Frank Morgan, San Quentin and Me...

I was a superstar in prison. All the fear of going to prison was taken out of the whole thing, because it became a really comfortable haven. It's taken me a long time to get out of the comfortable situation of the prison and really face up to life. If, after my first solo at the Village Vanguard after I came out, they hadn't applauded me so loudly, if someone had said "Boo", I'd have run back to San Quentin.

               Frank Morgan

BeBop Lives! (1986) signed by Frank, Cedar Walton, Buster Williams

I met Bird after the show and told him I wanted to learn how to play one of those things. I didn't even know it was called an alto at that time. I remember I was mad at Bird for a while for insisting that I should begin on clarinet and then go to saxophone. It was good advice and the next day my father got me started on clarinet. Bird was a beautiful person and it's the memories of him and his music that have sustained me throughout my life. He is certainly the prime factor in my love for the music I play.

               Frank Morgan on his idol Charlie Parker

Yardbird Reflections (1989) signed by Frank, Mulgrew Miller, Ron Carter, Al Foster

What comes out of his horn is soulful, full of fire and timeless.

               Wynton Marsalis describing Frank Morgan

Reflections (1991) signed by Frank, Joe Henderson,Ron Carter, Mulgrew Miller, Al Foster

We were inclined to accept a little erratic behavior, given his status. When he played the horn, you forgot about those things.

               bassist Ron Carter on Frank Morgan

Major Changes (1987) signed by Frank, McCoy Tyner, Avery Sharpe, Louis Hayes

 Born in Minneapolis, Frank Morgan moved to Los Angeles as a teenager to live with his dad, Stanley Morgan, a guitarist with The Ink Spots, a popular band in the 1940s and 1950s. Frank was an exceptionally gifted saxophonist and his idol was Charlie Parker. They met when Frank was only seven years old and Charlie remained a big influence in Frank's life, both good and bad. While living in Los Angeles, Frank was exposed to other important jazz players like Dexter Gordon, Wardell Gray and Charles Mingus. When he was only fifteen, Frank was asked to replace the great Johnny Hodges in the Duke Ellington Orchestra. His father deemed him too young to be on the road, so Frank joined the house band at the fabled Club Alabam on Central Avenue in Los Angeles, where he backed Billie Holiday, Josephine Baker, and many others.

Frank started his recording career in 1953, but soon was arrested for drugs. So began a lifetime of addiction and incarceration, and Frank was in and out of prison for the next thirty years. When Frank finally emerged from his last prison stint in 1985, he was fifty-three years old. Broke but not broken, he began to record and tour prolifically to make up for the thirty year gap between the release of his first and second records. I saw him several times, and he had such a beautiful tone and was lightning fast in the hard bop tradition.

Double Image (1986) signed by Frank, George Cables “Duet To it!”

 One night while he was signing some records we talked about his career. I asked Frank, what's the best band you ever played with? "That's easy, San Quentin. We had Art Pepper (on alto), Hampton Hawes (on piano), Leroy Vinnegar (on bass) and Frank Butler on drums. We used to play every Friday night (for fellow inmates). We would color our white stripes with charcoal to make them look like tuxedos. There's a film of us somewhere in the National Archives." Who were some of the other great players you played with? " Bunch of guys in San Quentin. You wouldn't know their names, no one's ever heard of them. They did some bad things and they're never getting out, but they practice and play ten to twelve hours a day and they are incredible."

Frank's eyes were cloudy and worn, from the road and prison life. I asked him how long he'd been clean and sober, as I told him that I had had some troubles. Frank said he was on methadone since getting out of prison. "It's harder to kick than heroin" he said with resignation, but he was happy to be playing and recording. And free.

Frank Morgan was as kind and generous as a man could be, and prodigiously talented in spite of his demons.

Mood Indigo (1989) signed by Frank, George Cables, Al Foster, Buster Williams

Easy Living (1985) signed by Frank

Lament (1986) signed by Frank, Buster Williams

Choice Frank Morgan Cuts (per BKs request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr1tMYyfwPU

“The Nearness Of You” Gene Norman Presents Frank Morgan 1955

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seRa6N_Xm84

“All The Things You Are” with McCoy Tyner, Los Angeles 1986

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHCq-Moml7U

“Emily” Major Changes 1987

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7fE5Mujsq4

“Georgia On my Mind” City Nights 2004

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsAybzECd3k&list=PLccpwGk_xup8HNgK0yvKAv3qgJk6yQwFx

“Walkin’ “ Reflections 1989

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG2P1zBylfo

“Easy Living” Easy Living 1986

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoOBp3o9g-U&list=PLUcYmqxjRiQUKCqIq-2fEckUR24-65M-l

“Lullaby” Mood Indigo 1989

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdAqWxP4iic&list=PLUcYmqxjRiQUKCqIq-2fEckUR24-65M-l&index=5

“Blue Monk” Bop! 1996

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZR7pHnIq3g

“All Blues” City Nights 2004

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvHoUuDRzT8

“Until It’s Time For You To Go” Lament 1986

Mood Indigo (1989) signed by Frank, George Cables, Al Foster, Buster Williams

Solomon Burke and Erin...

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

               Solomon Burke

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

               Solomon Burke on Elvis Presley

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

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

From The Heart (1981) signed by Solomon Burke

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

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

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

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

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

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

               Solomon Burke

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

King Solomon testfyin’ BB Kings, March 4, 2005

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

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

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

Here's what she told me:

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

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

Amen. Long live the reign of King Solomon!

King Solomon and friends, BB Kings March 4, 2005

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

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

"Cry To Me"   Live 2002

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

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

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

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

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

"Diamond In Your Mind"  Solomon sings Tom Waits   2002

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

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

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

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

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

"Everybody Needs Someone To Love"  Live 1987

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

"Down In The Valley"  Live  2005

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

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

Jerry Jeff Walker, Bojangles and Me...

This guy, Bojangles, he was a street dancer in New Orleans, and what he'd do, he'd go from bar to bar and... he'd put money in the juke box, or get somebody else to... And then he'd either dance or pantomime the tune. And for that, people would buy him drinks and get him pretty drunk, and then he'd go on to the next bar, and the next one, until it was closing time... After a few nights of this, he'd end up on the corner, and the cops would pick him up and then take him to the drunk tank -- which is where Jerry Jeff met him.
Jerry Jeff wasn't there on a research project -- I mean, the way I got that story, I may have that wrong, but the way I got that is that he propositioned the right woman at the right time in the wrong place -- and her husband, the bartender... called the cops, and they took Jerry to the Parish jail. And he and this guy just talked for three days in the cell...

               David Bromberg on the origin of Jerry Jeff Walker's "Mr. Bojangles"

Jerry Jeff Walker (1972) signed by Jerry Jeff, David Bromberg

Well, we play country music. We're just not sure what country it is.

                Jerry Jeff Walker

Jerry Jeff Walker (1972) back cover signed by David Bromberg “David &Me”

Walker’s Collectibles (1974) signed by a bleary Jerry Jeff

Born Ronald Clyde Crosby in Oneonta, NY, Jerry Jeff Walker joined the National Guard after high school, went busking around the Southwest in the early 1960s, before settling in New York's thriving folk music scene in Greenwich Village in the mid 60s. Shortly thereafter, Jerry Jeff wrote "Mr. Bojangles" ,a song which has been covered by everyone from Sammy Davis Jr. to Bob Dylan, Cornell Dupree to Nina Simone. "Mr. Bojangles" is not based on the influential vaudeville hoofer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson who starred in "Stormy Weather" and movies with Shirley Temple in the 1940s. According to Jerry Jeff, it was a composite sketch of drifters he had met along his itinerant ways. And the fellow Jerry Jeff met in that New Orleans jail in 1965 was white, as the New Orleans jails were still segregated. Jerry Jeff relocated to Austin, Texas in the early 1970s and released several brilliant country rock albums with stellar musicians including David Bromberg, Gary P. Nunn, and Lloyd Maines (father of lead Dixie Chick Natalie Maines).

I saw Jerry Jeff many times over the years, and he was a great performer.… when he showed up. One night, Jerry Jeff was (not) playing the Worcester (Massachusetts ) Auditorium in the late 1970s. Jonathan Edwards opened and played a set which closed with his 70s stoner staple, "Shanty", replete with the sing along chorus "Gonna sit around the shanty, mama, and put a good buzz on." Jerry Jeff 's band, The Lost Gonzos, came out and played for about 45 minutes. No Jerry Jeff. The announcer said that Jerry Jeff's bus was delayed and he wouldn't be appearing. So Jonathan Edwards sat in with the band for the rest of the show. The encore was "Shanty." No one needs to hear that song in the same concert twice. Ever. So Jerry Jeff's whole band got there safely, but not Jerry Jeff? They took different buses? I think Jerry Jeff hung around the shanty and put too good a buzz on, probably not the first nor only time!

Many years later in November 1994, I saw Jerry Jeff play a Thanksgiving concert in Luckenbach, Texas, a town with a population of four, made famous by a stunning Jerry Jeff album recorded there in 1973, Viva Terlingua, and a Willie Nelson/Waylon Jennings song released in 1977,  "Luckenbach, Texas (Back To The Basics Of Love)". The town consists of a dance hall, a defunct post office (now a general store), a parking lot. and some great and glorious music.

Viva Terlingua! (1973) signed by Jerry Jeff, “$1 per person”

In Luckenbach, I ran into Jerry Jeff in the General Store and he signed a bunch of albums.  Jerry Jeff laughed when he saw his first album, Mr. Bojangles (1968). On the back cover, there was a picture of his long time friend and accompanist, David Bromberg with special thanks noted for David's "photogenicism." It was as unflattering a photo of Bromberg as you could imagine. I showed Jerry Jeff  the album cover of It’s A Good Night For Singin’  in which Jerry Jeff leads a boisterous crowd in song in a late night cantina. I recognized Guy Clark and Waylon Jennings in the crowd. Who are some of the others? Jerry Jeff said, "That's Jim Stafford with his back to us. That's Charlie Louvin (of the fabled Louvin Brothers). That's Susan (his wife)." What about this guy? as I pointed to a Weird Al Yankovic lookalike. Is that who I think it is? Jerry laughed, "Yes, let's just not say for sure who that is." I understood perfectly. Why mar a great photo with terrific musicians with the taint of Weird Al Yankovic?

It’s A Good Night For Singin ‘ (1976) signed by Jerry Jeff

The show in Luckenbach was revelatory. Jerry Jeff had a talented band and he played songs from his extensive catalog. It was rowdy, raucous and everything you would expect in a Texas roadhouse. There was a lot of drinkin', dancin' and carryin' on but there was a deep reverence for Jerry Jeff and his music. I was amazed to see a group of young college students who knew all his song lyrics. Many of these songs had been written before they were born, and much of Jerry Jeff's discography had been out of print due to a protracted squabble with MCA, his litigious record label. It just proves that all good music finds a way into your soul, regardless of age.

There was something so pure and perfect about seeing Jerry Jeff Walker in Luckenbach, Texas. I imagine it was akin to seeing Duke Ellington at the Cotton Club in the 1920s, Miles Davis at the Village Vanguard in the 1950s, or the Grateful Dead at the Fillmore in the late 1960s.

Jerry Jeff embodies the American dream. If Ronald Crosby from upstate New York can reinvent himself into an Austin cosmic cowboy and country rock legend, and write one of the most beloved and recorded songs in the Great American Songbook, then possibilities are endless...

Ridin’ High (1975) signed by Jerry Jeff

Jerry Jeff, Erin And Me… Luckenbach, Texas November 1995

Mom and Dad celebrate with Jerry Jeff In Luckenbach

Nolan Ryan (He’s A Hero To Us All) (1990 45”) signed by Jerry Jeff

Tennessee Inaugural Ball 1993 back signed by Jerry Jeff, Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris

Ramsey Lewis, Warren Scott and Me...

An Hour With (stereo-1959) signed by Ramsey

Everything comes from one thing, everything comes from the Spirit. Jazz would not exist had it not been for gospel music, the blues would not exist had it not been for spiritual blues, which goes back to slave songs our fore fathers were singing while they were out in the field. So it’s all one continuous growth from one group of people. Of course jazz now is played by various cultures and colors around the world. But the stimulus is One Voice.
               Ramsey Lewis

Stretching Out (1960) signed by Ramsey

Country Meets The Blues (1962) signed by Ramsey

Bossa Nova (1963) signed by Ramsey

From the very beginning we have striven for a true group sound, a true group image in which each participant's role is of equal importance instead of two of the members serving primarily as accompanists. Among the jazz groups that I feel have most nearly accomplished this sound are, The Modern Jazz Quartet, The Bill Evans Trio, and the original Miles Davis Quintet ( with Coltrane, Garland, and Philly Joe).

              Ramsey Lewis

At The Bohemian Caverns (1964) signed by Ramsey

Ramsey Lewis is an acclaimed jazz pianist who has released more than eighty albums in his sixty year career. He has seven gold records, three Grammys and sold millions of records. "The In Crowd", a hit in 1965, almost didn't happen. As a follow up to The Ramsey Lewis Trio At The Bohemian Caverns which had been released the previous year with great success, the band was looking for a soul song, a groover to spice up their material. They were discussing their needs at breakfast at a diner the day of the Bohemian Caverns show, and as Ramsey recalled, “Nettie Gray, our waitress, said, ‘Well, what about “The In Crowd,” by Dobie Gray?’ (drummer) Redd (Holt) and (bassist) Eldee (Young) said: ‘Oh, yeah, that’s a good one! I know that!’ I did not. So they put it on the jukebox, and I liked it." As they were finishing their first set that night, they were about to play a blues theme when Redd Holt said, "Hey man, let's play 'The In Crowd' Jack, hook it up!" Ramsey explained, “We never actually got to the theme that night. They wouldn’t let us off the bandstand, ‘The In Crowd’ had gone over so big. They were clapping, hooting and hollering and cheering.” And you can hear the exuberance captured on the record when it was released six months later in May,1965. It became Ramsey's first million seller and catapulted the trio into the top 5 of the Billboard charts. They were not overnight sensations though, The Ramsey Lewis Trio had toiled for nearly a decade and they had already released eighteen records. The serendipitous meeting of a waitress and a jazz man.....

The In Crowd (1965) signed by Ramsey

It was never a millstone. It doesn’t sound anything like the record anymore when we play it. But yes, it reminds me of the good times—when I was able to pay my bills on time.

Ramsey Lewis 2015 interview

I saw Ramsey perform a solo recital recently at Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island. My brother's old college friend, Warren Scott, was the promoter and I attended the show as his guest. Warren has led a colorful life as a rock and roll impresario and he earned his stripes as the chief booker at The Channel for eleven years, arguably Boston's most important rock club during that time. So many great artists played this seventeen-hundred seat club like James Brown, The B-52s, Big Audio Dynamite, The Cars, The Jam, Roy Orbison, etc. and Warren's taste and style made it all happen. And the stories, there are so many that Warren's stories have stories.

