Every week during the summer of ‘68, I’d shop around Greenwich Village for fresh vinyl and bag a prize or two—a Willie Colon and Fania All-Stars—a Gary Burton Lofty Fake Anagram; Jimi Hendrix – Are You Experienced? and drop the needle on new skin. What an encounter! Invariably, I’d sing along if there were vocals.

One visit, I came across an album cover with a Pink House out front. I would learn it was in West Saugerties, New York, 2hrs and 28 minutes from my doorstep. While culling through the liner notes, the guy behind the counter says, “Buy it; you’ll never regret it.” That I did, and to this day, that feeling holds true.

The Band held court in my 6th Street East Village flat. The stretched window leading to the fire escape, open throughout the long hot summer of ‘68, the Band competing with the sound of Sonny Rollins two buildings over and Richie Havens a floor below. Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released” and the standard “Long Black Veil” sang with the southern charm and timbre of mountain folks bled onto the rooftops, then the killer “Chest Fever” with that growling 40 second organ fanfare. Followed by “Tears of Rage” that vocal cry, soulful mourning, baptismal testifying, all familiar to these ears, soothed the compromised souls hustling for shelter and food on the street below.

At the centre of this glorious sound - the keyboard work of a genius, Garth Hudson.

Hudson was absorbed. A Hohner Clavinet, Model 11 installed atop a Lowrey organ linked to a Leslie cabinet, the 145, maybe that RMI Rock-Si-Chord. Hooked to a couple of Vox Wah pedals.

My life was about the Hammond B-3—nowhere in the script did it call for an Allen or Lowrey organ—two boxes that did more wheezing than soul-stirring to these ears. The abysmal sound of old reed organs with tremolo string effects and texture. For Hudson, a palette of glorious possibilities. For me, a far cry from Larry Young and Jimmy Smith.
The River’s Edge is my ode to the stately musician. The blend of colours, mixes, and genius that poured into every Band recording is the heady work of Hudson. My long-time ivory keys friend and aficionado, Lance Anderson, produced a spectacular recording Live at the Wolf, released in 2005, that captures the essence and depth of Hudson’s playing in its totality.

On River’s Edge—I dodged the Hammond in favour of the unusual and eclectic approach of Hudson’s - me taunting my FP-Roland 90. The acoustic piano is me hearing Levon, and his brothers bend and blend with the wind. The holy spirit sweeping through the trees and settling along the river. Near the River’s Edge.