I tried to develop my style like he did, and that's where it came from." 

Mr. Shing-A-Ling (1967) signed by Lou, Dr. Lonnie Smith

While stationed in Chicago during World War II, Lou saw Charlie Parker perform and he was never the same. He knew he wanted to be a professional musician despite his family's protestations. His family was very concerned about Lou's debilitating asthma, "My parents wanted me to do something else because I was asthmatic, and they figured that playing a horn is the last thing they'd want you to do. But they were wrong, because playing the horn actually made me survive. The diaphragm, breathing, and stuff like that, it made my lungs much stronger than weaker." Of Charlie Parker, Lou remembered, "He was just different. The sound was different. The way he played was different, the way he would drive when he played, the power behind his phrases, just different. And everything was swinging, just different from anybody else. You actually would have to live back during that era to understand it. Nobody else was playing that way, but him."

Everything I Play Is Funky (1970) signed by Lou, Dr. Lonnie Smith

Lou Donaldson has gone on to release more than fifty albums as a leader in his nearly seventy year professional and performing career, and he shows no signs of slowing if his recent Blue Note gig is any indication. After opening his set with "Blues Walk", he commented, "That's our theme song, it is available at your local record shop. Please go out and buy it, we need the money." He tore into a fast and frenetic version of Charlie Parker's "Wee" followed by Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World", a drawn out, heart wrenching ballad. "An homage to the greatest musician who ever lived, and if you don't know who that is, I'm not telling," Lou added with a chuckle. By way of introduction to his next selection, Lou said, "Now we're going to play the blues. Back in North Carolina, where I'm from, we call this 'sufferin' music. If you haven't suffered, you can't play this music.' Lou began "Whiskey Drinkin' Woman" with a filthy alto sax intro and then sang several humorous verses, extolling the habits of his paramour who put whiskey in her whiskey, even a dab behind her ear. The crowd roared along with Lou as each verse led to her increasingly outlandish behavior.

I Won’t Cry Anymore (1957 recordings, 1969 release) signed by Lou

Then the band played Lou's biggest hit, "Alligator Boogaloo", a swampy, greasy funk. In an interview, Lou explained the origin of the title. "I'm a golfer and had been playing down in Florida. One day, I hit my ball and it went in a ditch. I started to go in to get it, and my caddy stopped me and said, 'Don't do that.' Then he told me why. When I stuck my club down in the ditch with all the foliage, an alligator lifted up his head. I like the way the word "alligator' sounded with "boogaloo", which was a new hot dance then." It more than lived up to expectations as the band burned the boogaloo with a percolating boil.

Lush Life (1967) signed by Lou

Before the show, I visited with Lou in his dressing room with several of his band members. Lou was in great spirits and he was happy to look at the vinyl which I had brought. "Look at this great album, man, no one plays this anymore. Hey Eric, check this out," Lou said as he handed Funky Christmas to his guitarist, Eric Johnson. "This is before Luther (Vandross) or anyone on here was famous. This is a great album. Why don't they play my music?" Before I could answer, Lou answered for me, "I'll tell you why, they're motherf*#kers and they won't play my sh*t. They're just motherf*#kers, that's all." There was an equal mix of hurt and disappointment. I tried to console Lou, 'You know, the hip hop guys still listen to your music (Kanye West, Dr. Dre, Eminem, and A Tribe Called Quest are among the three hundred-plus who have sampled his discography!). I hope you're making some money off all the samples they've done.' "Yeah, I'm making a little bit there, but I still wish they played my records. It just ain't right," he shrugged. Shifting gears, I asked, 'What about all the pretty girls on your album covers. Any stories you want to tell me?' Lou smiled and laughed, "Nah, I don't know any of these girls. I had nothing to do with those covers. There was just one girl," he said wistfully, alluding to Maker, his wife and business partner for fifty-six years until her death in 2006. I thanked Lou for his kindness, and especially his music and left him with his band mates. It was a prelude to a great night of music.

Funky Christmas (1976) signed by Lou, Luther Vandross at the piano!

Lou once explained the success of his music: "Well, I started making a lot of groove records. The groove records depend on the groove. You don't have to worry about anything else really, but the groove. Because if you've got the right tempo, and everything is hitting where it's supposed to hit, you're in business. You can play variations on it, do anything on it, but if the groove is there, you're in business....There was no real mystery to those records. We made them the way we wanted to make them - which was to sell them!"

Down Home (1957 recordings, 1969 release) signed by Lou

"Sweet Poppa Lou" Donaldson, soulful, swinging bebop, steeped in the blues, profane and profound.

The groove is always with him.

The Scorpion: Live At The Cadillac Club (1970) signed by Lou

Sophisticated Lou (1972) signed by Lou

Choice Lou Donaldson cuts (per BKs request)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNR7822K_40 

"Blues Walk"   with Ray Barretto on congas   1958

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85Uv0pCvvSI

"Alligator Boogaloo"  Lou with Dr. Lonnie Smith  1967

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rs9mp8FyNg&list=PLF131281BA6CCB037

"Ode To Billie Joe"  Mr. Shing-A-Ling  Lou swings Bobbie Gentry  1967

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXnT-S8E87s

"Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud"  Lou swings James Brown  1969

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vVdfXxj8jg

"Midnight Creeper"   with George Benson, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Blue Mitchell  1968

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbKHl07pxl4

"Caracas"  Good Gracious!  1963

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZd3Ez69too

"I Want A Little Girl"   Alligator Boogaloo  1967

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

"Whiskey Drinkin' Woman"  Live with Dr. Lonnie Smith

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

"Alligator Boogaloo"  Live with Dr. Lonnie Smith

Bonus track:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YNkgS2gXQ8 

"Jumpin' The Blues"  Jay McShann with Charlie Parker 1944

"Yeah, that changed everything. Not me, everybody."  Lou Donaldson

Sweet Lou (1974) signed by Lou

Sweet Poppa Lou (1981) signed by Lou

Back Street (1982) signed by Lou

Lush Life (1967 recordings, 1986 reissue) signed by Lou

Gil Scott-Heron and Me...