We met before the show and it was great to see an old friend. I couldn't remember the last time we saw each other, probably a Steel Pulse or Big Audio Dynamite show from the hazy Channel daze. We laughed about those times, happy that we both survived, faculties dimmed but relatively intact. Warren graciously took me back to Ramsey's dressing room for an introduction. This was the easiest transition ever, no guile or subterfuge to outwit a security guard, a simple knock on the door and direct access. Just me, Ramsey. his lovely wife Jan, Ramsey's tour manager, and a security guard. And my stack of records.

I expressed my condolences to Ramsey on the loss of his friend, producer and one time drummer, Maurice White (founder of Earth, Wind & Fire). "Thank you," he said quietly, "It is a huge loss."  Later from the stage, Ramsey was more expansive as he dedicated "Sun Goddess" to his friend. "Maurice was a very talented drummer. In those days, each studio, like Capitol, Columbia or Chess, where I recorded, had a house band. If you needed a drummer or bassist or horn section, you could use them. Maurice became very in demand as a drummer and he was so versatile. He could play straight ahead jazz with Gene Ammons or Sonny Stitt, or he could play rock and roll or rhythm and blues. He was so soft spoken and so talented. After Redd (Holt) left, I needed a drummer. I asked Maurice, he said yes and we stayed together for three or four years (they recorded nine albums together including "Wade In The Water", a gospel hymn that was another million seller!). After awhile, Maurice came to me and said softly, 'I want to go to Los Angeles and start a band. This band will be like no other. We will have uniforms, a horn section and dance routines, and we will play jazz, soul, rock and roll, and pop tunes.' I looked at him and said, well Maurice I think you need to take a couple aspirin. Of course, he was right, the band - Earth, Wind & Fire - was fantastic and very successful, and he ended up producing a couple of my records."

In the dressing room before the show, I asked Ramsey about his recent European tour. "It was very successful and all the shows were sold out. I had my quartet: Henry Johnson on guitar, Joshua Ramos on bass, and Charles Heath on drums." Is Charles related to the Heath Brothers? I asked. "Yes, he's a cousin. How do you know them?" he said warily. Oh, I've seen Jimmy, Percy, and Tootie many times, I replied. It was time to play "name drop jazz artists", a skill I have mastered. I asked Ramsey about his influences, "Oscar Peterson and The Modern Jazz Quartet, came his quick retort. John Lewis (the MJQ pianist)? "Not just him" he added, "The entire band, Milt (Jackson), Percy (Heath) and Connie (Kay), all great musicians." I mentioned how much I loved Dr. Billy Taylor and how underrated I think he is as a pianist. Ramsey grew animated, "Yes he is really underrated. He is in my top five for sure." Who else is in your top 5  besides Oscar, John Lewis, and Billy Taylor? Ramsey grew reflective, "Well there are so many great pianists, Red Garland, Ahmad Jamal.... I really don't like these lists. I think each pianist should bring something new and contribute to the next one. That's how it should work and that's what interests me." Hank Jones, McCoy Tyner? I prodded. "Well, now you're talking about the heavyweights,” Ramsey affirmed. What about newer pianists? Brad Mehldau? "Yes, I listen to Brad. He is in my iPod." Me too, Ramsey, and in my never ending campaign to extoll the joy and wonder of Dwike Mitchell and Willie Ruff, I asked Ramsey about Dwike Mitchell? "Mitchell Ruff Duo? “Yes, of course I love those guys."

Pleasantries concluded, it was time to get some signatures. As Ramsey signed the albums he was blown away by the pristine condition. "It looks like you just walked into a record store yesterday and bought them" as he held a fifty year old copy of his biggest hit. The In Crowd. I'm a collector, I explained, and I have a very discerning eye. As he signed Mother Nature's Son, a collection of Beatles covers, I mentioned that it was sampled by many artists. How do you feel when A Tribe Called Quest or others sample your work? "I feel it is a huge compliment." And do you get paid? "Yes, Sound Exchange processes all that and sends me a check. It works fine, and they're some nice sized checks, too", he said with a big smile.

Mother Nature’s Son (1968) signed by Ramsey

Now it was time for the show. The concert was sold out, so Warren set me up on a stool just off stage in the wings. Ramsey opened with Leonard Bernstein's "Somewhere" from West Side Story, then "Satin Doll." As Ramsey said, "Anyone who is serious about jazz must play or attempt 'Satin Doll', Duke Ellington's master work." He played the beautiful ballad "When I Fall In Love", and he admitted, "I am a classic romanticist at heart."  "Sun Goddess" was prefaced by his warm remarks about his recently departed friend, Maurice White, then he launched into a rollicking romp of Stevie Wonder's "Living For The City."  "The In Crowd" led to a medley with snippets of "Wade In The Water" and "Hang On Sloopy" thrown in. He also played "Dear Lord", a beautiful gospel hymn by John Coltrane, with exquisite touch and gentleness, unlike the "sheets of sound" and frenetic fury usually associated with Trane's experimental work. As he walked on stage for his second encore, someone from the crowd shouted "The Party's Over." He smiled wryly, then played several bars of the classic jaunty vamp, and then settled into a bluesy, soulful version of "Willow Weep For Me." It was a masterful performance by a master jazz pianist.

After the show, Warren and I walked back with Ramsey to his dressing room. I thanked him for his kindness and generosity, especially his moving performance of Coltrane's "Dear Lord." I thought it was very uncharacteristic of Coltrane's work. "Yes, it is surprising, but if you listen to his later work, he quieted down." Like Ascension? "Yes exactly, and Meditations." I told him I was looking forward to seeing him in April in Purchase, New York in the coming months. "Thank you very much. I will look for you," he said. He may come to regret those remarks. Another stack of records awaits....

Ramsey Lewis, Live At Bryant College, February 18, 2016

Bach To The Blues (1964) signed by Ramsey

Goin’ Latin (1967) signed by Ramsey

More Sounds Of Christmas (1964) signed by Ramsey

Choice Ramsey Lewis Cuts (per BK's request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsFST-7Hx-Y

"The In Crowd" - Live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIX8qQ8TZ8E

"Wade In The Water"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIX8qQ8TZ8E

"Dear Lord" - Live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfVYSruxFG0&list=PLvy11NbZJ_kHBaQ1KuzQcx1bxm-ughYEd&index=2

"Sun Goddess" Live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55X-Qm1MF9c&index=11&list=PLvy11NbZJ_kHBaQ1KuzQcx1bxm-ughYEd

"Living For The City"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNnqRcG7P4c

"Hang On Sloopy" - Live

Lou Reed and Me...

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

               Lou Reed

Transformer (1972) signed by Lou Reed

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

               Lou Reed

The Velvet Underground (1967) signed by Lou Reed

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

Berlin (1973) signed by Lou Reed

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

Rock n Roll Animal (1974) signed by Lou Reed

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

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

New York (1989) signed by Lou Reed

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

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

Hope our paths cross soon.

New Sensations (1984) signed by Lou Reed

Choice Lou Reed Cuts (per BKs request)

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

“Sweet Jane” Rock N Roll Animal 1974

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

“Walk On The Wild Side” Transformer 1972

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

“Coney Island Baby” Coney Island Baby 1975

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

“Berlin” Berlin 1973

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

“Pale Blue Eyes” live 1998

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

“Perfect Day” live at The BBC 2003

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

“September Song” Lost In The Stars 1985

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

“Heroin” Rock N Roll Animal 1974

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

“Dirty Blvd.” New York 1989

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

“Waiting For The Man” live with David Bowie 1997

Mitchell-Ruff and Me...

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

Dwike Mitchell

After This Message (1966) signed by Mitchell Ruff

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

A Call To Assembly (1991) by Willie Ruff

Appearing Nightly (1957) signed by Mitchell Ruff

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

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

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

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

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

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

Brazilian Trip (1966) signed by Mitchell Ruff

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

Plus Strings And Brass (1958) signed by Mitchell Ruff

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

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

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

The Catbird Seat (1961) signed by Mitchell Ruff

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

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

They definitely enrich mine.

Dizzy Gillespie Live (1981) signed by Mitchell Ruff

Jazz Freedom Concert (1987) signed by Kurt Vonnegut

Jazz Freedom Concert (1987) program insert

choice Mitchell-Ruff Cuts (per BK)

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

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

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

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

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

"Sem Mais Chorar"   Brazilian Trip  1966

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

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

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

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

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

Stephane Grappelli, Pink Floyd and Me...

After playing classical music, I decided to play jazz when I was fifteen years old... In my youth, I heard this novelty music and liked it. I thought: instead of being a second-rate classical musician, I preferred to try and be a first-rate jazz musician. And as my instrument was a little difficult to play jazz on, I didn’t expect a lot of competition. But really, you can play jazz with any instrument. I was a violinist; so I played jazz music on a violin. Things were not easy for me at the beginning in Paris, because at the time only the saxophone had the privilege to play jazz—or piano, drums, banjo, trumpet, trombone—but no violinist. But we had a chance when the guitar started. 

               Stephane Grappelli

Jazz technique is absolutely unlike classical playing, because jazz is an improvisation all the time. To be a jazzman, you need to be a good musician: To improvise, it means you must not only like music, you must produce some of your own. Ordinary musicians who work, say, in the opera, they play very well, of course, but everything is written down. There are, naturally, very bad jazz musicians, but the good ones are those who can improvise. It is their own work on a theme of somebody else. 

               Stephane Grappelli

Paris Encounter (1972) signed by Stephane, Gary Burton

I was amazed and full of admiration for this way of playing the violin, which I had never heard before. It is both an improvisatory technique and a remarkable violinistic technique as well. It is something that happens spontaneously, as it were; yet he has a sureness of touch so that he never seems to be off the rails. He is like a wonderful juggler who throws plates and pots into the air and miraculously catches them again.”

Yehudi Menuhin on Stephane, 1972 interview

Unlike Django, I like a classical life. I like everything classical. I don't like that abstract business. I like Louis Quatorze, the music of Couperin and Rameau, but I always come back to jazz music. Not so much to the great jazz violinists, but rather to pianist Art Tatum. For me, my god is Art Tatum. Tatum's melodic line is influenced by Ravel and Debussy, you know, and by orchestral work. Art Tatum is an orchestra. I've played with Count Basie, Joe Turner, John Lewis, Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson, Erroll Garner, Fats Waller … but, alas, never Art Tatum. My greatest ambition is to be the Art Tatum of the violin. That's why I want to keep good health and try to go on."

Stephane Grappelli, Rolling Stone 1977

One of the most unusual tracks that jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli played on in his seventy year career was not released until 2011, nearly fourteen years after his death. It was an unlikely collaboration in a career full of them. In 1975, Stephane was at Abbey Road studios recording with master classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin, and next door, Pink Floyd was working on their masterpiece, Wish You Were Here. Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason remembered the circumstances, "We were recording in Studio Three and Yehudi and Stephane were recording in Two. They were invited in to hear what we were working on." Both violinists were asked to join, but Menuhin declined. "He was not comfortable improvising, he was nervous," Mason recalled. Not so for Stephane, "It was meat and drink for him." Incredibly, this alternate version of the title track “Wish You Were Here", lay undiscovered in studio vaults for the next thirty-six years, until Pink Floyd remastered the album and found the buried and missing track. Mason recounted, "My understanding was that we'd had to record over it in order to put on other sections. It still astonishes me that we didn't use it originally, didn't realize what a wonderful thing it was." Thank goodness for studio archives and vaults, for at long last, this recording saw the light of day in 2011 and introduced Grappelli (albeit posthumously) to the rabid ears of the voracious Pink Floyd fan base.

Stephane Grappelli is probably best known and revered for his recordings with the Gypsy guitar genius Django Reinhardt in Paris during the 1930s and 1940s. Django's fingers on his fret hand were badly burned (and subsequently paralyzed) in a caravan fire when he was seventeen, and he had to relearn the guitar with the use of only two fingers and a thumb. Stephane remembered their humble beginnings in a 1970 interview: "We originally formed the quintet with Django Reinhardt when we were very young but again, we did not have the opportunity to continue then, because nobody believed in that music. Much later on, we were able to present our music, as the Hot Club Of France Quintet, when the people realized we could play jazz on the guitar and the violin—not only the saxophone, clarinet and so on. Django was exactly like me. And he not only improvised with melody, he tried and he succeeded in reproducing on a guitar the effect of a large orchestra. Yes, he was the first. I think everybody playing the guitar today, all those rock groups with the three guitars, were inspired by Django Reinhardt. Because we were the first to start a group with three guitars—at a time when there was no electricity behind us. We had to play without electric noise, which, in my opinion, is a bit more difficult."

Although Django was well known for his fluid runs on guitar and his stately compositions despite being functionally illiterate, he was quite a character off stage, befitting his nomadic and rather undisciplined lifestyle. Stephane recalled his frustrations, "Django made me very angry. Django would not be there, we could not find him anywhere. He drank every day, he came (to performances) with no guitar. I gave Django my money. I hated him many times. Ooh ... but when he played, I loved Django! Everyone loved Django." And Django's influence, far and wide, outdistanced his short life (he died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1953, aged forty-three). From Jimmy Page to Jeff Beck to Black Sabbath's Tommy Iommi (who suffered the loss of two fingers in a boyhood accident), to the Allman Brothers Dickey Betts who wrote "Jessica" in tribute, to the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia, also missing part of a finger, Django Reinhardt is a towering influence. No less a guitar god than Jimi Hendrix pledged fealty when he named his last band, Band Of Gypsys in homage to Django. Perhaps, Jerry Garcia summed it up best in 1985: "His technique is awesome! Even today, nobody has really come to the state that he was playing at. As good as players are, they haven’t gotten to where he is. There's a lot of guys that play fast and a lot of guys that play clean, and the guitar has come a long way as far as speed and clarity go, but nobody plays with the whole fullness of expression that Django has. I mean, the combination of incredible speed – all the speed you could possibly want – but also the thing of every note have a specific personality. You don’t hear it. I really haven’t heard it anywhere but with Django." And Stephane, his equal on violin, was pushing Django's limitless talents far beyond.

A Two-Fer! (1979) signed by Stephane, Hank Jones, Jimmy Woode

At the outset of World War II, Stephane was In London and he stayed there for the duration, whilst Django fled for parts unknown. Stephane discovered an equally talented pianist in George Shearing and began performing with him. It had to be a harrowing experience, playing in jazz clubs while the Blitz was going on, bombs going off suddenly and landing indiscriminately. Stephane recollected, "I played with George for the troops. And the bombs dropped quite often. I remember one time we finished up playing in a club in Golders Green. The sirens started, so we flew out of there to get to the deepest underground station nearby, which was Hampstead Heath. We started walking fast down the street, and George said: 'There's no need to run, we're underground.' He didn't know where we were because he was blind."

