Kenny Burrell (who will turn 94 in July), has been a major figure in jazz since first arriving in New York in 1956. His articulate playing, which connected the dots between bebop and the down-home sensibility of the earliest blues guitarists, quickly became a signature of East Coast hard bop.
Few musicians can boast a résumé as diverse or as loaded with innovators. Kenny’s credits include Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Oscar Peterson, Milt Jackson, Tony Bennett, Jimmy Smith, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, James Brown, and Aretha Franklin.
His co-leader (billed that way, as Kenny tells it, to capitalize on the name recognition of both men) is drummer Art Blakey, who, with his Jazz Messengers, was synonymous with hard-bop. Filling out the rhythm section are bassist Ben Tucker and pianist Roland Hanna, both making their recorded debuts. On some tracks, Bobby Timmons fills in for Hanna, and the quartet are joined by tenor saxophonist Tina Brooks.
This is a smokin' live session, with more of an edge than some of his other records from the time. Kenny's guitar has that impeccable tone throughout. But it's also matched by some wonderful tenor from the great Tina Brooks in one of his few Blue Note appearances.
The album has been remastered from the original master tapes by Kevin Gray, and it sounds sweet.
I was only in the Five Spot Cafe once, it was during the summer of 1967 (the year it closed). Rahsaan Roland Kirk played that night, he had just released his 'Now Please Don't You Cry, Beautiful Edith' album.
For the freeload, tell us about closed music venues, clubs, pubs, and bars that you miss.
The After Shave, favorite night club from my clubbing days.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't mind me asking, where was The After Shave?
DeleteThe Golden Inn in Golden, NM, saw a few shows there in the 70's. Was destroyed by arson in the 80's, suspicious? Sure. Shidoni Bar in Tesuque, , which later became the Shidoni Foundry which morphed into the Shidoni Gallery (saw the Alpha Band there, fresh outa the Rolling Thunder Review, they were practicing [2 weeks of shows] their first album for their own tour). Shidoni went under too , tax problems sometime after 2000.
ReplyDeleteThe Line Camp in Pojoaque, NM, lotsa bands, brews, cowgirls. No idea what happened to it, building is still there. Paolo Soleri Amphitheater in Santa Fe on the grounds of the Institute of American Indian Arts. Saw many, many concerts there outdoors, I believe it is abandoned & will be torn down, but the future for that is uncertain, I think. Once I walked my daughters up to a nearby playground when they were young, Sam was still in a stroller. It was a lovely summer evening. We heard the start of a concert from the amphitheater which was a couple of hundred yards away. Stevie Ray Vaughan was playing that night, we stayed at the playground until way after bedtime! Great memories all. Thanks Babs
One of the few recordings of Tina Brooks. I fondly remember Good Karma (a street level health food restaurant with a tiny jazz/folk space in the basement) from the early 70s, and Merlyn's (a small second floor club which featured up&comers like REM and OMD as well as stalwarts like Pete Shelley, Nico and Sun Ra) from the early 80s -- both on State St. in Madison.
ReplyDeleteOil Can Harry's in Vancouver that (throughout the 70s) featured touring jazz acts in the upstairs room. Caught in the act: Cannonball Adderley (4 times), Charles Mingus (twice), Cecil Taylor (twice), Anthony Braxton, Jack Dejohnette's Directions, Freddie Hubbard, and more that I cannot recall.
ReplyDeleteAfter sufficient caffeinnation I also remember a fine McCoy Tyner appearance, but the others escape me...
DeleteI'm sure you hear this all the time, but your taste in music is not only impressively wide but damn near impeccable; so cool.
ReplyDeleteThe Kingfish, in BRLA. Austin's Armadillo World Headquarters. With apologies to the Situs, the passage of a few people through a rather brief moment in time at First Avenue in Minneapolis...
Appreciated, Eric.
DeleteThe Ash Grove in West LA was a hotbed of roots music in the 60s and early 70s—long before I remember seeing that term commonly used. It was around for the blues revival and I remember catching Mance Lipscomb, Muddy Waters, Lightnin Hopkins, and (maybe) Mose Allison There were lots of up and coming people too: Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Brown, and Taj Mahal all gigged there as did a big chunk of future Byrds lineups. We'd make the pilgrimage to the Ash Grove at least a couple of times a month, usually making a stop at Aron's Records on Melrose on the way. Also nearby was the NuArt Theatre that was among the first of the midnight movie houses with a bill of cult and art flicks that changed daily. As far as I was concerned, the area was the cultural hub of LA.
ReplyDeleteI went to the Ash Grove several times in the late 60s. A memorable show was Howlin' Wolf.
DeleteNuArt was great and Aron's records was the best independent record store in Los Angeles!
DeleteNever, ever went to the Ash Grove, but I went to the NuArt for many many films, and it was very close to my parents' house. I saw a semi-official film of The Kinks "Soap Opera" tour at a special radio-station showing, which I gained admission to by never leaving after the last feature of the night.
DeleteFor record stores, I remain a big fan of Rhino Records, at the several locations on Westwood Blvd. that it occupied. Richard Thompson signed my LP of "Hand of Kindness" there.
And I saw him, along with many other great acts, in the cozy confines of The Palms Playhouse in Davis, CA. It was a converted barn with maybe 100 seats. He'd tour CA playing solo acoustic to get his songs together, record and album, and then come back touring with a band; I probably saw him eight or more times there. I also saw Martin Carthy, John Renbourn, U. Utah Phillips and Kate Wolf, David Lindley, The Oyster Band (with and without June Tabor), and Kevin Burke playing in the band Open House. A magical place in my memory.