My grandmother was dead serious. Her sense of humor was a secret. She started me playing the piano. There was a funeral parlor next door to our house, and they had this old piano that they used for wakes and funerals, and they were getting ready to take it to the junk yard. She wanted me to play hymns for the ladies’ sewing circle that met every Thursday, and she bought the piano for six dollars, and she paid a lady up the street five or ten cents a lesson to teach me to play four hymns, ‘What a Friend We Have in Jesus,’ ‘Rock of Ages,’ ‘The Old Rugged Cross,’ and I can’t think of the other one. I was eight years old, and I had started to listen to WDIA in Memphis, and they would play the blues. When I was practicing, I would have to mix them, because my grandmother was not big on the blues. When she was out in the yard, I can play what I want, but if she’s in the house I got to mix John Lee Hooker with ‘Rock of Ages.’

               Gil Scott-Heron

It’s really between me and the marketing people, because they have a history of being wrong about my music, they never anticipated any of my songs being hits. In America, the mentality is that if you have a hit like ‘B-Movie’ (off 1981’s Reflections) they expect you to do the same thing again, repeating the formula. But my style has been to explore the different aspects of black music, to continually explore and develop. When Leonardo da Vinci did the Mona Lisa, did he go right back and do the Mona Lucy, just ‘cause he had a hit?

               Gil Scott-Heron 1986

The Best Of Gil Scott-Heron (1984) signed by Gil, 7/87

He wasn't a great singer, but, with that voice, if he had whispered it would have been dynamic. It was a voice like you would have for Shakespeare.

               Ron Carter

Not only important; they’re necessary, because they are the roots of rap—taking a word and juxtaposing it into some sort of music. You can go into Ginsberg and the Beat poets and Dylan, but Gil Scott-Heron is the manifestation of the modern word. He and the Last Poets set the stage for everyone else. In what way necessary? Well, if you try to make pancakes, and you ain’t got the water or the milk or the eggs, you’re trying to do something you can’t. In combining music with the word, from the voice on down, you follow the template he laid out. His rapping is rhythmic, some of it’s songs, it’s punchy, and all those qualities are still used today.

               Chuck D of Public Enemy

Well, you have to accept that Gil does not operate on any clock known to man. He may turn up late, he may not turn up at all some days, but when he does, it tends to be incredible. He's a genuine artist in a way that most performers aren't anymore. He has no conception of time, no regard for money. He seems utterly free from the normal everyday burdens people carry. In that way, too, it was an extraordinary and unique experience.

               Richard Russell on producing Gil's last album I'm New Here (2010)

No Nukes Rally 9.23.79 Battery Park City (Next To World Trade Center)

I saw Gil Scott-Heron for the first time in a Battery Park City landfill at the tip of Manhattan in the shadows of the Twin Towers on September 23, 1979. The site had yet to be developed into the massive mixed-use of housing and business that it is today. The event was a "No Nukes" rally sponsored by MUSE - Musicians United for Safe Energy. I wasn't much of an activist then (probably less so now) but it sounded like a great party with music. A bunch of my college friends made a (brief) pledge of fealty to Mass PIRG and we took a yellow school bus under their sponsorship to the site from our Boston campus. We did some aggressive pre-game activities along the way, so we were well equipped and informed to (ostensibly) protest the risks of nuclear energy. The near disaster of Three Mile Island was fresh in our addled minds and The China Syndrome, a Hollywood thriller cum pastiche, starring Jane Fonda as an overly earnest reporter and Michael Douglas as her hip, bearded cameraman, had raised the awareness of nuclear risks in those quaint, pre-social media days. As Bonnie Raitt later explained, it was "as if we planned it that way." The scene was ripe and festive for the 200,000 revelers who attended. 

Twin Towers overlook No Nukes Rally 9.23.79 200,000 folks on the beach!

There was lots of politicizing and pontificating in the blazing, noon day sun. Jane Fonda reprised her role (which was still in theaters!) and she gave an impassioned homily on the menace of nuclear energy as did her then husband, noted anti-war activist Tom Hayden. Representative Bella Abzug, Ralph Nader and other doyennes of the liberal cognoscenti gave speech after speech after speech. I believe even one of the Berrigan brothers spoke to make sure there was a blur of church and state. After all, it is hard, but not impossible, to disagree when God is on your side! In between the political jawboning and invective, there was music. Sweet glorious 1970s music. Jackson Browne, Crosby, Stills & Nash, John Hall from Orleans, Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor, Jesse Colin Young and Gil Scott-Heron all performed short sets.

No Nukes Rally view from the stage - 200,000 of my closest friends and me…

There was a concert that night at Madison Square Garden (which was filmed and later released as an album and video) but I didn't have a ticket. Somehow, a miracle ticket appeared. Rather than slow down the momentum of our party, it accelerated. We skipped the school bus which was to return to Boston after the rally, and we made our way uptown to MSG. There were several stops for libations along the way and by the time I got to the venue, the luster of seeing the same performers had worn off. My friend Pam and I decided to sell our (highly sought after) tickets and use our ill gotten gains to continue on our ill advised ways. Thus began a descent from a long night's journey into day. We scalped the tickets, nicked a nice profit, and by daybreak, it was "Sunday Morning Comin' Down" but I was not Johnny Cash nor was Pam, Kris Kristofferson. We ended up hitch-hiking back to Boston, freezing in the early morning autumn chill, hoping, wishing, and waiting for a ride. The lights of a semi tractor trailer pulled over. It was not Big Joe and Phantom 309, but a driver who said he was going near Boston and he'd get us a close as he could, so we hopped in his cab. It worked. And the memories of those great musicians remain, especially Gil Scott-Heron.