Stephane survived the bombs and the war, and he went on to release more than ninety albums, jamming with classical artists Yo Yo Ma, Yehudi Menuhin, bluegrass wizards David Grisman, Vassar Clements, and jazz legends Hank Jones, Oscar Peterson, McCoy Tyner and so many others. I saw him perform with guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli and bassist John Burr at the Baird Auditorium in Washington, DC in 1993. The Baird is part of the Smithsonian and it is a lovely auditorium with great acoustics and a seating capacity for around five-hundred patrons. Stephane and his colleagues emerged from the backstage to thunderous applause, and Stephane took his seat, the only concession to his advanced age. As pianist Michel Legrand noted while recording with him at the roughly the same time, "He walks with difficulty, of course, but his job is not to walk, it is to play, and his playing is truly better than ever. He has all the inspiration and depth of his many years, but has the passion and enthusiasm of a twenty-year-old! He is formidable!" For the next ninety minutes, Stephane and his able cohorts took us on a journey through the Great American Songbook: Cole Porter's "Night and Day", Duke Ellington's "In A Sentimental Mood", George Gershwin's "Fascinating Rhythm" and Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's "Spring Is Here” were highlights. The music was full of twists and turns throughout and featured the indomitable good cheer of Stephane Grappelli. He had the appearance of a benevolent grandfather, that is, if your grandfather happened to be a virtuoso violinist whose searing, violent slashes tore through to the very essence of your soul. Seated, he seemed to be having the most fun of all. Near the end of the performance, as things quieted down, they performed Django Reinhardt's luminous "Nuages", a showcase for Bucky's guitar chops and he did not disappoint.

After the show, I went backstage for a visit with the maestro. He was warm and full of kindness as he signed the vinyl. I thanked him for his time and, especially the music. I was reminded of what the great show man Maurice Chevalier told him early in his career, “You must start very well, finish very well, and in the middle, it is nobody’s business.” To which Stephane replied, “But me, I try to do the business in the middle, too.” Yes, he does, and we are all the richer for it. C’est formidable!

At The Winery (1982) signed by Stephane

Choice Stephane Grappelli Cuts (per BKs request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p98UZxdlKRM

"Wish You Were Here" Pink Floyd alternate track 1975

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANArGmr74u4

"J'Attendrai Swing" Django and Stephane 1939

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4kf5aU1Wtg

"How High The Moon" live with McCoy Tyner, 1991

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMuNjobfR3Y

"Sweet Georgia Brown" Live in San Francisco with David Grisman and friends 1982

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2T2_pk1iwQM

“Nuages” with Django Reinhardt

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fnB8E_N6M1Q

“Nuages” Live with Julian Bream

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dzIEaNRoj3k

“Jalousie” Live with Yehudi Menuhin

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GIbL9uw139s

“Dawgma - Swing ‘39” Stephane and David Grisman on Tonight Show with Johnny Carson 1979

All signed albums from the Kirk vinyl collection

Copyright 2019

Horace Silver and Me...

Often, as a young musician in my early twenties, I would get real nervous when one of the great piano players came into a club where I was playing. I would say, 'Aw shit, so-snd-so is in the house listening. I've got to try to play my best.' Consequently, I would tense up and not play as well. I wasn't cured of the affliction until years later, when both Bud Powell and Erroll Garner came into Birdland one night while I was playing. I got all tensed up, and I couldn't play relaxed. Then, at one point, I happened to look up from the piano and gaze over at the bar. They weren't even listening. They were hittin' on some chicks at the bar. Tryin' to cop. That cured me....

               Horace Silver

Horace Silver And The Jazz Messengers (1956) signed by Horace

They let me approve them. Frank Wolff usually took all the pictures and Reid Miles did all of the designing. When they would get it together, they would have me come in and take a look at it. Most of the time, I approved of it. I told Alfred that most of the guys that recorded for him were concerned with doing a good record and the packaging, they didn't give a shit about. I didn't want a picture on the cover that I didn't like and every time I looked at the cover, I cringed. He gave me that privilege of doing that and that is how I learned to be a producer, watching him and what he did and him allowing me to have input on the covers and liner notes.

               Horace Silver on Blue Note's co-founder Alfred Lion

6 Pieces Of Silver (1956) signed by Horace

Horace wrote them tight. There were no head charts. Horace wrote interludes and had whole compositions written out for the horns. When Horace wrote something, you knew immediately it was his. He had that tight snap and harmonies that hooked you.

Louis Hayes, drummer extraordinaire

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

Horace Silver became a major contributor to jazz through his brilliant songs, stellar improvisations, and twenty eight year association with Blue Note Records, the longest tenure in the history of that historic label. Born in Norwalk, Connecticut, Horace studied saxophone in high school and took private piano lessons, before gigging around in local nightclubs. Horace's breakthrough occurred when Stan Getz saw him perform at the Sundown Club in Hartford in 1949. As Horace recalled, "Stan Getz came up and played with us. He said he was going to call us, but we didn’t take him seriously. But a couple of weeks later he called and said he wanted the whole trio to join him.” Horace toured with Stan for a year before settling in New York City and working with Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Big Nick Nicholas and with Art Blakey in an early iteration of The Jazz Messengers. Horace then started his own bands, recording initially with a trio before forming a quintet - a classic line up of piano, bass, drums, tenor saxophone, and trumpet.

Blessed with an unerring eye for talent, Horace's quintets over the years included Joe Henderson, Hank Mobley, Art Farmer, Louis Hayes, Blue Mitchell, Carmell Jones, Junior Cook, Donald Byrd, and Kenny Dorham, a veritable who's who of 1950s (and beyond) jazz stars. All these artists forged successful solo careers after playing with the inestimable talents and leadership of Horace Silver.

Horace was a gifted composer and many of his compositions have become jazz standards. Most of his songs have a bluesy funk borne of his father's Cape Verdean heritage mixed in with his own gospel and blues roots. "Song For My Father" is probably the most famous, a rollicking, island-infused burner which has been covered by James Brown, Jimmy McGriff and Jimmy Smith, among many others. The album cover has a photo of his dad, John Tavares Silva, in sartorial splendor: dapper suit, tie and pocket square, straw hat perched back, with a cigar stub scarcely concealing his pride and glee. "Song For My Father" starts with Horace's piano introduction and then, tenor saxophone great Joe Henderson pairs with the clarion trumpet of Carmell Jones as they restate the melody, before Horace and Joe trade extended solos. It is a catchy and engaging tune. So catchy, it seems, that keyboardist Donald Fagen cribbed the entire opening virtually note for note in Steely Dan's pop hit "Rikki Don't Lose That Number."  I guess, Fagen, a self-described "jazz snob", could do a lot worse than steal from the masterful Horace Silver, but there should be a writing credit!

Song For My Father (1964) signed by Horace

Horace's other major contributions to jazz standards are: "Doodlin' " covered by Ray Charles, Dizzy Gillespie, "The Preacher" covered by Jimmy McGriff, Jimmy Smith, "Senor Blues" covered by Poncho Sanchez, Shirley Scott, "Peace" covered by Chet Baker, Norah Jones, and "Sister Sadie" covered by Ray Charles, Maceo Parker, James Moody. When John Coltrane heard "Sister Sadie"at a gig in Philadelphia, Trane asked, "What's the name of that 'Amen' number you're playing?" And Horace described writing "Peace" in celestial terms: "I was doodlin' around on the piano, and it just came to me, but I also had the impression that there was an angel standing over me, impressing my mind with this beautiful melody and harmony."

The song with the most covers is "Opus De Funk" which was recorded in 1953 with Percy Heath on bass, and Art Blakey on drums. Containing one of the earliest references to 'funk' in a song title, it has inspired more than sixty versions. Art Pepper, Milt Jackson and Junior Mance are just a few of the notable artists who have brought the funk to this opus.

The Stylings Of Silver (1957) signed by Horace

Horace was also a shrewd businessman. He owned all of his publishing due to some early and sage advice from composer and arranger Gigi Gryce. The royalties afforded Horace a steady income, a nice lifestyle and he rarely toured, especially when he moved to Los Angeles in 1974 and then Malibu. I mean, who really wants to leave Malibu?! In addition, Horace was rather parsimonious, particularly in his early years. Art Blakey described his frugality rather succinctly: " Horace don't spend nothin', but a lovely evenin'."

I saw Horace perform only once, at the Blue Note in New York City in 2004. He had an octet, and they were highlighting songs from a musical he had written that had only a few performances in Los Angeles in 1989. The music was released on CD in 2003 and it was entitled Rockin' With Rachmaninoff. The story's conceit was Rachmaninoff dies, goes to heaven and Duke Ellington escorts him to meet Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Thelonious Monk, and hijinks and songs ensue. Despite its brief run, the musical received good reviews and the Blue Note show was a great success, as Horace had some very accomplished musicians joining him on the bandstand including Eric Alexander on tenor saxophone and Randy Brecker on trumpet. They performed titles like "Monkeying Around With Monk", "Rocky Meets The Duke", and "A Ballad For Hawk." As a fitting finale, Horace ended with a grooving and soulful "Song For My Father."

Doin’ The Thing (1961) signed by Horace

After the show, I sat with Horace in his dressing room. I asked him if he would mind signing a couple of albums. He said "Sure", and a couple quickly became eight. He seemed quite surprised with the thunderous applause and he mentioned how enthusiastic the audience was. ‘This ain't Malibu, This is New York City, you need to come back and play here more often,’ I advised. "Yes, there was a lot of energy out there tonight." he replied. Sadly, there were no more tours after that week long engagement at The Blue Note in 2004, and that was his last public appearance. Horace's health deteriorated and he became a bit of a recluse until he passed away at 85 years of age in 2014. Nevertheless, his impressive discography and legacy endures.

Horace Silver, a wonderful composer, pianist, and band leader. Thanks again for all those numbers, the melodic and the mystical, the secular and the sacred. As he said once, "We can reach way back and get that old time gutbucket barroom feeling with just a taste of the back-beat."

Amen.

Atlantic Jazz Piano (1982) a few of my favorites

Horace Silver, Andre Previn, Chucho Valdes, Dave Brubeck, Ray Bryant, Sir Roland Hanna, Barry Harris, Junior Mance, Dr. Billy Taylor, McCoy Tyner, Tommy Flanagan, Kenny Barron, Hank Jones, Dwike Mitchell

Choice Horace Silver Cuts (per BK's request)

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

"Song For My Father" - Horace 1964

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

"Rikki Don't Lose That Number" - Steely Dan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8jFGFwOm7k

"Senor Blues" - Live with Junior Cook, Blue Mitchell

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tu4o65SwUIw

"Doodlin' " - Horace and The Jazz Messengers 1954

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmO2pM20MrU

"Sister Sadie"  - Horace 1959

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmO2pM20MrU

"Peace" - Horace 1959

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmtYs_k8WOE

"Peace" - Norah Jones, music and lyrics by Horace Silver

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

Etta James and Me...

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

               record label President Marshall Chess

Rocks The House (1964) signed by Etta

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

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

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

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

Tell Mama (1968) signed by Etta

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

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

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

Etta James suffered no fools. Except me. Twice.

Choice Etta James Cuts (per BKs request)

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

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

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

”At Last” At Last! 1960

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

”Tell Mama” Tell Mama 1968

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

”Sweet Memories” Etta Sings Funk 1969

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

”Roll With Me Henry” 1955

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

”Purple Rain” All The Way 2005

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

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

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

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

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

”I Sing The Blues” The Right Time

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

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

Max Roach and Me...

Witch Doctor (1953 recordings, 1985 release) signed by Max, Bud Shank

Diz and Getz (1955 recordings, 1977 release) signed by Max, Dizzy, Ray Brown, John Lewis, Herb Ellis

Max Roach +4 (1956) signed by Max, George Coleman, Bob Cranshaw

One of the prime functions of the drums is to serve as an accompanying instrument. This can be developed by listening to everything around you and by fitting yourself in without being smothered or smothering others. It's difficult to do, due to the timbre of the instrument. You can't help smothering the horns unless you're very careful. And if you're too delicate, you can't say anything. You need proper balance and respect. It takes a great drummer to get a lot out of the instrument. Some guys have fabulous drum setups, but don't get anything out of it.

              Max Roach - Downbeat 1958

During an evening, week, or month of performing I play a host of drum solos. To live with myself, I have to constantly set up new things, and interest the members of the group. We all have to do this. The rule is not that you killed them last night--you know what will bring the audience to their feet. That's not the rule for the creative musician. You should try each night to introduce something that you didn't do the night before. It's always a challenge... to do something that wasn't done before. The public may not be aware of that, but for us it means we're developing ideas for new recordings, for new pieces.

               Max Roach

Jazz as a democratic form does not only mean “bebop,” but it goes back to its sources – Buddy Bolden, King Oliver and the like. It is people getting together and being so sympathetic to one another as they are sitting on the bandstand and playing music together in a way where they influence each other. It means to listen, to respect and to harmonize together. Jazz is not an imperialistic way, where a conductor tells that you are not doing it right. That is classical music. Jazz is fluid, and every generation has the opportunity of contributing something new.

               Max Roach 1992 

Max Roach +4 & More (1956 recordings) signed by Max

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

Work Time (1956) signed by Max, Sonny Rollins, Ray Bryant

Sonny Rollins (1957) signed by Max, Sonny Rollins, Donald Byrd

When we did the historic concert with Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Dizzy Gillespie, Mingus, and me at Massey Hall in Toronto, Mingus was the one who brought the engineer and tapes up there.  Mingus and I put together a (record) company called Debut, and brought the engineer up, but we had to do it silently.  Bird was signed with Norman Granz. The first record we put out on our label we couldn’t use Charlie Parker’s name on it. We called him Charlie Chan. Later on, we made deals with other people and it was released another way. You have to create your own opportunities, really.

               Max Roach on forming a record company with Charles Mingus in 1952

Rollins Plays For Bird (1957) signed by Max, Sonny Rollins

Jazz In 3/4 Time (1957) signed by Max, Ray Bryant

Also, the whole dogmatic attitude of "Jazz is only this", Max didn't think like that. Max was always looking ahead. He knew that jazz was in constant motion. One thing I like to say to all my students is "It's great to pay homage to the past, just don't get stuck in it." To me, Max shouldn't be remembered only as a great technical drummer or a bebop drummer...he was so much more than that. His compositions and odd meter explorations, plus his duos with Cecil Taylor, he was always on the cutting edge of where jazz should be going. And not only musically, but socially and politically as well. Those things aren't separable. Music always reflects the times and he knew that.

               drummer Paul Wertico on his hero

Deeds Not Words (1958) signed by Max, George Coleman

Max (1958) signed by Max

 Max Roach, drummer, percussionist, band leader, composer, arranger, civil rights activist...a man of innumerable talents. Born in North Carolina, raised in Brooklyn, Max Roach made his professional debut with Duke Ellington as an eighteen year old, straight outta high school. As Max recalled, "Most of the great drummers were in the Army (in 1942), so when (Ellington drummer) Sonny Greer got sick...I got the job because I could read music. From that time on, everyone began calling me to make records... Whether I could play or not, they thought I could play because I'd been with the master."  

