I had the opportunity to spend a whole evening with him. Back in 1986 I was 18 and had my first steady gig in a hotel bar for a whole month. The MJQ had played a concert in the same city and came to the hotel afterwards. Unfortunately, we made the mistake of playing Bag's Groove as a welcome. Connie told me later that they hated that song because they had played it so many times. While the other three had retired to their rooms, Mr. Kay was at the bar all evening listening to us. He was quite touched that a German teenager knew about Big Sid Catlett and we chatted during the breaks. He was very warm and complimented me on my playing, although it was certainly far from being really good at the time. I really love his playing and consider him one of my role models who always unpretentiously made the music the main thing.
Nice. I had no idea. My favorite playing of his will always be the stuff with Paul Desmond/ Jim Hall quartet.
But the fact that Connie Kay and Richard Davis are on Astral Weeks has me second-guessing my answer to my student on Wednesday who asked me, "Is Van Morrison jazz?"
Love this one, Vinnie, and I learned from it. In the spirit, I hope you won’t mind if I recommend some reading: Jerry Wexler’s ‘Rhythm and the Blues,’ written with David Ritz, is an illuminating peek behind the scenes at “the Blue Note of R&B.” It’s been 20 years or so since I last flipped through it, but some of its vibe and intel has stayed vivid in mind.
I had the opportunity to spend a whole evening with him. Back in 1986 I was 18 and had my first steady gig in a hotel bar for a whole month. The MJQ had played a concert in the same city and came to the hotel afterwards. Unfortunately, we made the mistake of playing Bag's Groove as a welcome. Connie told me later that they hated that song because they had played it so many times. While the other three had retired to their rooms, Mr. Kay was at the bar all evening listening to us. He was quite touched that a German teenager knew about Big Sid Catlett and we chatted during the breaks. He was very warm and complimented me on my playing, although it was certainly far from being really good at the time. I really love his playing and consider him one of my role models who always unpretentiously made the music the main thing.
Nice. I had no idea. My favorite playing of his will always be the stuff with Paul Desmond/ Jim Hall quartet.
But the fact that Connie Kay and Richard Davis are on Astral Weeks has me second-guessing my answer to my student on Wednesday who asked me, "Is Van Morrison jazz?"
Love this one, Vinnie, and I learned from it. In the spirit, I hope you won’t mind if I recommend some reading: Jerry Wexler’s ‘Rhythm and the Blues,’ written with David Ritz, is an illuminating peek behind the scenes at “the Blue Note of R&B.” It’s been 20 years or so since I last flipped through it, but some of its vibe and intel has stayed vivid in mind.
Great article. For his work with Van Morrison, listen to "Tupelo Honey" at volume, and track his drums as the song builds. Sublime and powerful!!
A very familiar album cover at the beginning. I'll play when another listener gets home.