The first B.B. King concert I attended altered the way I perceive culture and society.
My date and I were among the only white people in the balcony of the Uptown Theater in 1979 (people under the age of 18 weren’t allowed on the floor at the time).
The demonstrative audience- they preferred co-headliner Bobby Bland to King- showed me how to become completely immersed in the music. Nothing was the same for me after that night.
I noticed the changing complexion of King’s audience each time I saw him perform. The transition seemed to have been fully realized at the final King show I attended. The great man served as an opening act for Peter Frampton at a sad 2013 concert at the Muriel Kauffman Theatre.
The giant of American music died last week.
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I reviewed a concert by Samantha Fish and Katy Guillen and the Girls.
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I contributed a Local Listen segment about Behzod Abduraimov to KCUR.
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The Numero Group has issued a 1969 recording by the Kansas City band White Eyes. RIYL: Crosby Stills & Nash, psychedelics, Richie Furay. Here’s an 81-second video promoting the find.
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Heidi Lynne Gluck’s The Only Girl in the Room is impressive. RIYL: Jenny Lewis, winsomeness, M. Ward.
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Teddy Dibble shares a handful of avant-garde jazz albums from his collection.
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Bernard Sollman of ESP-Disk has died.
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I’m not ready to proclaim as Chris Stapleton as the best thing since Dolly Parton’s wig, but Traveller is pretty great. RIYL: Waylon, the Sturgill Simpson of 2015, Willie.
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I’ve been born again. The Supreme Jubilees’ recently reissued album “It’ll All Be Over” is that powerful. Here’s the title track.
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A version of ”True Trans Soul Rebel” featuring Laura Jane Grace and Miley Cyrus is kind of weak, but it makes me smile anyway.
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John Patitucci’s Brooklyn is surprisingly hip. RIYL: Lionel Loueke, international cocktail jazz for 2015, Steve Cardenas.
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The world didn’t need Stone Sour’s Meanwhile In Burbank… but I’m glad the covers EP exists.
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As far as I can tell, I’m the only person on the planet who’s heard Juneteenth, Stanley Cowell’s excellent new solo piano album.
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I listened to media sensation Joey Alexander’s debut album. It’s fine. The problem with the cycle of hype associated with jazz prodigies, of course, is that most are discarded when they hit their mid-twenties. There’s no denying that the visual element is very compelling.
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Portions of Pops Staples’ posthumous Don’t Lose This are magnificent.
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I’d rather think about Zac Brown Band’s dabblings in EDM and heavy metal than listen to Jeckyll + Hyde a second time. ”Heavy Is the Head” is my favorite track.
(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)
5 comments:
We have to go back to 1970 for the first time I saw BB King. Hard to believe for me that was 45 years ago and how young I was at the time (17). BB King was much younger than I am today and he was really in his prime. He had this young white kid in his band playing keyboards, the only ofay member. His name was Ron Levy and today he is among my really tight circle of Facebook friends. He fit right in. Peppered in among the mainly white crowd were black folks who had been seeing BB King live for years. Sonny Freeman, the drummer, and Mr. King's bandleader seemed to know each and every one of them. It was a remarkable show and probably the first real blues artist I'd seen at that point, unless one considers Canned Heat from 1969, a legitimate blues group, which oddly I do. But I digress. We all take sick and die one day and now BB is in heaven with angels all around him. Or he's dealing black jack in hell with a hip flask he's sipping from. Good day, sir.
Mr. Dibble's You Tube videos are a hoot and more fun than a barrel full of Monkees albums.
Thanks, as always, for the perspective, BGO.
As you know, I once worked indirectly for Ron Levy's wife.
Are you going to weigh in on this new Shamir album? It's the kind of thing I depend on you for tips on. I'm intrigued, but I'm afraid it might be too much fun for me.
I've only heard "On the Regular," Big Steve. It amused me. Per your request, I moved the album to the top of my queue.
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