Max made his recording debut with Coleman Hawkins a year later, and the history of jazz drumming was forever altered. Max and Kenny Clarke became the drummers of choice for bebop as it was emerging in the 1940s, a harmonically challenging music with rapid chord changes which was being introduced and mastered by Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Essentially, the brilliance of bebop was to double the beats from four to eight in a single measure, and it took considerable and prodigious skill to make it look and sound seamless. "Woody 'n' You", a 1943 Dizzy Gillespie composition, is generally acknowledged by musicologists to be the first bebop record. Alongside a stalwart front line horn section that includes Coleman Hawkins, Don Byas, Budd Johnson and Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach is the drummer who supplies dexterous fills, dazzling rim shots and shimmering cymbals. And his fellow drummers took notice. As an awestruck Stan Levey observed, "I came to realize that, because of him, drumming no longer was just time, it was music."

Soon, Max began working with Charlie Parker and recorded "Billie's Bounce", "Ko Ko", "Parker's Mood", and "Now's The Time', all important Parker compositions in the bebop canon. Max described the luminous luster of Charlie Parker, "Bird was kind of like the sun, giving off the energy we drew from him. We're still drawing on it. His glass was overflowing in any musical situation, his ideas just bounded out and this inspired anyone who was around. He had a way of playing that affected every instrument on the band stand." However, Parker's drug addiction spiraled out of control and, for a time, Max struggled similarly. While Parker succumbed to his demons in 1955, Max was able to overcome his afflictions and kick heroin, and went on to a storied jazz career.

As a leader, Max released more than seventy-five albums and he was a sideman on hundreds of other sessions, including some of the most celebrated recordings in jazz history with Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, and Sonny Rollins. Max also formed a quintet which he co-led with Clifford Brown, a gifted trumpeter and composer, which featured Harold Land, George Morrow, Richie Powell and Sonny Rollins. In 1956, Clifford Brown died tragically in a car accident when he was only twenty-five but the Roach-Brown Quintet left behind an influential trove of hard bop recordings.

Study In Brown (1955) signed by Max, Harold Land, “Thanks Brownie”

Max recalled, "We had a date in Chicago, but Clifford was in Philadelphia playing at one of these Sunday afternoon concerts they held there. On the phone, he told me he would be going through Elkhart, Indiana on the way to endorse a line of trumpets. He was to leave around two that morning, get there by nine and then arrive in Chicago later that day. That actually was the first time we had not travelled together as a band. The next morning, Joe Glaser [the band’s manager] phoned me up and told me to brace myself: Clifford was killed that night in an automobile accident on the Pennsylvania Turnpike as well as Richie Powell – pianist of the quintet and Bud’s brother – and his wife, too. They were 25, 23 and 21 years old. But in the same breath, Glaser told me that both Miles (Davis) and Roy Eldridge happened to be in town and I could still make the date! I just couldn’t believe it: This is my agent telling me that!" It was a devastating loss which took years to absorb, but Max soldiered on.

At Basin Street (1956) signed by Max, Sonny Rollins

 In 1960, the Junior League Of the NAACP commissioned Max to write a jazz suite for the upcoming centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation. Max collaborated with Oscar Brown Jr., an actor, lyricist, writer and together, they wrote the potent We Insist! Freedom Now Suite. The opening track is "Driva Man",which Nat Hentoff describes in the liner notes as "a personification of the white overseer in slavery times who often forced women under his jurisdiction into sexual relations. Many overseers were relentlessly brutal." Max simulates the crack of a whip with precise rim shots and tambourine shakes while Abbey Lincoln (later Max's wife for almost ten years) delivers a harrowing and soulful vocal. Coleman Hawkins plays a gritty, baleful tenor saxophone and a squeak is heard in what was thought to be the best take. After listening to this take, Coleman said, "No, don't splice. When it's all perfect, especially in a piece like this, there's something very wrong."  The closing track, "Tears For Johannesburg", was written in response to the Sharpeville Massacre which occurred on March 21, 1960 (a current South African National holiday in support of human rights). It starts with bluesy, expressive vocalese by Abbey Lincoln and then the horn section - Booker Little on trumpet, Walter Benton on tenor saxophone, Julian Priester on trombone - all take mournful solos while Max, Ray Mantilla and Michael Olatunji lay out funky drum and conga support. It is a powerful and compelling suite of music, perfect in its imperfections, especially in the hands of these skilled jazz masters.

We Insist! Freedom Now Suite (1960) signed by Max, Abbey Lincoln, Julian Priester

When the album was released, it was controversial and some critics panned it. However, it did sell. As Max disclosed, "So we recorded it and then sneaked it into South Africa as a jazz record. But then it got banned because of Nat (Hentoff)’s liner notes, which explained that one of the pieces was about the massacre of people in Johannesburg. Then it reached the Associated Press that a jazz record had been banned in South Africa. That record became a collector’s item and sold more copies than any record I’ve ever made."  Max was nonplussed about the critical reaction as he determined that he would continue to make challenging music. The trifles and romps of Cole Porter, George Gershwin and other denizens of Tin Pan Alley were abandoned, Max had thornier issues to pursue and explore.

Rich versus Roach (1959) signed by Max, “Thanks Buddy “

The first time I met Max Roach, he was at a Tower Records store signing in 1992. There was no performance, just Max sitting at a counter signing his latest CD, To The Max! He was tall, lean and impeccably dressed and he smiled warmly when he saw some of the vinyl I brought. He especially liked Rich versus Roach, a drum battle with his friend Buddy Rich. "That was a fun album to make," he said as he inscribed it, "Thanks Buddy." Luckily, I saw Max perform several times thereafter with his Double Quartet at the Blue Note in New York City and the shows were always interesting. As Max once said, "Even though I'm involved with music for the sake of entertainment, I always hope to offer some kind of enlightenment."

Easy Winners (1985) signed by Max, Maxine Roach, Cecil Bridgewater, Tyrone Browne, Odean Pope

The Double Quartet featured his piano-less quartet - Odean Pope on tenor saxophone, Cecil Bridgewater on trumpet, Tyrone Brown on bass -  with a string quartet: two violins, cello and his daughter Maxine on viola. Before each show, Max would appear at the front of the stage with his hi-hat (two mated cymbals on a tripod stand with a foot pedal) and a pair of drum sticks. He would begin an extended drum solo using the top cymbal, bottom cymbal and rod. He called this performance "Mr. Hi-Hat" and it was mesmerizing, a master class by a master percussionist. The rest of the band members then joined and highlights of the set included "A Little Booker", a song Max wrote as a tribute to Booker Little, "Hi Fly", a Randy Weston penned jazz standard, and "Sis", an Odean Pope elegiac ballad with a beautiful string quartet introduction.  After each show, I would visit with Max in his dressing room and he was kind and generous. Immaculately turned in a bespoke suit, he seemed urbane and elegant, looking every bit the professor that he was at the University of Massachusetts for almost twenty-five years.. Max loved looking at my vinyl, and he was quiet and reflective when he signed Study In Brown with "Thanks Brownie".

The Max Roach 4 Plays Charlie Parker (1959) signed by Max, George Coleman

Max Roach probably summed up his entire philosophy and approach with this remembrance:

"There was one unforgettable night when I worked with Pres (tenor saxophonist Lester Young) at Birdland. Because I was with Pres, and because he and (drummer) Papa Jo Jones were so close in the (Count) Basie band, I played all of Papa Jo's old licks. At the end of the evening, after I said good night to Pres, he gave me one of those succinct lessons in that personal language of his. He said, 'You can't join the throng until you write your own song.' That's a great lesson, something that stays with you the rest of your life. This music allows you, prefers you to be an individual, to do your own thing."

Speak, Brother, Speak! (1963) signed by Max

Thanks Max for the entertainment. the enlightenment, and all those wonderful songs.

You will always remain way above the throng.

Rich versus Roach (1959) signed by Max, Julian Priester, Stanley Turrentine, Phil Woods

M’Boom (1979) signed by Max, Joe Chambers

Choice Max Roach Cuts (per BK's request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHbqzX1zokk

"Mr. Hi-Hat"  Max Roach 1994 solo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF6q6XKKrik 
"Love For Sale > Driva Man"  Live 1964 with Abbey Lincoln and Clifford Jordan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XA_Jugejto
"Confirmation"  1953 with Charlie Parker, Max Roach

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsMCLjztaOc
"Blue 7"  Saxophone Colossus  1956  with Sonny Rollins, Tommy Flangan, Max Roach

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wGJpbPKbz8

"Ko Ko"   1945 with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXPzAasKWQg
Cherokee"  Study In Brown  1955 Clifford Brown-Max Roach Quintet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNSXSR0ebxM
"The Blues Walk"  More Study In Brown  1955  Clifford Brown-Max Roach Quintet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11oIOUhpeVs
"Rumble In The Jungle"   1979   M'Boom  with Max Roach, Joe Chambers, Ray Mantilla  

Guy Clark and Me...

What Guy tried to do when he got here, was take the values of literature and poetry and put them in song. He didn’t want to just write a hit, he wanted to write something that had real intrinsic value, to wrestle with the human condition and come up with new ways of talking about it that would make people listen.

Rodney Crowell

It's what I enjoy. It gets harder, all the time. It doesn't fall out of the sky, you know. But I have joy doing the work, I enjoy the creative process. I write and build guitars in the same space, and I find that one is right brain and one is left brain, and they kind of feed off of one another. But, I don't know. It's just a way to while away the time until you die.

Guy Clark

Old No. 1 back cover, liner notes by Jerry Jeff Walker

They’d always make room and pull out guitars, and Guy’s first question would be ‘What are you working on?’ Half songs were important. It was like a salon that way. The confidence you’d take playing a half song in that setting would give you the strength to finish it. ‘Till I Gain Control Again’ is one of my songs that that happened with.

               Rodney Crowell

It’s flattering, I guess, but you can’t make a f—ing living being a songwriter’s songwriter.

Guy Clark

Old Friends (1988) signed by Guy

The first time I saw Guy Clark, he was performing in Philadelphia at the Tin Angel in November, 1995. A small club, the Tin Angel has a downstairs bar/restaurant and an upstairs listening room with seats for maybe 100-125. Guy was touring with his friend (and best man at his 1972 wedding), fellow singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt. Guy once described their relationship, "We were friends for like 35 years. We started writing at just about the same time, right when I met him, and we were as close as you could be ever since then. The quality of his work was, to me, breathtaking. It was approaching literature--it was literature as far as I'm concerned. His songs always worked on paper, not just as songs. The place he was coming from still astounds me."

As compelling a writer as Townes Van Zandt was, Guy Clark was equally talented. Over his forty year career, Guy's songs have been covered by Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker, Rosanne Cash, Emmylou Harris, and even Jimmy Buffett. The first song Guy wrote, "Step Inside This House", he never even bothered to record. When asked why?, in his self-deprecating way, Guy said, "It was just the first song I ever wrote. I didn’t think it was that good." Lyle Lovett, no slouch as a songwriter, thought so highly of the song, he not only recorded it but named his 1998 album Step Inside This House. Before performing it live at Austin City Limits, Lyle said, "This is the first song that Guy ever wrote, which is just incredible.... that this could be anyone's first song...well.. just isn't fair."

If Johnny Cash was the Man In Black, then Guy Clark was the Man in Denim. Every time I saw him, he was wearing a blue denim shirt. His wife, Susanna, a talented songwriter and painter, immortalized his denim shirt with her painting on the cover of his first album, Old No.1. Susanna also painted the album cover for Willie Nelson's Stardust (1978). Guy explained, "She always said she talked Willie into making Stardust. Supposedly she told him, ‘You ought to do a record of old standards,’ and he said okay and asked her to paint the cover. So she got a bunch of books with pictures of stars and came up with that painting. She always said that if you connect the dots, it reads ‘F— Ol’ Waylon.’ "

Stardust (1978) Susanna Clark painting, connect the dots!

Guy and Susanna 1975

In the 1970s Nashville, Susanna and Guy essentially ran a salon for songwriters, which emerging talents like Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle and more established stars like Emmylou Harris and Mickey Newbury frequented. They would trade songs, stories and substances around the Clark dining room table while honing their craft. Many of these artists participated on Guy's recordings. In fact, Steve Earle's first professional gig was playing bass in a Guy Clark touring band, and Steve's first appearance on vinyl are his background vocals on Old No. 1.

At the Tin Angel, Guy Clark was touring in support of his recent release, Dublin Blues (1995). Guy came out first and played a set which included "Desperados  Waiting For A Train", "Dublin Blues","L.A. Freeway" and "Randall Knife", a heart wrenching elegy written to his father. It was a mesmerizing performance and his son, Travis, accompanied him on bass. A masterful storyteller and songwriter, Guy disdained the term "craftsman." He once said, "Yeah. That’s not really my favorite tag... But, hopefully it approaches art, you know? I mean, there is a certain amount of craftsmanship once you get a little inspiration, and figure out something to write about — it takes work to wrangle the words around. So it’s some of each … I just like wrangling words around. I like the process."

His lyrics are well chosen and well wrangled:

If I can just get off of this LA freeway
Without getting killed or caught
I'd be down that road in a cloud of smoke
For some land that I ain't bought bought bought.

"L.A. Freeway"

So take me to a bar room, driver
Set me on a stool
If I can't be her man
I'm damned if I'll be her fool

"Broken Hearted People"

I'd play the Red River Valley
And he'd sit out in the kitchen and cry
And run his fingers through seventy years of livin'
And wonder, "Lord, has ever' well I've drilled run dry?"

"Desperados Waiting For A Train"

And that old time feelin’ draws circles around the block

Like old women with no children, holdin’ hands with the clock

And that old time feelin’ falls on it’s face in the park

Like an old wino prayin’ he can make it ‘till it’s dark.

"That Old Time Feeling"

Standin' on the gone side of leavin'
She found a thumb and stuck it in the breeze

She'll take anything that's goin' close to somewhere
She can lay it down and live it like she'd please
"She Ain't Goin' Nowhere"

I wish I had a dime for every bad time

But the bad times always seem to keep the change

You been all alone, so you know what I'm sayin'

So when all you can recall is the pain

“Anyhow I Love You"

Between sets, I went back stage to see Guy. There was no formal dressing room, so I just swept aside the curtain and walked in. Guy was sitting in an easy chair, cradling a guitar. I thanked him for his set and he signed a couple of albums. When I handed him Old No.1, I asked him if he still had the painting. "Yes, and I think I still have the same shirt," he said with a wry smile. "Are you still painting?" I asked, as I handed him Old Friends with his self portrait adorning the cover. "Yes. I keep working on things." came the genial reply. It was a brief chat but in character with his dry humor and laconic nature.

Ten years later, I saw Guy again at The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. He participated in a songwriter's circle, as he did for several years, with Steve Earle, Joe Ely, and his sometime accompanist Verlon Thompson. Each artist took turns playing and it seemed a recreation of his Nashville salon days, with the omnipresent cigarettes but minus the booze and drugs. At least, as near as I could tell. Steve Earle introduced his brilliant "Tom Ames' Prayer" with, "Guy won't let me play a show if I don't do this song." Then Steve tore into a blistering version while Guy watched and nodded approvingly. They told stories, shared some brilliant songs and gave a glimpse of their creative and songwriting process.