Gil Scott-Heron was born in Chicago, spent ten years in Jackson, Tennessee with his grandmother and then moved as a twelve year old to the Bronx, New York City. He was smart, had a flair for writing and received a scholarship to the prestigious Fieldston School. After graduating, he attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, the alma mater of his hero, Langston Hughes. Gil dropped out in 1970 to write his first novel, The Vulture. As he said, "I was concentrating on the book when I should have been studying and studying when I should have been writing the book. I had to quit in order to find out if I could actually finish something." 

Midnight Band: The First Minute Of A New Day (1975)

Gil's first album in 1970, Small Talk at 125th and Lenox, had the first version of "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", perhaps his most famous and enduring song. A spoken word poem with biting political satire, stripped accompaniment of congas and drums, some musicologists think it is the birth of rap or hip hop. It is not altogether a call to arms. As Gil explained, " 'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised' – that was satire. People would try and argue that it was this militant message, but just how militant can you really be when you’re saying, 'The revolution will not make you look five pounds thinner’?' My songs were always about the tone of voice rather than the words. A good comic will deliver a line deadpan. They let the audience laugh.” And the humorous references to The Beverly Hillbillies, Bullwinkle, Coca Cola and Petticoat Junction, are a long way from the vitriol of N.W.A.!

From South Africa To South Carolina (1976)

Pieces Of A Man, Gil's major label debut in 1971, was produced by Bob Thiele, a jazz producer who had helmed sessions for Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Sonny Rollins and others. Thiele enlisted the great jazz bassist Ron Carter and the equally influential drummer, Bernard "Pretty" Purdie. Both artists are among the most prolific session musicians in music history with Carter appearing on over 1,100 recordings and Purdie, according to his website, "the world's most recorded drummer." It also marked the first time Gil recorded with his college friend, frequent music collaborator and co-composer Brian Jackson. The re-recorded version of "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" is more fully fleshed out with Hubert Laws adding a lilting flute to the heavy bottom supplied by the rhythm of Ron Carter and Pretty Purdie.

Between 1970 and 1982, Gil Scott-Heron produced thirteen albums. Clive Davis thought so highly that Gil was the first artist signed to Arista Records when Davis founded the label in 1975. Clive acknowledged Gil's vast talents in 2011: "I always felt tremendous regard for him. You see the success of a Jay-Z or a Kanye West, and I always felt that Gil was as charismatic as either of them. Seeing him in his prime, the ability to dominate a stage, Gil at his best was an all-timer." Unfortunately, the ravages of Gil's alcoholism and drug addiction were relentlessly punishing. In the ensuing twenty-nine years, Gil produced only two records, and his performances became erratic and frustrating. When he showed.

Real Eyes (1980)

Late in his career, Gil was called "The Godfather of Rap", a name which he disdained, "I don't know if I can take the blame for it." He preferred "Bluesologist....a scientist who is concerned with the origin of the blues" as he defined his work, and he was generally critical of hip hop: 

"They need to study music. I played in several bands before I began my career as a poet. There's a big difference between putting words over some music, and blending those same words into the music. There's not a lot of humor. They use a lot of slang and colloquialisms, and you don't really see inside the person. Instead, you get a lot of posturing."

Moving Target (1982)

Despite his protestations, Gil Scott-Heron's influence is undeniable and ubiquitous. Common, Drake, Dr. Dre, Grand Puba, Kanye West, Mos Def and so many artists have directly sampled his grooves. He said near the end of his life that he didn't listen to hip hop, "It's something that's aimed at the kids. I have kids, so I listen to it, but I would not say it's aimed at me. I listen to the jazz station."

I saw Gil again in 1987 at Blues Alley, a small jazz club in Washington, DC. It was a Sunday night and I went alone and sat at the bar. I was debating going upstairs to get a record signed but I decided to have a few drinks instead. I was chasing my own demons in those days. The bar area was quiet, just a few patrons and most of the tables were full near the stage. Just then, Gil sidled up next to me to order a drink: "Courvoisier and coke" he said to the bartender. "Hey Gil, I'll buy you a drink", I said hopefully. "Nah, that's alright. It's part of my deal." I grabbbed an album and asked him to sign it. "Okay" he said warily. "Hey could you sign it to Erin...." Gil quickly signed the album and handed it back to me. "Nah, you're gonna have to do that. You can write whatever you want. I'm busy." He turned, grabbed his drinks and walked away. I was disappointed but the show and his music was riveting. Sadly,I never saw him again.

Gil Scott-Heron, activist, author, composer, humorist, musician, poet, performer, satirist, singer, songwriter....a genre unto himself.

Perhaps, he was wrong The revolution seems to be televised…

Choice Gil Scott-Heron Cuts (per BK's request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dpxb4GWSYi8

"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised"  125th and Lenox

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvHFuJX2Ock

"Johannesburg"  Old Grey Whistle Test Live 1976

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01WRqq-ubsU

"We Almost Lost Detroit"  No Nukes Live 1979 MSG

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eV_astp3BjM

"I'm New Here"  Gil Sings Bill Callahan   2010

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

"The Bottle"   Live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1zWFvLCEI8

"Ain't No Such Thing As Superman"  Midnight Band

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Odf1WWhAF6I&index=12&list=RD01WRqq-ubsU

"Get Together"  Jesse Colin Young, Jackson Browne, CSN et al.....1979 Battery Park City

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Odf1WWhAF6I&index=12&list=RD01WRqq-ubsU

"Power" John Hall, Carly Simon, Graham Nash, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt  Battery Park City 1979

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYh9OdAAaCE

"Big Joe and Phantom 309"  Tom Waits  any way I can weave Waits into a story, I'm taking it...

Willy DeVille and Me…

DeVille knows the truth of a city street and the courage in a ghetto love song. And the harsh reality in his voice and phrasing is yesterday, today, and tomorrow - timeless in the same way that loneliness, no money, and troubles find each other and never quit for a minute. But fighters always have a shot of turning the corner, and if you holler loud enough, sometimes somebody hears you. And truth and love always separates the greats from the neverwases and the neverwillbes.

