Really sad to hear about this development. Great jazz organist. He was in Wes Montgomery's trio from 1959 to 1964, appearing on two albums from Wes's Riverside period. During that time he made his recording debut under his own name on Riverside. Over the years also did session work with blues artists such as T-Bone Walker and B.B. King.
Re-emerged in the 1990s on the European label Criss Cross. He was regularly gigging in Indianapolis clubs until quite recently.
The way our paths crossed: his quintet played at one of my book signings for my novel High C at the Sunset Terrace. I called him some months in advance to book the date. Over the course of our phone conversations and then, in person on the day of the event, at a now-defunct wine bar in Bloomington, Indiana, I discovered his crusty, somewhat offbeat sense of humor. I remember at the end of the event, he grabbed the microphone and went into a somewhat lengthy soliloquy about the importance of being happy.
With each of these passings, an era in American culture recedes into an ever mistier past.
No comments:
Post a Comment