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass backstage passes 2005/2006 - thanks Jonathan and Billy!,

At the end of his career, Guy won a Grammy for Best Folk Album in 2013 for My Favorite Picture Of You. It was a well deserved win after four unsuccessful nominations. The album cover depicts Guy holding a Polaroid snap shot of his beloved wife and soul mate Susanna ("I got a tattoo of her name right through my soul." he sang in "Stuff That Works"). Guy explained the back story, "It was in front of John Lomax's house, probably in the late Seventies or early Eighties. Townes and I were in the house, just drunk on our asses being jerks, and she had finally had enough. She put on her coat and walked out the door. I remember it being cold. And somebody snapped that picture. From the moment I saw it, that was my favorite picture of Susanna, and always has been. It says everything. Boy, she's absolutely beautiful – beautiful – and in an experienced kind of way in that picture. And she's so pissed off. It's in her eyes, and her stance. Stuff only I would see, maybe. But that picture always reminded me of Susanna." As she lay dying of cancer, Guy sat on the edge of her bed and played her the title song. He recalled, "She said she liked it, I guess. Whenever I wrote about her, she was always . . . I don’t know if ‘touched’ is the right word, she was always flattered. Usually she said, 'Well, it’s about time.' ”

My Favorite Picture Of You (2013), Grammy winner

Sadly, Guy couldn't tour on the heels of his recent Grammy acclaim, the years of hard living had taken a toll, and he struggled in declining health until he passed away May 17, 2016. But he left behind a legacy of songs, performances and words. Guy Clark, a master word wrangler. Like Townes, his songs always worked on paper and on stage.

A cordial night of drinkin’ - Guy, Susanna and Townes Van Zandt (1974)

Choice Guy Clark cuts (per BK's request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpZnqvTZLx0

"Step Inside This House" - Lyle Lovett sings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUML2yWVn8c

"Stay A Little Longer" Live at Guy and Susanna's with Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell, Steve Young 1975

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

"Dublin Blues"  Live with Karen Matheson  1995

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xpa5mOg3Fjs

"L.A. Freeway"  Live with Rodney Crowell  1983

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfmzElWq6Rk

"Better Days"  Rosanne Cash Sings: A Tribute To Guy Clark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erOGYbUc1VU
"Desperados Waiting For A Train" Live 1990

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV-i1dwWq1I
"My Favorite Picture Of You"  2013

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySLqZSxo4sY

"Anyhow I Love You"  Lyle Sings Guy

Merle Haggard and Me…

I was eleven years old when I first hopped a freight train. Didn't go far. Went about a hundred miles, and they arrested me in Fresno. I grew up beside the railroad track and the way to leave town was on a train. All we knew was that there was something out there that was intriguing about being on your own. And it was really calling to me at an early age. I had excuses—I could say, well, my mother was left with me to raise—but that wasn't the reason. It was just some inner yearning, that I didn't really understand then and probably can't explain now, caused me to jump those freights in search of something.

Merle Haggard

The Legend Of Bonnie And Clyde (1968) signed by Merle, Bonnie Owens

He'll tell you he's a country singer .... But to me the essence of rock and roll is a cry for freedom and rebellion. And I don't know anyone who embodies it better. Every aspect of his life is a refusal to submit.

               producer Don Was

I Love Dixie Blues (1973) signed by Merle

My second wife Bonnie Owens and I worked together after we divorced for a period of maybe 20 years. And I managed to stay friends with another wife. And then, there's one that I don't mess with. Everybody's got one of those.

               Merle Haggard

Even though the crime was brutal and the guy was an incorrigible criminal, it's a feeling you never forget when you see someone you know make that last walk. They bring him through the yard, and there's a guard in front and a guard behind - that's how you know a death prisoner. They brought Rabbit out...taking him to see the Father,...prior to his execution. That was a strong picture that was left in my mind.

               Merle Haggard

Songs I’ll Always Sing (1977) signed by Merle

Though Johnny Cash sang in "Folsom Prison Blues" about how he "shot a man in Reno just to watch him die", Cash's prison experiences were limited to a couple of overnight stays for being drunk and disorderly and being caught smuggling amphetamines while returning from Mexico. Merle Haggard was the real deal. While imprisoned in San Quentin, Merle said, "I watched one man kill another over a simple insult...and sometimes when I lay in my bunk I could hear men crying out in pain from being raped by other inmates". That's raw and a little too real. As Cash once said to him, ‘Merle, you’re what people think I am.’”

Sing Me Back Home (1967) signed by Merle

Merle Haggard had thirty eight Number 1 country hits, forty Number 1 country albums and sold millions of records. As successful as his career is, it had very humble beginnings. His family was poor and emigrated to Bakersfield, California from the Oklahoma dust bowl during the Depression. There, they moved into a converted boxcar. In 1945, Merle's father died suddenly of a brain hemorrhage and Merle's mother became the primary bread winner to support her three children.

A rebel, Merle became a recalcitrant petty criminal and was sent to his first juvenile detention center in 1950. Never fully rehabilitated, Merle continued to hop freight trains, pass bad checks, get arrested for truancy, get re-arrested for escape from jail (by his count, he escaped from seventeen institutions), until Merle was arrested for assault and robbery which culminated in a fifteen year sentence and incarceration at San Quentin in 1958. It was a bad ten year skid and he was deemed "incorrigible." If this sounds like fodder for the later Merle Haggard masterpieces - "Mama Tried", "Branded Man", "The Running Kind" and "Sing Me Back Home" -  it is.

A Taste Of Yesterday’s Wine (1982) signed by Merle, George Jones

A turning point for Merle was seeing Johnny Cash perform for the first time at San Quentin on January 1, 1959. Merle wasn't there on a research project, he was in the audience wearing his prison blues. Merle later said of Johnny Cash's appearance, "He chewed gum, looked arrogant and flipped the bird to the guards—he did everything the prisoners wanted to do. He was a mean mother from the South who was there because he loved us. When he walked away, everyone in that place had become a Johnny Cash fan.”  Merle joined the prison band and dedicated his life to music. When he was released in 1960, he returned to Bakersfield chastened by his prison experiences and sought a career in music with a desperation that only the dying and humble can pursue.

Songs For The Mama Who Tried (1981) signed by Merle

Merle's songs are not abstract and elliptical. They are so personal and direct, they seem torn from the very marrow of his bones:

And I turned twenty-one in prison doing life without parole
No one could steer me right but Mama tried, Mama tried
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading I denied
That leaves only me to blame 'cause Mama tried
Dear old Daddy, rest his soul
Left my mom a heavy load
She tried so very hard to fill his shoes
Working hours without rest
Wanted me to have the best
She tried to raise me right but I refused

"Mama Tried" (1968)

When they let me out of prison, I held my head up high,
determined I would rise above the shame.
But no matter where I travel, the black mark follows me,
I'm branded with a number on my name.
If I live to be a hundred, guess I'll never clear my name,
'cause everybody knows I've been in jail.

"Branded Man" (1967)

I was born the running kind
With leaving always on my mind
Home was never home to me at anytime
Every front door found me hopin'
I would find the back door open
There just had to be an exit
For the running kind

"The Running Kind" (1968)

The warden led a prisoner down the hallway to his doom
And I stood up to say goodbye like all the rest
And I heard him tell the warden just before he reached my cell
"Let my guitar playing friend do my request"

Let him sing me back home with a song I used to hear
And make my old memories come alive
And take me away and turn back the years
Sing me back home before I die

"Sing Me Back Home" (1968)

Merle's songs have been covered by everyone: from The Byrds to Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris to Marianne Faithfull, The Grateful Dead to Dean Martin. "Sing Me Back Home" is possibly the most heart wrenching, a gospel hymn to a prisoner's last walk. And it happened almost exactly as Merle sings it. When Merle was in San Quentin, he plotted his escape with a fellow inmate, Jimmy "Rabbit" Hendricks. His fellow inmates talked Merle out of escaping, but Rabbit escaped and was caught, but not before shooting a police officer. Rabbit was returned to San Quentin and Rabbit was executed.

Okie From Muskogee (1969) signed by Merle, Bonnie Owens

The most well known song Merle wrote - "Okie From Muskogee" -  is possibly his least favorite.  As he said, there are "about seventeen hundred ways to take that song." It is not a neo-conservative rant, rather, it is a staunch defense of freedom and an homage to his deceased Okie father. As Merle explained, "When I was in prison, I knew what it was like to have freedom taken away. Freedom is everything. During Vietnam, there were all kinds of protests. Here were these [servicemen] going over there and dying for a cause — we don’t even know what it was really all about. And here are these young kids, that were free, bitching about it. There’s something wrong with that."  Nevertheless, Merle did attract the (unwanted) interest of segregationist George Wallace and others who reached out to him as a kindred spirit. They were wrong about Merle's intentions and they were instantly rebuffed.

As a rejoinder, Merle wrote "The Fightin' Side Of Me" in 1969.

I hear people talkin' bad,
About the way we have to live here in this country,
Harpin' on the wars we fight,
An' gripin' 'bout the way things oughta be.
An' I don't mind 'em switchin' sides,
An' standin' up for things they believe in.
When they're runnin' down my country, man,
They're walkin' on the fightin' side of me.

Pancho & Lefty (1983) signed by Merle, Willie Nelson

I saw Merle perform many times over the years in small clubs (The Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia, Tramps in New York City) and concert halls (Town Hall). His band - The Strangers - were accomplished musicians, some of whom had been with him since the late 1960s. Pedal steel player Norm Hamlet was his music director (since 1967), Don Markham played trumpet and saxophone (since 1969) and Bonnie Owens, one of his ex-wives, was a back up singer for decades. When Merle traveled on tour, I would always stalk his tour bus, hoping to grab a couple signatures before or after a show. The tour bus was easy to find, there's really no place to hide on the streets of Manhattan. Invariably, there would be two buses, one for the band and one for Merle. So I would have to suss it out, but with persistence I got Norm Hamlet and Bonnie Owens' signatures, and Merle.

Same Train, A Different Time (1969) signed by Merle

I was struck by how shy and slight Merle was. On stage he was a commanding presence, off stage he seemed reserved and guarded. Merle was particularly interested in the cover of Pride In What I Am. His fellow Telecaster maestro, Roy Nichols, Norm Hamlet and a bunch of his band mates were gathered around a fire in a desolate rail yard near a box car. This is the "hobo jungle" where Merle learned "things they never taught in a classroom." And Merle loved the Jimmie Rodgers tribute album cover, "The singing brakeman was a big influence", he allowed.

Merle Haggard, an incredible journey from prison to recovery, redemption and Country Music dominance.

Big City (1981) signed by Merle

Choice Merle Haggard Cuts (per BK's request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loT_pYzi3Vw

"Mama Tried" - Live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pII_9yRyIbg

"Branded Man" - live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol88QKNAefc

"Lonesome Fugitive" and "Sing Me Back Home" - Live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbam-aB-wk8

"Sing Me Back Home" - Grateful Dead April '71, Fillmore East

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KITZHP60IWw

"The Running Kind" - Live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtZ9qNBXKYs

"Pancho & Lefty" (live with Willie Nelson)

The Way It Was In ‘51 (1978) signed by Merle

all signed albums from the Kirk Vinyl collection

copyright 2019

9/11, Bruce Simmons, Herman Sandler, Sting and Me...

I had the privilege to work for Sandler O'Neill & Partners on the 104th floor at 2 World Trade Center in New York City. Of the many talented colleagues who worked there, Bruce Simmons was among the finest. Head of Equity Sales and Trading, Bruce Simmons was a ruthless bank trader during market hours, asking for no quarter and giving none, but after the 4pm market close, he was kind, generous, and a fun loving family man. Notwithstanding his affable appearance and genial manner, he was a cobra in an Easter Bunny suit. You crossed him at your own risk and peril.

An old school trader from his Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers days, Bruce broke phones, screens, and desk chairs, all the while hurling epithets and invective with a fury and passion that was as formidable as it was relentless. And he spilled a cup of coffee every single day. Every. Single. Day. I know, I sat next to him for nearly two years and watched with a bemused tolerance. Bruce's chair bore the brunt of these mishaps, the blue cloth stained irreversibly with a brownish hue. The routine went like this: Bruce's dutiful trading assistant would bring him a large coffee each morning, and sometime, after our morning research meeting, Bruce would be distracted by one of the six screens he was staring at, and the coffee cup would get knocked over, the hot liquid flowing near his keyboard and then on to his chair and, eventually the floor. I began to stock extra napkins in anticipation of this ritual, and I was never disappointed. Coffee was spilled, curses were said, and napkins were used.

Bruce Edward Simmons

Except for his coffee, you couldn't get anything over on Bruce Simmons, and you were hapless and witless to even try. Frank Salvaterra, Sandler's Head of Trading and a close friend since their Merrill Lynch days, marveled at Bruce's skill at discerning what was taking place in the markets in general, and the bank stocks which Bruce traded in particular. "It's like he has eyes in the back of his head, he sees everything," Frank once told me. Bruce's clairvoyance extended beyond trading. He was genuinely interested in how you and your family were doing. The Sandler ethos was that it was not just a place where you worked together, it was a place where you shared and lived your lives together. This is how Bruce led his life.

Once, he asked David Rice, another talented Sandler salesman, and I to a basketball game after work. I thought, cool, I hate the Knicks (Celtic pride always!) but Madison Square Garden is great, and the Sandler O'Neill box is even better. After work, we followed Bruce to the garage to get his car. It was not a high end BMW or Mercedes as I expected, rather, it was a nondescript Toyota sedan, the perfect commuter's car. And it was not gently used. I did not think it possible, but the car's interior was a down tick from the filth and squalor of his office chair. Coffee cups, research reports and other detritus were strewn about haphazardly and the stale aroma of cigar smoke was deeply embedded into the upholstery. David and I cleared the flotsam and debris away, took our seats and Bruce started our drive uptown. Or so we thought.

David Harlow Rice

Not surprisingly, Bruce knew only one speed - fastest. I had seen Bruce go from zero to one-hundred in the office many times, but now we were hurtling through the Holland Tunnel on our way to New Jersey. I said, 'Hey Bruce, I thought we were going to the Garden to see the Knicks?' Bruce replied with a broad smile, "No, we're going to see the Nets. I have great seats and they need our support. You know, I live in Ridgewood now, so I have to support the local team. I'm a Jersey guy." The New Jersey Nets of the late 1990s were not a talented team, but Bruce was always rooting for the underdog. In some ways, that was how I came to work at Sandler O'Neill. I didn't have an Ivy League pedigree or country club memberships, but I did have a diligent work ethic, and fortunately, Bruce (and others - thank you Jimmy!) believed in me and gave me a chance when few would.