D in California
The Country Club, run by Stuart Lyons, on Haverstock Hill, the Belsize Park end. Saw lots of stuff there, Loudon Wainwright had a residency.
ReplyDeleteIn the mid 70s it became for about 30 seconds, Ginger Johnson's Iroko Club, and that was where I saw Kirk for the last time.
Also the Weavers' Arms in Stoke Newington, saw lots of Americana acts, Tom Russell, Robert Earl Keen - who regaled us with tales of Lyle Lovett's wedding to Julia Roberts.
I saw Tom Russell there back early 1990s and also Butch Hancock and J D Gilmore 30th May prob 1991 or so...maybe we were at same gig. My freind Terry Clarke played there many times.
DeleteThe original location of psychedelic club The Boston Tea Party had been a church, so it had great architectural detail and a perfect size and shape for performance.
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ReplyDeleteSorry, that was meant to be my nomination for Erics, punk club in Liverpool 1976 -80, but all you hot was a video of Elvis Costello filmed there. Just about every up & coming band from that era played there - Pistols, Clash, Specials, Joy Division, Talking Heads, Ramones, Dire Straits, Devo, Steel Pulse. It was also the spawning ground for Liveroll bands -Teardrop Explodes, Echo & The Bunneymen, OMID, Dead or Alive, Big In Japan.....
Delete1067 in downtown Vancouver BC Canada in the 2000's. It had an unmarked door between several dumpsters in a seedy back alley off Granville St. It was a practice space for local jazz musicians on the younger side in general and for various improvisors of experimental music, some from out of town. If you were on their email list, they'd let you know of upcoming shows, usually starting very late, between 10pm-11pm on Friday and sometimes Saturday nights. Door was always locked and you had to bang it loud enough for them to hear it upstairs. If the music had already started you be stuck out there until someone exited. They had a fridge full of beer for sale and the performers occasionally sold their records too. I recorded many fine shows there, took a ton of photographs and met my first Canadian girlfriend there (I'm Californian)...
ReplyDeleteNave Jungla in Buenos Aires.
ReplyDeleteEntirely run by dwarfs (even the doormen) except for the dj maybe.
Extreme decoration including fish tanks and a live tarantula.
My friends spotted Iggy Pop there but maybe they were too high...
Bat
The Maze, Nottingham a mile and half from front door and saw a host of americana related people there best memory the Alvin Brothers followed closely by Richard Bruckner but too many good memories even played there myself a few times. Turned into student flats which a blight on my city now..penthouses for spoilt brats.
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Donna's Bar ^ Grill was a hotbed of NO trad jazz in the 90s. Mermaid Lounge from the same era for indy music, and was located in what is now known as the Warehouse District in NO. Rosie's Had just a short run in Uptown NO but had an incredible run of modern jazz stars such as Sarah Vaughan and McCoy Tyner. Finally, Tyler's Beer Garden (also Uptown) in the 70s-80s gave life to the rejuvenated careers of James Booker and Professor Longhair amongst others. Oh, and got to also mention The Zodiac Lounge that was owned briefly by Irma Thomas, but in its prime in the 80s-90s, hosted numerous Johnny Adams and Snooks Eaglin shows, and was also noted for having gigantic bird cages hung from the ceiling in which rather portly, and scantily dressed, go go dancers would perform during the shows.
ReplyDeleteportly seems kind and scantily generous, at least the one time I was there...it was an event.
DeleteDrove up to Vancouver B.C. in the 90s to see a DJ scratch pair at Richards on Richards, Elysian brewery in Seattle before they sold had The Walkabouts playing and the owner gave me a seat right in front of the stage.
ReplyDeletei choose to include 3 places that would induce me to spend time in Seattle if they were still there:
Abbruzi's Pizza, The Rusebud Movie Theatre( Charming, small movie revival house near Chinatown.) and, the original Frederick & Nelson's department store
Locals called it "Dicks on Dicks"...I saw CocoRosie at Richards on Richards and several other shows at that really great, small and now long gone venue...Balcony view was the best.
ReplyDeleteAnother great Vancouver hangout was called "The Blinding Light" also happened to be another small movie revival house near Chinatown (in Vancouver) run by artist / filmmaker Alex Mackenzie ...they also had live music shows, I taped this one there: https://vimeo.com/418260280
Last, but not least, Vancouver's "Sugar Refinery" for those in the know back in the 2000's, was always was a good time for live music and tasty food. Ida from "Beans" worked there and gave me an art show installation for the last month or so before they closed. Here's a "Beans" show I taped at the Vancouver Aquatic Centre:
https://vimeo.com/288824215
The legendary Po Monkey Lounge outside Merigold MS. It is just a decaying plywood shack now, with a Mississippi Blues Trail historic marker. It was one of the last old school Mississippi juke houses.
ReplyDeleteAnd the infamous Homestead in Hattiesburg MS. Among others it birthed Omar & the Howlers and Webb Wilder. Nothing remains now but a obelisk dedicated to local guys who died in Vietnam.
The Roxy @ Buenos Aires. Best place to hear rock. I saw many of my favourite all-timers there.
ReplyDeleteSweet Basil NYC 1974-2001
ReplyDeleteI don't tend to miss stuff yet during my brief NYC moment 1988-1990, I saw a lot of great music, including that of my employer, Abdullah Ibrahim. The bonus was hanging around after the last set. Cecil Taylor talking about modern art!