               Doc Pomus

I still remember listening to bands like the Drifters…It was like magic, there was drama and it would hypnotize me. Listening to the radio and the songs I would get, you know, like images of the story in my head, like reading a book and you imagine what’s going on. I would see the music like that too, in my head while listening…

               Willy DeVille

Cabretta (1977) signed by Willy

I still have the voice; it's better than ever, and I look great. I still have the clothes and the moves. For me, rock & roll has always been about the theatrical show as well as the music. They dig that in Europe. They dig mystique; they dig sincerity; they dig that the music, the words, are still about simple street poetry; they still dig soul music, too... It's simple. We offer simple songs about common and complicated experiences. That's what good rock & roll music does. It's real on that stage; it's a good show, the songs are, they make me proud. They come from the places I live and they scare even me sometimes.

               Willy DeVille - 2006

I've been an admirer of Willy's since hearing his stunning voice on the radio for the first time. He has an enormous range, with influences from all corners of the country, from Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker and New Orleans music to Latin, folk-rock, doo-wop, Ben E. King style soul and R&B – all part of the New York mix. The songs he writes are original, often romantic and always straight from the heart. He can paint a character in a few words. When we worked on his Miracle album I enjoyed the occasional opportunity to offer a chord or two to go with his great lyrics.

Mark Knopfler

Savoir Faire (1981) signed by Willy

Willy DeVille, the pride of Avenue A and the Lower East Side, is one of my favorite musicians. Born William Paul Borsey Jr. in Stamford, Connecticut, Willy dropped out of high school when he was 16 and started playing in local bands and hanging out on the Lower East Side and the West Village. In 1971, he traveled to London in search of a sound. He found none. When he returned to the United States two years later, Willy bought a van and drove to San Francisco, and the remnants of the psychedelic guitars and music he found there left him wanting. He finally found some like minded musicians in 1974 and formed Mink DeVille. Willy described the name's origin: "Well, we were sitting around talking of names, and some of them were really rude, and I was saying, guys we can’t do that. Then one of the guys said how about Mink DeVille? There can’t be anything cooler than a fur lined Cadillac, can there?"  

One day, while looking at a week old copy of the Village Voice in the City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, Willy saw an advertisement for a house band audition at a fledgling New York City club, CBGB. Willy jumped at the opportunity, "So I had convinced the guys that I could get them work, and we climbed in the van and drove back the other way. We got here and auditioned, along with hundreds of others, but they liked us and took us on. That was like '74-'75, and we played there for three years. You know, during that time we didn’t get paid more than $50 bucks a night." And the $50 was for the entire band! No wonder, when CBGB was closing in 2006 after its historic thirty three year run, Willy wanted no part in the celebrations. He felt no love for owner Hilly Kristal, three years of low wages had left a permanent singe in his psyche. And wallet! 

CBGB, in the Bowery in New York City, quickly became ground zero for the American New Wave/Punk Rock scene. Blondie, The Ramones, Talking Heads, Television and Patti Smith performed regularly at this groundbreaking club. The Bowery, in those days, was hardly gentrified. It was rough and tumble, and Willy and his burgeoning heroin addiction were most welcome. In truth, Willy had little in common with his CBGB counterparts. Willy was a classic romanticist and a powerful, emotive singer and songwriter. Willy wrote ballads which fused blues, Latin, soul, even French cabaret with classic rock and roll rhythms. His heroes were The Drifters, Darlene Love, The Ronettes, Tito Puente, and the songwriters of the Brill Building - Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Doc Pomus, and so many others. In fact, Willy collaborated with Doc Pomus (who wrote "A Teenager In Love", "Little Sister", "This Magic Moment" and "Save The Last Dance For Me") on several songs including the heartbreaking, barroom closing ballad "Just To Walk That Little Girl Home."  The opening stanza sets forth the forlorn yearning:

It's closing time in this nowhere café
There's no way in the world I'm gonna let that girl
Let her slip away
No I can't explain just what's happening to me
I can tell that guy who's sticking close by her side
Knows her more than just casually

I mean, Debbie Harry of Blondie was beautiful and sang some catchy songs, but she didn't have the chops to write with Doc Pomus! Not many did.

Where Angels Fear To Tread (1983) signed by Willy

Willy recorded his first album, Cabretta, in 1977 and he enlisted Jack Nitzschke to helm the production. Nitzschke was Phil Spector's right hand man and was responsible for the orchestration on Ike & Tina Turner's transcendent "River Deep, Mountain High", the choral arrangements on The Rolling Stones "You Can't Always Get What You Want", and the production on "A Man Needs A Maid" and "There's A World" off Neil Young's Harvest, to name a few credits in his illustrious career. Willy and Jack (Willy's "mentor and tormentor") would collaborate on two more albums, Return To Magenta (1978) and Coup de Grace (1981), and months before he died in 2000, Jack said that Willy DeVille was the best singer he ever worked with. High praise from a studio magician who also worked countless sessions with The Wrecking Crew, a Los Angeles based group of first call musicians like Hal Blaine, Leon Russell, Glen Campbell, Carol Kaye, and Steve Douglas. Cabretta featured the songs, "Venus Of Avenue D", "Spanish Stroll", a cover of The Crystal's "Little Boy" (rechristened "Little Girl") and "Mixed Up, Shook Up Girl", which Willy described directly: "It's about a woman I know who was a drug addict. She was mixed up and she was shook up. That's what it's about." Admittedly gritty subject matter, but Willy wrote what he lived. 

if Willy was mistakenly miscast as a New Wave artist, he was decidedly Old Wave in his songwriting. Inspired by the recordings of Edith Piaf and Jacques Brel, Willy went to Paris in 1979 to record his third album, Le Chat Bleu. For the rest of his career, Willy tried to recreate the magic he heard on the vinyl of Piaf and Brel. These songs were drenched in the pathos of cabaret and chanson, the sounds of accordions, flamenco guitar flourishes, and lavish string arrangements by Jean-Claude Petit and Charles Dumont, the writer of Piaf's signature, "Je Ne Regrette Rien." Capitol Records was none too pleased when Willy returned to New York with the master tapes. 