After two years at Sandler, I was recruited by a major Wall Street investment bank in Connecticut, and I struggled with the decision to accept the offer. I sat down with Bruce to talk it over, and he was wildly enthusiastic. "You will be great at a big firm. You need to do this for your family. You did a great job here, there's no reason why you won't be successful at the new firm." After talking with my wife, I resigned two days later in May, 2000. Little did I know at the time that Bruce's counsel and encouragement would probably save my life. When I told Bruce that I was resigning, he gave me a big hug and told me to keep in touch. I said, 'Before I leave, I'd like to say goodbye to some folks on the desk, but I don't want to be disruptive.' Bruce assured me, "Take your time, take as long as you need. We are family here, you won't be disrupting anyone. There are people here who you need to say goodbye to, that's the right thing to do." That was unlike any Wall Street experience I have had, then or since. Usually, when someone resigns (or gets terminated), they are whisked off the trading floor directly to HR for a debriefing (or to a gulag!), computer access barred, pictures and personal effects sent home in a box, the offending party never to be seen or heard from again.

And true to his word, I heard from Bruce again. Within my first week, Bruce called the trading desk at my new firm. When I heard someone call out, "Bruce Simmons on line three", I thought, uh oh, what did I do wrong? I picked up the phone with some uneasiness, 'Hey Bruce, what's up?' "Hey Neil, just checking in. I wanted to see how you were settling in," Bruce said brightly. 'Yeah, I like it so far, some really good people here,' came my tremulous and uncertain reply. "Great, I know you're going to do a great job. Now take a $51 top and buy 100,000 shares of DCLK." Like any good sales trader, I confirmed the instructions and executed the order with my trader. And I nearly fell off my chair. I could not believe how generous Bruce was. He had friends all over Wall Street who could have easily executed that order, but he gave it to me. His loyalty was steadfast and unwavering, it meant the world to me then, and especially now. Bruce gave me a couple more orders over the next few weeks to make sure that my transition was smooth and best of all, when my daughter Camryn was born in May, 2001, he, and his Sandler partners sent along a beautiful basket of goodies to my wife, just as they had done when my son Brendan was born nearly two and half years earlier. Yes, being part of the Sandler family meant something extraordinary!

Sadly, we never saw another basketball game together, and although we talked about having dinner in New York, there was never enough time. Bruce had young kids, mine were even younger, and there was always an excuse until we ran out of time and the tragedy of September 11, 2001 occurred. I will never forget Bruce's funeral service in Ridgewood, New Jersey. The church was filled beyond capacity and I was barely holding it together. Then, the soccer team he coached, ten and eleven year old girls wearing their uniforms, walked in and sat a couple rows in front of me. Seeing the young girls' innocence betrayed was cruel, vicious and left a heartbreaking, indelible image. I shared in their inconsolable grief.

It has been eighteen years since Bruce and so many others were senselessly lost, and my heart still aches and I wish blessings for their families. It is truly a wound that never heals. For the past few years, I have written about some of the remarkable men and women whom I had the privilege to work with at Sandler O'Neill, lives that were irrevocably shattered on September 11, and I have included this Sting-Herman Sandler vignette (see below). I guess I'll keep on writing, I've got lots more friends to write about and celebrate. I only wish each ending were different.

Hope our paths cross soon.

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, Herman was tough, he did not suffer fools, and 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, since Herman was friends with Sting and his wife, Trudie Styler, and served with them on the board of The Rainforest Foundation. Herman said, "No problem." Everything was no problem with Herman, even his boat was named "No Problem." He secured the backstage passes the next day and handed them to me. No problem.

Sting backstage pass, Beacon Theater 1999 - “No Problem”

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 were escorted in. A roadie told us that there is no real backstage area, so we can stand along the wall or go to our seats. I looked at the wall. That didn’t look very promising and it was way too early to go to our seats. ‘Lets try this again,’ I tell the clients, ‘Follow me.’ We went back to where we came from and an elevator door opened. Another roadie got off. We got on. Taped to the elevator wall was 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 opened on the 6th floor into an anteroom where Sting had his back to us. He was being interviewed, speaking into a mic attached to a large tape machine. I walked by Sting, nodded, and my clients followed me and stood in the corner. Actually, they cowered in the corner, they were so star struck. The interview concluded and I greeted Sting. I told him that I worked for Herman Sandler. "Herman is a great friend and a good man. We're doing some great work together on the Rainforest Foundation." I handed Sting some albums which he happily signed, and I asked if he would take a picture with my two guests. He agreed. I coaxed them out of the corner and they flanked Sting as I took a picture. No iPhone in those days, I relied on a throw away camera just purchased at Duane Reade. I took the picture, no flash. I stalled, ‘Hey Sting, we got everything working now,’ I promised as I took another picture. No flash again. Sting laughed, "You got everything working except the camera." Then he shook everyone's hands and left. We headed back to our fourth row seats and watched Sting perform 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.

Regatta de Blanc (1979) 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.

Synchronicity (1983) signed by Sting, Andy Summers

B.B. King, Erin and Me...

 in the Army, I heard an electric guitar that wasn’t playing spiritual. It was T-Bone Walker playing “Stormy Monday” and that was the prettiest sound I think I ever heard in my life. That’s what really started me playing the blues.

                B.B. King 

Singin’ The Blues (1956) signed by B.B.

Live In Cook County Jail (1971) signed by B.B.

Back In The Alley (1980) signed by B.B.

Back In The Alley (1970) signed by BB

When I sing I play in my mind, the minute I stop singing... I start to sing by playing Lucille.

               B.B. King

Blues On Top Of Blues (1968) signed by B.B.

 Blues On Top Of Blues (1966) signed by BB

Born in 1925 on a cotton plantation outside Indianola, Mississippi, young Riley B. King started playing a guitar and became "Beale Street Blues Boy" who became "Blues Boy" and finally, B.B. King. An oft told tale, B.B. King saved his guitar from a burning night club. Later, he found out that the two men who knocked over a kerosene barrel which ignited the fire were fighting over a woman named Lucille. B.B. decided to name his guitar (and every subsequent guitar he played) "Lucille" as a reminder never to do anything as foolish as run into a fire to save a guitar.

“The King Of The Blues" or "The King B.”, he has influenced Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Buddy Guy, and virtually every electric guitarist since. An indefatigable road warrior, it is estimated that he played more than 15,000 concerts in his 60 plus year career, performing 200-250 shows well into his seventies. And I saw a bunch of them.

Mr. Blues The King B. (1963) signed by B.B.

Mr. Blues: The King B (1962) signed by BB

In 1993, The Blue Note in New York City advertised "A Rare Club Date With B.B. King." I bought tickets, and Erin and I and some friends showed up early for the first come, first served general admission. We ended up front row center, directly in front of his eminence. B.B. had his entire twelve piece band with him and it was quite a sight in this small, intimate and fabled New York City jazz club. In those days, the Blue Note had mostly jazz quartets and quintets, and they were not equipped to service B.B.'s large band requirements and retinue. In fact, B.B.'s three piece horn section was relegated to off stage because they could not fit. They played off stage mostly, but when they did a solo, they scurried on, blew a few beautiful notes, and then returned to the shadows. The life of a side man. Not twenty feet from greatness, more like eight...

B.B. and his band played an incredible set of music. He opened with "Let The Good Times Roll" and we were transported to another world. "Lucille" never sounded better as B.B. coaxed and bent beautiful, crystalline blues. As he went through "Sweet Sixteen", "When It All Comes Down", "Rock Me Baby" and "The Thrill Is Gone", the blues were never so joyous and life affirming. The crowd erupted into a standing ovation as he finished his set. A bunch of folks started reaching out to B.B. for a handshake or a memento. B.B. saw Erin directly in front of him, smiled and handed his guitar pick to her. B.B. always had an eye for the ladies, and he has reputedly sired 15 children with 15 different woman. Apparently, as hard as he worked on stage, he was as equally tireless off.

B.B. King pick/Blue Note program 1993

When I met with him backstage, B.B. was kind and generous. He loved seeing some of the old albums, “Look how skinny I am, and young!" He was especially interested in Singin' The Blues, his debut album released in 1956, and he paused as he looked at the song titles with care. He couldn't have been nicer as he stuck out a big mitt to shake hands.

B.B. King overcome with excitement... backstage at the Blue Note, New York City 1993

BB King and Me, Blue Note dressing room, B understandably overwrought with emotion

Several years later, he published an autobiography, Blues All Around Me (1996), which was an honest and open look at his career and influences. Perhaps a little too open and honest. I found it interesting that he loved Frank Sinatra:: "I'm a Frank Sinatra nut. No one sings a ballad with more tenderness...and when Sinatra wants to swing, no one swings harder. No one phrases any hipper." And for guitar inspiration, he listened to Les Paul, inventor of the solid body electric guitar and many other recording advances like overdubbing. Less interesting was a chapter entitled "Someone Asked Me About Oral Sex." Really B? I can think of a lot of other interesting questions. This might be the most improbable chapter in the history of music autobiography! Prurient, salacious, and completely unnecessary, it is hard to believe that a publisher or editor fought for this chapter's inclusion. I couldn't believe what I was reading so I read it over and over and over and over again, just to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

B.B. King, blues icon, legend, ladies man. Never have the blues felt so satisfying. The thrill is never gone.

Blues n Jazz (1983) signed by B.B..

Blues n Jazz (1983) signed by BB

Live At The Apollo (1999) signed by B.B.

Live At The Apollo (1991) signed by BB

Choice B.B. King Cuts (per BKs request)

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

“The Thrill Is Gone” live with Eric Clapton Crossroads Festival 2010

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

“I’ve Been Downhearted, Baby” live Sing Sing Prison 1972

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFi3C_5U9_Y

“Stormy Monday” live at Austin City Limits 1996

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

“Night Life” Austin City Limits 1983

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQQ_vl47CGc

“I Believe To My Soul” Live in Zaire 1974

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72kyjRpVi1I

“Five Long Years” live 1998

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpoH2IY2Mcc

“I’ve Got A Mind To Give Up Living” live 1968

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

“Three O’Clock Blues” with Eric Clapton

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnlwxS-36AU

“Why I Sing The Blues” live with Albert King, Etta James, Stevie Ray Vaughan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNr_eIgP0tI

“Sweet Little Angel” live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p80MSFUOfk

“Slow Blues #1” live with Jimi Hendrix 1969

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuND2iC4oJc&list=PLSQ9_a7EjS7edlylPLqMdfIxdkdUHFLnp

“Precious Lord” B.B. King Sings Spirituals 1959

Dave Brubeck, Richard Avedon, and Me...

Dave Brubeck Trio (1960)) signed by Dave

Newport 1958 (1958) signed by Dave, Joe Morello

There's a way of playing safe, there's a way of using tricks and there's the way I like to play which is dangerously, where you're going to take a chance on making mistakes in order to create something you haven't created before.

               Dave Brubeck

Jazz Impressions Of The U.S.A. (1957) signed by Dave, Joe Morello

In Europe (1958) signed by Dave, Joe Morello

Brubeck Plays Brubeck (1956) signed by Dave

Jazz stands for freedom. It's supposed to be the voice of freedom. Get out there and improvise, and take chances and don't be a perfectionist - leave that to the classical musicians.

               Dave Brubeck

Dave Brubeck Octet (1950) signed by Dave

Southern Scene (1960) signed by Dave, Joe Morello

Dave Brubeck is best known for his song "Take Five", the first jazz single to sell one million copies when it was released in 1959 - a nearly impossible feat for a jazz song then, and especially now. Though Dave was a prolific composer and wrote many jazz standards - "In Your Own Sweet Way", "The Duke", "Blue Rondo a la Turk" - "Take Five' was written by Paul Desmond, his longtime colleague and superlative alto saxophonist. The song derived its name from the unusual 5/4 time in which it was played. Interestingly, when Desmond died of lung cancer in 1977, he left all "Take Five" royalties to the American Red Cross, a nice stream of recurring revenues, I'm sure.

Time Out (1959) signed by Dave, Joe Morello

One night at the Blue Note in New York City, I was visiting with Dave after a concert and I asked him about the album cover shot by legendary photographer Richard Avedon for Jazz: Red Hot And Cool, released in 1955 on Columbia Records. I remarked that the model was wearing a beautiful red dress. He corrected me, "That was no dress. That was a piece of fabric that was draped (strategically) over her." While Dave looks and plays straight ahead, Paul Desmond's attention and focus is elsewhere.

Red Hot And Cool 1955) signed by Brubeck, photo by Richard Avedon

Richard Avedon, a fashion and portrait photographer at Harper's Bizarre and Vogue for decades, also took portraits of Barbra Streisand, Simon & Garfunkel, Lena Horne, Sly & The Family Stone, and The Beatles for album covers. Avedon once said, "All photographs are accurate. None of them are the truth." He must not have been thinking about his Brubeck and Desmond photo on Jazz: Red Hot And Cool. It is a perfect metaphor for the two jazz men's disparate lives. Dave Brubeck, a teetotaler who never took drugs, was a devoted father and husband. Brubeck stares cheerily ahead, past the remonstrances of his comely, barely dressed suitor. In contrast, Paul Desmond was a womanizer and a dissolute, drug abusing alcoholic who died from lung cancer. Not an unexpected outcome for a man who chain smoked and once said, "I think I had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to sound like a dry martini." Paul Desmond stares exactly where you think he would, and Richard Avedon captured the truth in that photo.

Most days, I try to live like Dave Brubeck, but some days, I’d rather be Paul Desmond…

Bookends (1968) signed by Simon & Garfunkel, photography by Richard Avedon

The artistry of Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond and Richard Avedon colliding as they left enduring legacies of beauty in their works.

Brubeck a la mode (1960) signed by Dave, Joe Morello

Dave Digs Disney (1957) signed by Dave

Bossa Nova USA (1962) signed by Dave

Blues Roots (1969) signed by Dave

All The Things We Are (1973) signed by Brubeck, Roy Haynes, Lee Konitz

Choice Dave Brubeck Cuts (per BKs request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT9Eh8wNMkw
"Take Five"  Brubeck and Desmond, live in Belgium 1964

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcnSDOJoEbI
"La Paloma Azul (The Blue Dove)"  exquisite Mexican folk tune rendered by Brubeck, Desmond in Antibes, France 1967

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBFzLEMvi4M
"Someday My Prince Will Come"  Dave Digs Disney  1957

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYlO3H40V2o
"Somewhere Over The Rainbow"  Brubeck reinvents with beautiful chords and time changes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DXWJWkeVww
"Angel Eyes"  Dave Brubeck Quartet  1962

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9GgmGLPbWU
"Blue Rondo A La Turk"  Live, 1959

Gone With The Wind (1959) signed by Dave

Instant Brubeck (1969 reissue, 1954 recordings) signed by Dave

Dave Brubeck Paul Desmond (1982 reissue, 1952 recordings) signed by Dave

Jazz Impressions Of New York (1964) front cover, unsigned

Back cover signed by Dave

all signed albums from the Kirk vinyl collection  

copyright 2019

Andy Warhol, Johnny Griffin and Me...

Jazz is music made by and for people who have chosen to feel good in spite of conditions.

