Live from the Grand River Jazz Society, The KW Jazz Room

What began as a first invitation to play at the well-respected Jazz Room in Kitchener/Waterloo, Ontario leaped well beyond the expected solid night of summer ending jump and joy. The trio with Paul Novotny bass and Mark Kelso drums came with a mission: play with fire and passion. Both accomplished.

The jazz piano trio is a big band condensed and easy to manage. The back history is beyond imagination.

Oscar Peterson with Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen, Ramsey Lewis with Eldee Young and Red Holt. Chick Corea with Christian McBride and Brian Blade, and perhaps the greatest of all, Ahmad Jamal with Vernel Fournier, and Israel Crosby.

With that in mind, we include a Jamal classic, Poinciana, from Live at the Pershing. Ahmad and I sat down for a chat in October 1990 and Jamal had this to say. “There is one record I consider near perfect, and that is Live at the Pershing. That’s a rare piece of music. Out of 47 tracks, we only used eight. My conviction was the venture would be successful. I didn’t care how many would sell. You have to be a hell of an artist to play your music in nightclubs.” Jamal said calling it jazz was reducing the music to street. It’s African American classical music.
I remembered those words and kept our version of Poinciana as is. As if composed and transcribed for eternity. It’s Jamal’s masterful work!

I divide the weight of the live recording between five originals and three standards: Ibrahim’s Well, Texarkana 1860, The Wake, Ivory Town, and the spiritual Come Walk with Thee. The standards: There Is No Greater Love, Percy Mayfield’s soulful—Please Send Me Someone to Love, and Poinciana.

I can’t express in words the love and fellowship between the three of us. Paul and Mark are astounding musicians and brilliant minds. Their Work and outreach extend well beyond the bandstand. Gifted educators and global citizens.

A brief note on originals. I penned The Wake 25 years ago, with loss to our community of musicians in mind. Since then, dearest friends have passed on: Tim Thorney, Doug Riley, Archie Alleyne, Jeff Healey, Jay Jackson, Eric Mercury, Ronnie Hawkins, Ron Hedland, Jo Jo Bennett, Ginny Grant, Michael Fonfara, Bob Segarini, and so many others.

Ivory Town is the place where a fantastic piano resides, and a player of note embraces. The Jazz Room and Jazz Bistro come to mind.
Ibrahim’s Well. I cherish the music of South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim. The well, central to all life in Africa.

Texarkana 1860. Tracing the roots of blues piano to its source. The big bang!

Come Walk with Thee. Principally written three weeks after arriving in Canada in October 1969. And in memory of my grandmother, Era (Eva) King, who sat me in her lap as a three-year-old, stretched my fingers across an old upright and sang hymns. Church never leaves the heart!

We are extremely grateful to live sound and recording engineer Jeremy Bernard for the wonderful music capture. Larry Larson for the kind words and gracious hosting. Stephen Preece and the Grand River Jazz Society and the KW Jazz Room for the invitation and hospitality.