As Willy explained, "On Le Chat Blue we had all these great people involved, you know, and we thought we had something great. I came back to America, and my label at that time said, 'Well, we think we should put it on the shelf for a while.' This was right before Christmas for God's sake when you know people are going to be buying stuff, so I asked them what the problem was. They said they had never heard anything like it before and didn't know what to do with it. We had Charles Dumont, Elvis's goddamned rhythm section, and they say they've never heard anything like it. I was heartbroken and angry. Finally Maxime Schmidt from my distributor in France (EMI Paris) phones and he says, 'Willy what's going on?' So I told him. He said, 'Don't worry, we'll release it over here.' We did, and then it became a matter of not what are we going to do with Willy Deville, but who the hell let him get away. As an import it was racking up great sales here. Capitol finally went and released a copy of it..."

Le Chat Bleu (1980) signed by Willy, panther tattoo on Toots, Willy’s first wife

I saw Willy DeVille (he dropped the band name Mink DeVille after ten years because he was tired of people calling him Mink!) at Tramps, 51 West 21st Street, in New York City in 1998. Tramps was a good size venue with great sight lines and seats for 800-1,000. As an intro, Willy's band did an instrumental version of "Slow Drain" which sounded like some "funkafide filth" dragged from a muddy New Orleans bayou. A Hammond B3 added to the grease, and a bumpin' three piece horn section with congas helped syncopate the grooves. Awaiting his arrival, Willy's mic stand was entwined with a dozen or more red roses. In mid-song, Willy entered, smoking a cigarette to great applause. A cigarette would remain lit for the entire show, smoking bans be damned! Willy and his band went through his catalog, including an anthemic "This Must Be The Night", the salsa exuberance of "Demasiado Corazon" and "Spanish Stroll" (with shout outs to Tito Puente and Ray Barretto), a flamenco infected "Mixed Up, Shook Up Girl" and a mariachi horn fueled cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Hey Joe." It was a remarkable performance that highlighted Willy's range and depth.

Willy also performed "Storybook Love" - his Academy Award nominated song from The Princess Bride. He mentioned how difficult the session was with former Dire Strait Mark Knopfler who served as producer and guitarist. They got a memorable song but it was contentious. As Willy admitted, "Nothing good is going to be easy." In a later interview, Willy revealed, "I was half asleep when the phone rang. It was the Academy of Arts and Scienceswith the whole spiel. I hung up on them! They called back and Lisa (his wife) answered the phone. She came in to tell me that I was nominated for "Storybook Love." It's pretty wild. It's not the Grammys — it's the Academy Awards, which is different for a musician. Before I knew it, I was performing on the awards show with Little Richard. It was the year of Dirty Dancing, and they won."

After the show, I went in search of the Tramps' dressing room. I saw some security in the basement so I decided a frontal assault might not work. So I worked a flank approach which meant going through a labyrinthine maze through a back basement entrance which ultimately led to Willy's dressing room. It was nothing formal, no door to knock on, just a curtained off portion of the basement. Willy stood to greet me and he was very warm and welcoming. He was tall, at least 6' 3", rail thin, black hair swept back in his trademark pompadour, pencil-thin mustache with soul patch, and a ruffled shirt modestly unbuttoned. His eyes were clear. I told him how much I enjoyed his show, he thanked me, lit up a cigarette, grabbed a pen and started signing the vinyl. I asked him about New Orleans. He said, "I really enjoy living there, there's always lots of great music."  I told him how much I loved Victory Mixture, a CD he recorded in New Orleans with local legends Dr. John, Eddie Bo, and Allen Toussaint. "Maybe, I'll record another...." and his voice trailed off. I thanked him again for his great music and split with my loot.

Pistola (2008) signed by Willy

Sadly, Willy passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2009. I guess, his hard living, incessant smoking, and drug abuse caught up with him. But what an amazing discography he left. His songs are like three minute cinematic treasures, and his music holds up very well thirty-five years later unlike some of his CBGB brethren. No less a figure than the American Bard, Bob Dylan said In 2015 that Willy should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: "(DeVille) stood out, his voice and presentation ought to have gotten him in there by now."

I agree with Dylan. Here's hoping Willy DeVille gets the recognition he richly deserves. As Willy once said, "... I have to wonder about the music business. It's just like everybody wants to be a star, but doesn't really care what they put out as long as it makes money. Nobody wants to be the poet anymore, because there ain't any money in it."

Thanks for all the poetry, Willy, and the tunes!

Choice Willy DeVille Cuts (per BK's request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoP2R_yEPtg

"Amazing Grace"  Solo - Willy on slide, yes he was!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqUud79kPaE

"Just To Walk That Little Girl Home" Live 1980

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XIMx6ULepI

"Hey Joe"  Willy takes Jimi South of the Border

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDBfH3TOSug

"Demasiado Corazon" - Bring on the dancing girls!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uipDEjfLsg

"Mixed up Shook Up Girl"  Live at The Olympia - 1993

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

"Spanish Stroll"  Live at The Olympia - 1993

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYQ4B1nuj8Y

"Storybook Love"   Academy Award nominated for The Princess Bride with Mark Knopfler 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7cORmr8JZ8

"Harlem Nocturne > Slow Drain"  Live - 1981

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZj9hhwGxPI

"Stand By Me"  Live - Willy DeVille 1995

Carlos Barbosa-Lima and Me...

The guitar is like a second body, always next to me. I have always loved its intimacy. You hold it close to your body; there's always contact. I can feel it vibrate through my body when I play. I caress it and it responds. Well, usually... 