               Johnny Griffin

The Congregation (1957) signed by Griffin, art by Warhol

Before Andy Warhol was the acclaimed and influential icon Andy Warhol, he was a young artist who drew and designed album covers. One of his earliest commercial works was Carlos Chavez's A Program Of Mexican Music completed in 1949 when Andy was only 21. When Andy became famous, he designed album covers for The Velvet Underground in 1967 (probably the only album cover that highlights the artist and not the band), the Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers in 1971 (with working zipper!) and Love You Live in 1977, Diana Ross' Silk Electric in 1982, and Aretha Franklin's Aretha in 1986. Earlier album covers were illustrated for artists as diverse as Vladimir Horowitz, The Boston Pops, Count Basie, Kenny Burrell, Thelonious Monk and Johnny Griffin.

The Velvet Underground (1967) signed by Lou Reed

Johnny Griffin, a tenor saxophonist from Chicago, diminutive in stature, was nicknamed "The Little Giant." Despite his lack of physical presence, Johnny was a hard blowing tenor giant, and the winner of many cutting sessions with his fellow peers and collaborators. A Blowin’ Session (released in 1957) is considered the greatest hard bop jam session ever, and features Griffin, John Coltrane and Hank Mobley furiously trading tenor solos, while pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Art Blakey supply impeccable rhythm. As Johnny once remarked, "I like to play fast. I get excited, and I have to sort of control myself, restrain myself. But when the rhythm section gets cooking, I want to explode." Johnny released other important jazz albums, and like many of his jazz brethren, he relocated to Europe from the mid-1960s through 2008 when he died.

The Little Giant (1959) signed by Griffin, Julian Priester

Little Giant (compilation 1959 recordings) signed by Griffin

I saw Johnny several times through the years when he visited from his safe European home. He was a riveting performer and I was always struck by his big, fat, warm, wonderful sound. At the times, the tenor saxophone looked bigger than he, as it had swallowed him whole, but Johnny had such skill and ferocity when he was playing. One of my favorite songs was a blues vamp that he wrote, "The JAMFs Are Coming." He explained that it was an acronym for "the jive ass motherfuckers" are coming. No lyrics, just a blues groove propelled by his searing hard bop tenor. When Johnny signed The Congregation, with the cover drawn by Andy Warhol, I asked Johnny if he had the original Warhol drawing. "No. I don't have it. I wish I did and I'm not sure where it ended up," came his modest reply. Well, I told him, I know where the Hawaiian shirt is, it's hanging in my closet.

The JAMFs are coming indeed.

Griff & Lock (1960) signed by Griffin, Junior Mance

Serenade To A Bus Seat (1957) signed by Griffin, Clark Terry

With Flute To Boot (1958) signed by Griffin, Herbie Mann, Curtis Fuller

Big 6 (1958) signed by Griffin, Curtis Fuller

Thelonious In Action (1958) signed by Griffin, Roy Haynes

The Big Soul Band (1960) signed by Griffin, Clark Terry, Bob Cranshaw, Norman Simmons, Harold Mabern, Julian Priester

Battle Stations (1960) signed by Griffin

Grab This! (1963) signed by Griffin

Night Lady (1963) signed by Griffin, Jimmy Woode

Return Of The Griffin (1979) signed by Griffin

Bush Dance (1979) signed by Griffin

Choice Johnny Griffin Cuts (per BKs request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhfEq1WFl2g

"The JAMFs Are Coming"  Live in France 1971

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-SYoldqi64

"A Night In Tunisia" Johnny and Dizzy Gillespie in France 1971

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3kEnoXaYYo

"Blue Monk"  Johnny blows with Thelonious Monk and Art Blakey  1958

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

"Don't Get Around Much Anymore" Johnny swings Duke  1963

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

"Grab This!"  Grab This!  1963

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDbopNNlWKk&list=PLA510E534276EA049

"The Way You Look Tonight"  A Blowin' Session  1957

All signed albums from the Kirk vinyl collection  

copyright 2019

Tito Puente, Mona and Me...

Everybody's heard of Santana. Santana! Beautiful Santana! He put our music, Latin rock, around the world, man! And I'd like to thank him publicly 'cause he recorded a tune and he gave me credit as the composer of the tune. So, since that day... all we play... is Santana music!

               Tito Puente on Santana covering his song "Oye Como Va”

Cuban Carnival (1956) signed by Tito

Dance Mania (1958) signed by Tito

Dance Mania (1958 import) signed by Tito

The only salsa I know is sold in a bottle called ketchup. I play Cuban music.

              Tito Puente

Ernesto Antonio "Tito" Puente spent much of his childhood in Spanish Harlem in New York City where he became immersed in the Latin rhythms of the day. After being drafted in 1942, Tito served in the US Navy for three years, and he saw nine battles on the escort carrier USS Santee. After being discharged with a Presidential Unit Citation, Tito formally studied music theory, orchestration and conducting (via the GI Bill) at the Julliard School of Music in New York.

In 1947, Tito joined Machito's orchestra as a drummer, then switched to the timbales. Machito's orchestra was the first to incorporate Afro-Cuban rhythms and introduced the triple play of conga, bongos and timbales as the standard Latin percussion. In the early 1950s, Tito started his own orchestra and he helped foment the mambo and Latin dance craze. Shows at the Palladium were legendary and introduced the "cha cha cha", mambo and other dances to an enthusiastic and wider audience than the uptown Latin clubs. Tito became "El Rey del Timbal" or just "El Rey."

Mamborama (1955) signed by Tito

Tito Puente released over one-hundred albums in his brilliant career and is probably the most well known and beloved star in Latin or Latin jazz history. He won five Grammy awards and appeared on The Cosby Show (when it was a mark of distinction!) and The Simpsons (still a hallmark of excellence and cultural relevance!). He also helped the careers of many important Latin musicians: Ray Barretto, Willie Bobo, and Mongo Santamaria played in Tito's band and had considerable success as solo artists.

Top Percussion (1957) signed by Tito

Tito's music was exposed to the Woodstock generation when Santana recorded "Oye Como Va" (written in 1963) on Santana's breakthrough Abraxas (1970) album. "Oye Como Va" has become Tito's most well known composition. At shows thereafter, Tito gratefully acknowledged the great guitar master's exposure as a wonderful boost to his career. And the songwriting royalties didn't hurt either!

I saw Tito and his orchestra dozens of times over the years and his music was so powerful, joyous and uplifting. Most jazz and rock bands have the percussion set up in the back. Not Tito. Timbales, conga, bongo all in front. The spotlight and focus was on Tito and he reveled in it. He was a showman's showman. His percussion was the propulsive locomotive of the entire band. As Count Basie said of his big band, "we have a good night if our drummer (Jo Jones) has a good night,” and every night with Tito was a great night. The horn section anchored by Mario Rivera on tenor saxophone and Ray Vega on trumpet was placed in back of the percussion, and what a joyful noise those ten or twelve collective pieces made!

One day when I was digging through crates at a record store, I came across Music For Romancing (1955), a mambo compilation with a very alluring model reclining on her back, two wine glasses nearby, a lit cigarette burning in an ashtray full of stubs. The cigarette wasn't the only thing smoldering, she was sultry and sexy. The record was on Tico, a label started by George Goldner in 1948 which became home to early recordings in the 1950s by Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguez and Machito - The Mambo Kings. I scanned the back cover, there was no mention of any artists. I looked again at the front cover. Easy call. I buy. I slipped the record into my stack and I went to the checkout to purchase it.

Music For Romancing (1955) signed by Tito

Many years later, I saw Tito for the last time at The Blue Note in NYC in early 2000. He was in great form and he had his superlative musicians with him. I knocked on the dressing room door, and Tito invited me in. He was with a friend. I showed Tito the album  Music For Romancing. I asked him, ‘Who’s the babe on the cover?’ Tito was excited. He grabbed the album from me and showed it to his friend who was sitting on a couch five feet away. Tito unleashed a torrent of Spanish incomprehensible to me, save one word: "tits." My ears perked. Then he turned to me. Solemnly, he said, "You know who that babe is? I can tell you exactly who that babe is. Her name was Mona. She had gorgeous tits. Look at her tits. She was the wife of the president of my record label (Tico). Look how beautiful her tits are." I took the bait. There was something wonderfully alliterative (and naughty) in talking tits with Tito. I said, ‘Tito, I love tits. My wife has great tits. Would you mind signing Mona's tits?’ "Yes, I'd be delighted to sign her tits" came the quick reply. "Best wishes, Tito Puente '00" was lovingly scrawled on possibly my favorite record cover.

In real life, Mona was Ramona Goldner, the Puerto Rican born wife of Tico record label president and founder George Goldner. Mona was so beautiful that Tito Rodriguez, fellow Mambo King, wrote "Mambo Mona" or "Mama Guela" as a tribute to her ravishing looks, a song which has become a Latin jazz standard. And George Goldner's interest in Latin music started with his wife's introduction to those wonderful, sensuous rhythms and sounds. While Mona may not have been the face that launched a thousand ships, she certainly moved and inspired thousands of hips!

Let’s Cha Cha Cha With Puente (1959) signed by Tito

Thanks El Rey for your joyous and life affirming music, and your discerning eye for talent on and off stage.

Dance The Cha Cha Cha (1959) signed by Tito

Mucho Cha Cha (1959) signed by Tito

Dancing Under Latin Skies (1959) signed by Tito

Bossa Nova By Puente (1962) signed by Tito

Cuba y Puerto Rico Son (196) signed by Tito

El Rey y Yo (1967) signed by Tito

Homenage A Beny More (1978) signed by Tito

CE’ Magnifique (1981) signed by Tito

Choice Tito Puente Cuts (per BKs request)

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

“Oye Como Va” Village Gate with Dizzy Gillespie 1986

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXBgJ2ajjQs

“Ti Mon Bo” Top Percussion 1957

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

“Don’t You Worry’Bout A Thing” Tito plays Stevie!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNifUszz2zA

“Hong Kong Mambo” Dance Mania 1958

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvMNjdz9Gcw

“Ran Kan Kan” live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zm2C5hx4sI0

“Quimbara” Tito plays, Celia Cruz sings!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eewrHI2dFfs

“Descarga with Cachao” Atlanta Jazz Festival 1990

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

“Five Beat Mambo” live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6fhsmVyNaw

“El Cumbanchero” live 1965

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

“Jam” live at Montreux 1980

Bonus picks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7ATTjg7tpE

“Oye Como Va” Santana Abraxas 1970

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8nkXC9TxKs

“Mambo Mona” Tito Rodriguez

On Broadway (1983) signed by Tito

Latina Familia (1989) signed by Tito, Sheila E.

Un Poco Loco (1987) signed by Tito

John Fahey and Me...

For nearly ten years, I have been posting vignettes to my friends and colleagues on my insane record collection and the attendant autographs/interactions with the artists (some 200+ so far in total). It has been a labor of love, and, hopefully, as informative and entertaining for my readers as it has been for me. Everyone from Sinatra to the Sex Pistols, Sonny Rollins to Johnny Cash, The Grateful Dead to Lou Reed, no one has been spared in my dogged pursuit.

The genesis started innocently. In my never ending and insatiable search for music in all genres, I read a lot of blogs. A couple of years ago, I came across a not particularly well written John Fahey post. I thought three things: I can write better, I have better stories, and my kids see all this junk in our music room and they have no idea who many of these artists are, and the album artwork is as compelling as some of the back stories are interesting.

So, blame it all on John Fahey. In his incandescent memory, here's the first post which I ever sent, along with some Holiday tunes (and vinyl artwork!)....

When I play, I very quickly put myself into a light hypnotic trance and compose while playing, drawing directly from the emotions.

John Fahey (1939-2001)

John Fahey, an American guitarist, composer and savant, is so wide ranging in his material, from blues to folk to avant garde, that his music is beyond category. John also released a series of instrumental Christmas albums which have been holiday staples in my house since the late 1970s. "Silent Night,” "Joy To The World,” and "O Holy Night" have never sounded better. I was lucky to see Fahey several times over the years, and I was always struck by a man who looked so menacing, yet created such tender and exquisite melodies.

The New Possibility (1968) unsigned

One night, back in December 1983, Erin and I went to see him perform at the Birchmere, a small club in Alexandria, Virginia. The Birchmere then was in a converted used furniture store and it retained a similar, decaying ambience: picnic tables with naugahyde chairs stuck to a filthy linoleum floor, the aroma of stale beer, cheap wine and unfiltered cigarettes hung heavy in the still, acrid air. John was playing his usual eclectic set when he stopped and asked the audience for a drink, "Not beer or wine," like the Birchmere served, "but a real drink. Someone must have something in their car," he implored. One audience member volunteered that he had something in his car. John said he would wait. We did. When the audience member returned, he went onstage and handed John a bottle of brandy, which he chugged to the delight of the audience. John resumed playing flawlessly.

After the show, I went backstage to get an album signed. The dressing room door was slightly ajar so I went in. There was a bathroom in the dressing room and that door was wide open. John had his back to me, and he was unleashing a furious torrent. He turned and said he’d be done in a minute. I said I didn’t mean to bother him, I could see he had his hands full. He laughed, finished his business, wheeled around and stuck out a big unwashed paw. I told him how great the show was and asked him to sign an album. He happily obliged, then asked, "Where do you live? Do you have anything to drink in your house?" I thought about this. It would be awesome to bring John Fahey back to my house and play records, stay up and drink all night. But what if it went wrong? John was a big man, and I knew I could be belligerent when I got over served, what if Fahey and I broke bad?  'No, I don’t really have anything,' I sheepishly told him. I thanked him and left.

When I returned to my table, I told Erin that Fahey wanted to come home with us. I explained my misgivings. She said I should have said yes. That wasn’t the last time I was wrong about something….

Popular Songs Of Christmas & New Year’s (1983)

Back cover signed by John Fahey

Choice Holiday Cuts (per BK's request)
"Joy To The World"   The New Possibility  1968

"What Child Is This?"   The New Possibility  1968

"In Christ There Is No East Or West"  John Fahey  Live  1968

"Poor Boys A Long Way From Home"  John Fahey Live  Hamburg 1978 

"Little Drummer Boy"  David Bowie meets Bing Crosby! 1977

God Rest aye Merry Jazz Men signed by Jimmy and Percy Heath, Wynton Marsalis, Paquito D’Rivera, Arthur Blythe, McCoy Tyner

"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"   Dexter Gordon  1980

Steal Away: Spirituals, Hymns and Folk Songs (1996) signed by  Hank Jones

Christmas With McGriff (1964) signed by Jimmy McGriff

White Christmas (1964) signed by Jimmy McGriff  

Christmas With McGriff 1970s reissue with Jimmy’s niece on cover.

"Merry Christmas Baby" Otis Redding 1965

That Holiday Feeling (1990) signed by Joe Williams

"The Christmas Song"   Joe Williams  1990

The Charlie Byrd Christmas Album (1981) signed by Charlie

"White Christmas"   Charlie Byrd  1982

Merry Christmas! Ho! Ho! Ho! (1967) signed to my parents from Lou Rawls

"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"  Lou Rawls  1967

"Silent Night"  The Winans  1991

"Angel Eyes"  Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson  Light Of The Stable   1979

"Deck The Halls"  Jacob Miller  Natty Christmas  1987

A little icky to go with the green sticky...