                    Carlos Barbosa-Lima

The young Brazilian artist, Carlos Barbosa-Lima, is gifted by the Goddess Of Music with warm sentiment for playing serious and beautiful compositions on his guitar. He learned quickly my technical advises and extends his right interpretations to classic and contemporary authors. I wish him the success he deserves.

                           Andres Segovia, Washington, D.C. 1969

A Scarlatti Guitar Recital (1970) signed by Carlos

I had approached a few companies, but some are very old fashioned, and it's difficult to do something new. But then I was in Washington D.C. and played with my good friend Charlie Byrd in his club, and it was very successful. Charlie heard some of my arrangements, things that were not yet published... then Charlie suggested that I should record for Concord, which is a very successful jazz label, because they had just started a classical branch. He introduced me to Carl Jefferson, the President, and he was very excited by what I was doing. Right away we made a nice agreement, and he actually asked me what I wanted to record. So I did the Jobim/Gershwin record, and it was so successful. As soon as it came out, it started being played on all kinds of radio stations, classical as well as jazz. You know, it's not a jazz record, I'm using jazz elements but I'm really elaborating on top of that. Although I'm very fond of jazz, what I'm doing is crossing those barriers.

                         Carlos Barbosa-Lima

Plays The Music Of Antonio Carlos Jobim & George Gershwin (1982) signed by Carlos

In the hands of Carlos Barbosa-Lima, the guitar becomes an orchestra. As if by enchantment, there burst forth all dimensions of musica - the bass, the medium register chords, the melody, the rhythm, the harmony, the counterpoint. Everything sounds right and clear. Everything falls in the right place, at the right level of importance. Gracefulness, daintiness, lightness, strength, thrust, power, independence, equilibrium. Everything is there, as if by wizardry, in the fingertips of this truly brujo of the guitar. And on top of all this, we are before an outstanding artist. At times, one hears as many as four lines, each with its own distinctive touch.

                           composer Antonio Carlos Jobim, liner notes, Carlos Barbosa-Lima Plays The Music Of Antonio Carlos Jobim & George Gershwin, 1983

Born in 1944 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Carlos Barbosa-Lima was a child prodigy guitarist who made his classical concert debut in Sao Paulo in November, 1957. To be sure, he was a precocious and talented child. Carlos remembered his humble beginnings: "But my start on the guitar was more or less accidental... my father wanted to take a few lessons, just to entertain himself in his spare time, and he got a teacher near our house. He didn't really make much progress for six or eight months. (I was about six years old at that time.) Now, during those months, I became very fascinated by the guitar, and from what my parents said, I was picking up the lessons by watching my father's lessons. Then my father spotted me one day actually playing, doing what he was supposed to learn and couldn't really manage. So anyway, he gave up, but he said to the teacher, we are continuing with him because he is very much interested. So that was my start..."

Plays The Entertainer And The Music Of Scott Joplin (1983) signed by Carlos

Another pivotal moment in Carlos' development happened by chance three years later when Carlos was nine: "Then I was in a music store with my father in Sao Paulo and the Brazilian guitarist Luiz Bonfa was there. The owner of the store asked me to play for Bonfa, who was interested in hearing me. I was nervous and did all sorts of wrong things, but Bonfa was impressed and predicted that I could succeed in the world of music eventually, and he recommended that I go right away to study with Isaias Savio, who eventually became my principal teacher. That was a very, very important turning point in my life, because not only did I get some much needed advice from Bonfa (like letting my nails grow a bit and certain technical things) but right away my father took me to study with Savio. Savio was a very encouraging person, because he asked me "Do you really want to be a professional guitarist? Because you can be!" And I said 'Yes, I want it very much.' I remember that moment very clearly." Carlos has released more than thirty albums in his storied career, examining the classical music of Bach, Ginastera and Scarlatti, as well as the popular music of Gershwin, Jobim and Joplin. It is always delivered with impeccable taste and his flawless skill.

Scarlatti From The Gifted Guitar Of Barbosa-Lima (1973) signed by Carlos

Erin and I saw Carlos recently at the Jazz Forum in Tarrytown, New York, a wonderfully intimate club helmed by Mark Morganelli and his lovely wife Ellen. It is a beautifully run club with fabulous acoustics, befitting Mark's extensive experience as an accomplished trumpeter and band leader in his own right. Indeed, we have seen many shows there and it is akin to seeing an incredible artist in your living room, replete with Mark's vinyl collection, pool table gracing the sitting room, and a wall of framed albums autographed by Jazz stars. It is truly a jazz club unlike any other! 

Carlos Barbosa-Lima at the Jazz Forum, Tarrytown NY 3.01.20

Carlos appeared on stage and performed solo for about thirty minutes, his repertoire included some classical pieces as well as some from the Jobim canon. Then Carlos was joined by his colleague Larry Del Casale on guitar and a percussionist. They were showcasing songs from their newest release Delicado. Jobim's "A Felicidade" and from Luiz Bonfa's masterwork Black Orpheus, "Samba de Orfeu" and "Manha de Carnaval." were exquisitely executed and the interplay between Carlos and Larry was compelling.

Carlos Barbosa-Lima, Jazz Forum, Tarrytown NY 3.01.20

After the show, Carlos received accolades from his many fans and headed to the bar to order a libation. Erin and I were waiting for him with some vinyl. He ordered a Heineken and sat with us at the bar and sifted through the album covers. He said that the Jobim & Gershwin album was very important to him, "That was my first record for Carl Jefferson, President of Concord Records. Fortunately, that album sold very well and I was able to record many more records for Concord. That was some really great music!" I mentioned that I knew he was very close with Charlie Byrd, whom Erin and I had seen many times when we lived in Washington, DC. "Yes, Charlie was a great friend. When I first came to the US in 1967, I used to see him at The Showboat, and of course, later at his club (Charlie's) in Georgetown. That was a great club and I played with him there several times. He also introduced me to Carl Jefferson who really helped my career." 

Guitar From Ipanema (1964) signed by Carlos

When I handed Carlos a couple of Laurindo Almeida records, he smiled warmly. "Yes, I was also very close with Laurindo. He had quite an eye for the ladies," Carlos confided. "Yes, he was very - how shall I say - gallant!" Yes, Laurindo surely was. The Guitar From Ipanema featured a comely, bikini-clad maiden photographed by George Jerman not on the fabled beaches of Ipanema, but at the less acclaimed Bahia Motor Hotel in Mission Beach, California. The visual effect was nonetheless stunning. Jerman was the staff photographer for Capitol Records, probably best known for his work with the Beach Boys, including the cover for Pet Sounds, shot at the San Diego Zoo. The 1964 Grammys nominated (in their infinite good taste) The Guitar From Ipanema for best album cover, however Barbra Streisand's People took home the prize.

Happy Cha Cha Cha (1959) signed by Carlos

The Segovia album prompted this observation from Carlos: "While his recordings from the 1920s and '30s are spectacular, I actually prefer his later recordings. They are more mature, well rounded and robust. They benefit immensely from his years of experience." What about your two years of study with him in Madrid? "Well, I did go to visit with him in Madrid, but not really a formal study, This was 1968 and I had already released many records. Segovia was a great man and we played together, mostly we talked about techniques and guitars (quel surprise!). He had some master craftsman who supplied him with these wonderful custom guitars."  

Segovia: Bach: Chaconne (1969) signed by Carlos

We thanked Maestro Carlos Barbosa-Lima for his generosity and his music. As he said so presciently in 1983, " Good music reaching people has its service. We are in a very interesting, very turbulent, noisy world now. The guitar is a magical vehicle - it can bring that joy, that positive human feeling. It can be a great instrument for hope." Certainly, Carlos and his music is an embodiment of joy and hope!

Carlos Barbosa-Lima, Jazz Forum Tarrytown NY 3.01.20

Choice Carlos Barbosa-Lima Cuts (per BKs request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk7OQf1BDTw

“Gymnopedie No. 1” Impressions (1991)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jv68mYWNQI

“Perfidia” Live 2013 Maestro Carlos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdUuEOfY5lw

“Batuque” Live 2012

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6aS9QTFs1g

“Delicado” Carlos with Larry Del Casale, Duduka Da Fonseca

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjLOsZ22keg

“La Bikina” Live 2012

The Maestro - Carlos Barbosa-Lima

Dr. Lonnie Smith and Me...

Playing with the Doctor is an improvisational experience in its truest sense, so you have to be ready at all times. The spontaneity is unbelievable. He's such an intuitive player. There's never an agenda with Lonnie. He's always looking to see what he can find on the bandstand. You have to be so in the moment, because with him things will go from solid to liquid and back to solid again. It's always evolving, so it's just thrilling to play with him, and terrifying at the same time.

               guitarist Peter Bernstein

Move Your Hand (1969) signed by Dr. Lonnie

It's like I'm hearing it for the first time, like how the audience hears it. Music is not something that you practice and you get up on the bandstand and run through on automatic pilot. That's not for me. I enjoy playing too much to memorize stuff. So it's never gonna be the same when I play. I can't do it if I wanted to.

               Dr. Lonnie Smith 

Alligator Boogaloo (1967) signed by Dr. Lonnie, Lou Donaldson

A lot of people who come and hear me, they don't realize where the music comes from. It doesn't come from notes on the paper or anything like that. What happens is, the music comes from my toe and travels all the way up like electricity. And that's why I'm surprised when I'm playing. That's because by playing by ear, I really let my body play what's in my heart, right there on the bandstand. I play life instead of notes. I play what I lived. You should always play how you feel. If you're hurt, play that. If you're sad, play that. That's what I tell my students.

               Dr. Lonnie Smith

Mr. Shing-A-Ling (1967) signed by Dr. Lonnie, Lou Donaldson

It's an extension of my being. It's a part of my lens. It breathes for me, it speaks for me. I feel every bit of the organ. It's like electricity, a fire that goes through my body. You can feel it vibrate, there's nothing like it. It lifts me up, it crawls through the pores of the room.

               Dr. Lonnie Smith

Say It Loud! (1969) signed by Dr. Lonnie, Lou Donaldson

The way they do things now is a little different than what I used to do at Blue Note years ago. We used to just go in and hit it. Three hours later, you’d be done with maybe a couple of albums. You just went on and played, there wasn’t all of this fixing up like Frankenstein.

Dr. Lonnie Smith

Hot Dog (1969) signed by Dr. Lonnie, Lou Donaldson

The key to any really good composition is the melody. If you have a great melody, you can do a lot of stuff with it from an improvisational standpoint. Lots of music today is all surface - there’s a beat and a sound, but there’s no substance to it. Beck’s music definitely has a vibe and a genre, but if you strip everything away, there’s always a strong melody and good harmony. That gave me a foundation to build the arrangements upon.

Doug Munro, producer/arranger/guitarist on Boogaloo To Beck

Boogaloo To Beck (2003) signed by Dr. Lonnie

I loved that sound, It has all the elements of the universe to me. It’s sunshine, rainbows, the rain, the wind, the storm, the flowers. When I’m at the organ, it’s like sitting in a spaceship and you don’t know where you’re going.

Dr. Lonnie Smith

Everything I Play Is Funky (1970) signed by Dr. Lonnie, Lou Donaldson

Born in 1942 in Buffalo, Dr. Lonnie Smith grew up with classical music, gospel, and jazz. Music was a commanding influence. His first instrument was his voice. As he recalled, "My parents sang, my mother, her mother, her sisters, her brothers, my cousins." In high school, Lonnie played several instruments, including trumpet, cornet and trombone, and he started a singing group with his brother in the late 1950s, The Teen Kings. A future saxophone star, Grover Washington Jr., played saxophone in his band and Lonnie remembered, "I used to go over to his house and his mom had an organ. But you know, I didn't know how to mess with it. just a little bit, you know just pickin' with the instrument. But anyway, my brother and I used to sing and they played."

The band with Grover Washington Jr. and his brother was fun, but Lonnie's thirst for music was not satiated by his singing, he hungered for more. He began stalking a music store: "I used to go there all the time, I stayed in there everyday until closing time. And Art Kubera owned the music store and he said, 'Can I ask you a question, son?' And I said, 'Yes, sir.' He said, 'Why do you come in everyday until closing time?' I looked him straight in the eye and said, 'Sir, if I had an instrument, I could work. If I could work, I could make a living.' And everyday I would go in there, and one day I went in and he closed the store up and he told me to come with him. And I went with him to his house in the back of the store, and there was an organ! And my eyes lit up, and he said, 'If you can get this out of here, it's yours!' I got it, and i haven't looked back since!"

Afro-Desia (1975) signed by Dr. Lonnie

Indeed, Dr. Lonnie Smith has never looked back. As a leader and featured sideman on more than seventy albums, Dr. Lonnie has gigged with notable jazz artists like David "Fathead" Newman, Lee Morgan, Ron Carter, Lou Donaldson, and George Benson. His first vinyl appearance was on George Benson's debut, It's Uptown, and George and Lonnie recorded several more albums together, including Lonnie's 1967 debut, Finger Lickin' Good. A hallmark of jazz organ trios, Dr. Lonnie has always been supported by jazz guitarists, legends like George Benson, Grant Green, Melvin Sparks, and newer players like Dave Stryker and Peter Bernstein.

State Of The Art (1985) signed by Dr. Lonnie, Jimmy McGriff

Dr. Lonnie is neither a doctor in medicine nor is he the recipient of an honorary degree. He became "Dr. Lonnie" as a result of his formidable skills 'doctoring music', a fitting sobriquet bestowed upon him by his fellow musicians. And these skills have been applied to a wide palette of songs and sounds, everything from Aretha Franklin to The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix to Thelonious Monk, and even, 1990s enfant terrible, Beck. Boogaloo To Beck, released in 2003, is a soul jazz tour de force of songs from the Beck canon; "Loser", "Devil's Haircut", and "Paper Tiger" never sounded so funky and greasy.

Purple Haze (1995) signed by Dr. Lonnie

I saw Dr. Lonnie Smith recently at the Jazz Standard in New York City. Dr. Lonnie was leading an octet, a four piece horn section with trumpet, trombone, baritone and tenor saxophone, conga, drums and guitarist extraordinaire Dave Stryker. They played an invigorating set, including "Too Damn Hot", a soul groover meant to melt the frigid New York City weather. It did. Dr. Lonnie introduced the next song, "I wrote a song, "I Think I Am In Love",  it ended up on a George Benson album. It was not on my record. They titled it 'Bright Eyes'...but, you know, that's how record companies are. Here's 'Bright Eyes', he said with a shrug and a smile. The last tune was "Mama Wailer" which started with conga, drums, and Dr. Lonnie playing bass on foot pedals laying down a filthy bottom. It was an hypnotic groove, especially when the guitar and horn section kicked in.

The George Benson Cookbook (1967) signed by Dr. Lonnie

After the show, I visited with Dr. Lonnie, a deeply soulful and peaceful man. He laughed when he saw, The George Benson Cookbook, "Look at (baritone saxophonist) Ronnie Cuber, he looks like he's trying to sell us some stoves. And we weren't buying." His eyes lit up when he signed his first recording with George Benson, It's Uptown, "That picture was taken in front of Minton's. We played some great shows there!"  Minton's Playhouse was a famed Harlem jazz boite, opened in 1938 on the first floor of the Cecil Hotel on West 118th Street. It was the site of many historic jam sessions with bebop innovators, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker and many others. I mentioned how much I loved his transformations of Beck's hip, slacker songs into soul jazz burners. "You know, I had never heard of him, but we had a lot of fun playing the music." In the liner notes, he explained the vibe in the studio during the recording, "This felt like an old Blue Note record, when we used to record a whole album in three hours. It's about looking for a feeling. You can make it technically, great, but is it just about that? I don't think so. This felt like family. Everybody was enjoying themselves, nobody was on an ego trip., nobody was uptight. It was a lot of fun, and I think it came out that way." I thanked Dr. Lonnie for his kindness and music, gathered up my vinyl and left.

It’s Uptown (1966) signed by Dr. Lonnie

Dr. Lonnie Smith, an innovative and creative wizard on the Hammond B3. Not many artists can cover Aretha, Jimi, Thelonious and Beck and remain true to their funky soul!

The Doctor is always in...

That’s What You Say! (2012) signed by Dr. Lonnie

Choice Dr. Lonnie Smith Cuts (per BK's request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyhoCBXa4kQ

"Paper Tiger"   Boogaloo To Beck  2003

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrRnZECLr1Y

"Ode To Billie Joe"   Mr. Shing-A-Ling  with Lou Donaldson

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

"Alligator Boogaloo"   Live with Lou Donaldson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocPIzuE5-rU

"Eleanor Rigby"  Turning Point  1969  Dr. Lonnie grooves The Beatles!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ8a6yNXV9g

"Voodoo Chile"  Purple Haze  1994  Dr. Lonnie grooves Jimi!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oca2-uumYyI

"Spinning Wheel"   Drives  1970  Dr. Lonnie swings Blood Sweat & Tears!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wib18QjR63o

"Where It's At"   Boogaloo To Beck  2003

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnTE8Lgjt18

"It's Changed"   Afro-Desia  1975  with George Benson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QOOe5GRbaw

"Bright Eyes"  aka "I Think I Am In Love"   George Benson  1976

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WkQXlVJ5cc

"Mama Wailer"   Mama Wailer  1971

Dr. Lonnie Smith Big Band, Live at the Jazz Standard 2013