Natty Christmas (1987) sadly unsigned by Jacob Killer Miller

All signed albums from the Kirk vinyl collection 

Copyright 2019

Robert Hunter, T.S. Eliot, The Grateful Dead and Me...

Walking down Madrone Canyon in Larkspur in 1969, you said some pretty mind-blowing stuff, how we were creating a universe and I was responsible for the verbal half of it. I said maybe, but it was your way with music and a guitar that was pulling it off. You said "That's for now. This is your time in the shadow, but it won't always be that way. I'm not going to live a long time, it's not in the cards. Then it'll be your turn." I may be alive and kicking, but no pencil pusher is going to inherit the stratosphere that so gladly opened to you. Recalling your statement, though, often helped keep me oriented as my own star murked below the horizon while you streaked across the sky of our generation like a goddamned comet!

               Robert Hunter, letter written upon the one year anniversary of Jerry Garcia's death, 1996

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

I met Robert Hunter, lyricist nonpareil for the Grateful Dead, during a soundcheck before his show at the City Winery in New York City in July 2014. I had last seen Robert perform many years ago in Boston during college. While his literary and lyrical talents abound, his music and singing is more of an acquired taste. One that I have not yet acquired. What I remember from seeing him then, was Hunter shouting “Promontory Rider” at the top of his coarse lungs. Over and over. Seeing him once was more than enough for me.

The soundcheck that night revealed a kinder, gentler Robert Hunter. He played “Loser”, “Sugaree” and “Touch Of Grey” from the Grateful Dead songbook. While his voice is not melodic, it was not as harsh and his finger picked guitar playing was interesting. After the brief set, I had the chance to visit with him, and I brought a couple albums – Workingman’s Dead and Skull and Roses – which I had the Dead sign more than twenty years ago ( another story for another time).

 Robert was quite intrigued when I showed him the signed Workingman’s Dead album. I asked him where the photo was taken. He said he wasn’t sure, but the shabby clothes were supplied by Warner Brothers to reflect a workingman's vibe. I was surprised, I assumed the clothes were their own, as the Dead were never known for their sartorial choices. He said he loved the photo, but he hated the fake smokestacks that were painted on one of the buildings by an artist (right below Mickey Hart’s signature). I hadn’t noticed them before, but Robert was annoyed that Warner Brothers decided to mar an otherwise authentic photo.

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

 I told Robert that he was an amazing and prolific writer. Who were your influences? “Bob Dylan,” he immediately replied. Yes, I knew he had collaborated with Dylan on "Duquesne Whistle" and the entireTogether Through Life album, but what about before Dylan? 'I’m an old english major,’ I explained, 'T. S. Eliot? Keats?' “Well,” he replied, “I am very well read. I’d like to say (William Butler) Yeats (the great Irish bard) but that would be untrue, I didn’t start reading Yeats until a couple of decades ago.” He mused, “I have always enjoyed T.S. Eliot. In fact, I’d say “Dark Star” was very much influenced by Eliot.”

 Interesting. The Dead’s great LSD magnum opus “Dark Star”  influenced by T.S. Eliot?

A closer look at two excerpts is revealing:

Dark Star (1968)

Dark star crashes, pouring its light into ashes

Reason tatters, the forces tear loose from the axis

Searchlight casting, for faults in the clouds of delusion

Shall we go, you and I while we can, through the transitive nightfalls of diamonds.

The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock (1915)

Let us go then you and I, when the evening is spread against the sky
Like a patient etherised upon a table.
Let us go, through half deserted streets, the muttering retreats
Of restless nights in one night cheap hotels
And sawdust restaurants with oyster shells.

I’ll take Hunter at his word: there are some similarities. As Oscar Wilde reminds us, “Talent borrows, genius steals.” It was an enlightening visit with Robert Hunter, one of the foremost lyricists in the ever widening Great American Songbook.

Hope our paths cross soon.

Robert Hunter and me…. City Winery, July 2014

all photos/signed albums from the Kirk Vinyl collection

copyright 2019

Choice Robert Hunter Cuts (per BKs request)

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

“Box Of Rain” Jack o’ Roses 1980

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LSI_s4iwqY8

”Mountains Of The Moon” live at City Winery, NYC 7.21.14

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLAd1HHzJzM&list=RDDLAd1HHzJzM&start_radio=1

”Promontory Rider” live with Jerry Garcia Band, Capitol Theater, 3.01.80

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z6eZ4LFFkw

”Ripple” live at Ryman Auditorium, 2013 Americana Awards

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tA--gq6iI94

”Brown Eyed Women” Newport Folk Festival 7.24.14

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KLUTbnGwGt
”Reuben And Cherise” live 1980

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vDUnIb7-9fI

”Stella Blue” live at City Winery NYC 7.23.14

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xiCpRAiIIH4

”Promontory Rider” Alligator Moon 1978

Bonus Round:

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://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

Car Wash, Gary Stromberg and Me...

CAR WASH (1976) signed by Gary

In my dogged pursuit of music memorabilia, I have met hundreds and hundreds of legendary musicians, everyone from Frank Sinatra to Johnny Rotten, Dizzy Gillespie to Tito Puente, Johnny Cash to The Grateful Dead, and lots in between. Most of the interactions have been cursory and ephemeral, lasting just long enough for a signature on some vinyl, or perhaps some fleeting insight into a particular album or recording. In rare instances, chance encounters have developed into friendships. Two that spring to mind as more fully developed relationships were with soul singer Lou Rawls and Hammond B3 master Jimmy McGriff (who later performed at our wedding). The only relationship which bonded in friendship first, autograph stalking afterward is with Gary Stromberg - author, bon vivant, movie producer, and nonpareil raconteur.

I met Gary in Westport in 2001 when our family moved to Connecticut. I had heard that he was a major player in the 1960s-1970s Los Angeles music scene - he had co-founded Gibson & Stromberg, an influential music PR firm that repped The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Ray Charles, and The Doors, among others - but we bonded over our mutual love of Jazz. I knew that I had met a kindred soul when he told me that when he signed The Doors (after seeing them at The Whisky A Go Go) that he passed the band off to his partner, whom Gary deemed as a better cultural fit. "I liked their music and I knew they were going to be big, but Morrison had a very big ego and I didn't want to deal with him. I'm more of a jazz guy, anyway." A prescient insight, and yet Gary was able to keep The Doors as a G&S client. Everybody won.

Laugh-In dancers Judy Carne, Goldie Hawn, Chelsea Brown - Ebony Magazine

Gary's stories have stories. A rich life, full of adventure, Gary shared close proximity with some of the greatest artists of the Twentieth-Century. Whether it was signing The Doors on the Sunset Strip, touring with Ray Charles where Gary met his first wife, Chelsea Brown, the solo dancer in Ray’s show, who later starred in the hit TV show Laugh-In, or doing PR for the 1974 concert in Zaire which preceded Muhammad Ali's epic "Rumble In The Jungle" with James Brown, Celia Cruz and The Fania All-Stars, The Spinners and a host of others,Gary's life has a Zelig-like quality. As a challenge, I would casually mention a rock or jazz artist, and Gary would invariably have a first person remembrance: a dinner with Ringo Starr and Marc Bolan of T. Rex, hanging out with Ike and Tina Turner at Ike's converted studio which had an actual bank vault serving as a sanctuary for Ike's illicit activities, dating Claudia Lennear for whom Mick Jagger wrote "Brown Sugar" and David Bowie wrote "Lady Grinning Soul"... it would all be so unbelievable, if it weren't told by Gary with so much honesty, humility, humor and wit.

Ike & Tina Turner, Mick Jagger & Claudia Lennear, November 27, 1969, backstage, Madison Square Garden

One of my favorite Gary jazz stories involved the unique multi-reed instrumentalist, Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Rahsaan was a ridiculously talented musician who had mastered the tenor saxophone, clarinet, flute as well as the obscure saxophones, the manzello and stritch. On stage, Rahsaan would have three or more instruments hanging around his neck and he would often play these instruments simultaneously, playing melodies and harmonizing with the sounds which he said were always running through his head. A one man band, Rahsaan was a singular wall of sound, and it was said that Jimi Hendrix wanted to jam with him although, unfortunately, that never happened. 

Rahsaan Roland Kirk

One late night, Gary's friends (sans Gary) were performing as a jazz quartet at The Purple Onion, a jazz club off Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. Then Rahsaan walked into the room. The boys asked him to sit in with them and soon, they were grooving with the inimitable Rahsaan in full-flight. After the set, they asked Rahsaan if he wanted to hang out with them. He accepted their gracious offer and when asked what he wanted to do, without hesitation, Rahsaan said that he wanted to bake a cake! The boys laughed and agreed that was a good idea, so they left the club to venture off into the wee hours of the warm, dark narcotic night. They piled into a tiny Volkswagen and drove to the all-night Hollywood Ranch Market and began scouring the aisles for the requisite ingredients. A 4am grocery stroll in search of Betty Crocker with five junkies, higher than kites, was a perfect misadventure. Because Rahsaan was blind, he preferred to keep his instruments around his neck at all times, so as he walked around the store, banging and clanging, he was making as much of a joyful noise offstage as on. Finally, this rag tag crew made it through the checkout, and went back to the car for the trip to the apartment where they would show off their culinary skills.

Rahsaan had one important last request though: he wanted to drive! The fellas agreed that anyone who could play as well as Rahsaan should be able to drive. Sure, why not? Let's let Rahsaan drive, they reasoned. Though blind, he probably wasn't nearly as impaired as they were. Their experiment lasted about thirty seconds when Rahsaan started the car, threw it in gear and drove directly across the street into the block long display window of a Cadillac car dealership. Stunned, the boys sat in silence until the local gendarmes showed up to investigate the accident. You can imagine their surprise when they found a blind Rahsaan sitting behind the wheel, saxophones hanging around his neck, and someone mumbling, "Officer, he said he could drive." Though a blind man can see, he still cannot drive!

Car Wash (1976) signed by brother Gary

 As Gary's career expanded beyond his music clients, he became an unlikely movie producer. After a cocaine-fueled night chasing his demons, Gary woke up one morning with a couple of pieces of paper stuffed in his jeans, written the night before in a fevered delirium. Upon reading them, he found the basic outline for a musical, set in a Los Angeles car wash. Originally, Gary envisioned CAR WASH as a Broadway musical, but that changed when he went to Universal Pictures and they gave him a $2 million budget for a movie. A movie it would be. Using his vast connections, Gary reached out to the greatest Motown, producer/songwriter Norman Whitfield ("Just My Imagination", "Ain't Too Proud To Beg", "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone", and Marvin Gaye's “I Heard It Through the Grapevine" among countless others), and Norman wrote and produced the soundtrack which included the Top 10 single "I Wanna Get Next To You" and the infectious #1 title smash "Car Wash." The Grammy award winning soundtrack, performed by Rose Royce, was released a month or more before the release of the movie, which was part of the marketing genius of CAR WASH. Urban audiences were already hip to "Working at the Car Wash" through the enormous radio air play these singles enjoyed. CAR WASH became a cult classic, helped by the guest appearances by Gary's friends, Richard Pryor and George Carlin, and no less an authority and arbiter on all things pop culture than my wife, Erin, puts CAR WASHin the top three of Twentieth-Century cultural achievements. And I have learned over the years not to challenge Erin's unassailable and impeccable taste!

The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh (1979) signed by brother Gary

Gary's next foray into the movies - The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh - was not as successful, personally, commercially or critically. The plot strains at credulity - a hapless Pittsburgh team is magically transformed into a championship contender when an astrologer (an early role for Stockard Channing) brings in other players who share the same astrological sign, Pisces. Although the basketball footage contains real ballers ballin' - Julius "Dr. J" Erving, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Connie Hawkins, "Sweet Lou" Hudson, and Harlem Globetrotter deity Meadowlark Lemon - the rest of the movie is a barely watchable pastiche. Yet, it has become a camp and cult classic.

The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh (1980) Yugoslavia poster signed by Gary

Gary's second life began when he got sober in the early 1980s, and this is where his journey has had the most meaningful impact. Since then, Gary has written three acclaimed books - The Harder They Fall, Feeding the Fame  and Second Chances  -  about men and women in recovery. The first is about celebrities, the second deals with eating disorders and the third is about prominent business people in recovery. All three deliver first-hand accounts of the harrowing descent into addiction and alcoholism, and the ensuing recovery which is so rewarding and uplifting. Redemption, a dominant theme throughout the vignettes, is powerful as people recover, reclaim and restore their sanity while fighting their demons and disease. One day at a time, Gary has been a witness and friend to so many in recovery over the past thirty-six plus years, that it is truly as inspiring as it is remarkable.

When I was visiting with Gary in Los Angeles recently, I asked him to sign a couple of posters for my collection. It felt a bit strange, given our deep personal connection and friendship. He said, "Do you want me to personalize them?" 'Nah, don't do that. I'm just gonna sell this shit on Ebay someday!' We both laughed, rigorous honesty indeed.

Thanks for all your love and support, Gary. You have helped me more than you will ever know. Oh yeah, and thanks for CAR WASH, it's top three, for sure.

Car Wash - a classic in all languages!

Phew (1973) Claudia Lennear “How come you dance so perfect?!”

Gary & Chelsea playing chess, Ebony Magazine November 1969

Choice Gary Cuts (per BKs request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3Qr6omvRVI
"Car Wash"  Rose Royce singing with movie clips  1976

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss0GT6x66ZQ
"Car Wash" Rose Royce bringin the funk to Soul Train! 1976

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kfI7NHM-EE
"I Wanna Get Next To You"  Rose Royce with movie clips

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiI2ZHmxPPo

"My Favorite Things"  Rahsaan Roland Kirk with McCoy Tyner, Stanley Clarke  1975

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIqLJmlQQNM
"The Inflated Tear"  Rahsaan Roland Kirk  live Prague  1967

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsxEf53OhAU
"It Ain't Easy"  Claudia Lennear  Phew  1973

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1Cm3cezU_0
Claudia Lennear - An Ikette with Ike & Tina Turner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjQUblWNy6E
"Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky"  Claudia Lennear  Phew  1973

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycEq2B2pzuo
"Try Me"  James Brown in Zaire 1974

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W777MIR8-ko
"Guantanamera"  Celia Cruz & Fania All-Stars in Zaire 1974

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXN-_asIaYs
"Quimbara"  Celia Cruz & Fania All-Stars in Zaire  1974

 Great Books! Buy ‘em while supplies last!

The Harder They Fall (2007)

https://www.amazon.com/Harder-They-Fall-Celebrities-Real-Life/dp/1592854761/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1510843000&sr=8-1&keywords=gary+stromberg&dpID=51hC9PQQjyL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch

Second Chances (2009)

https://www.amazon.com/Second-Chances-Executives-Addiction-Recovery/dp/0071591621/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1510843000&sr=8-2&keywords=gary+stromberg&dpID=414xgZfcHcL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch