Apr 2, 2024 12:59 PM
Saxophonist, Sonic Explorer Casey Benjamin Dies at 45
Casey Benjamin, the alto saxophonist, vocalist, keyboardist and producer who stamped his distinctive sounds on the…
Steve Miller (left)
(Photo: Lawrence Sumulong)Steve Miller never seems to age. Joined by his frequent guitar-slinging partner Jimmie Vaughan for a tribute to Texas blues guitar great T-Bone Walker on Dec. 14, he rocked the Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater like a well-shaken cocktail.
Often cited as the founding father of modern electric blues guitar, T-Bone Walker souped-up the blues with an urban edge that remains thoroughly contemporary 40 years after his death. Before selling millions of rock records, Miller garnered his sterling guitar chops at the literal feet of T-Bone Walker at age 9.
Miller went on to share Chicago stages with Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Buddy Guy and James Cotton. While he may look older and more deeply lined, the character of his rich voice and resonant guitar playing remains unblemished. When Miller unleashed his big, booming voice on such Walker standards as “You Don’t Love Me” or “Mean Old World,” time and distance disappeared.
For his part, Vaughan brought the legacy of his legendary Texas blues guitar-drenched family, joined by B-3 organist Mike Flanigin, vocalist Brianna Thomas, pianist and music director Shelly Berg, alto saxophonist/clarinetist Patrick Bartley, tenor saxophonist Craig Handy, baritone saxophonist Lauren Sevian, trumpeter Mike Rodriguez, bassist Yasushi Nakamura and former Earth Wind & Fire drummer Sonny Emory.
The ensemble displayed a skillful professionalism that sometimes bordered on the slick, and the musicians’ consummate ease at spinning blues bumps, shuffles, ballads, and jump material at times recalled a glitzy Las Vegas act where the arrangements are so predictable they leave little space for spontaneity or immediacy.
But this is thankfully where the Miller/Vaughan twin-turbo jet came into its own. Song after song, the band laid down a slick carpet of manicured blues terrain, only to be uplifted by the twin guitarists’ fire. Neither of the guitarists played what could be called a lean Texas style—Miller’s rich sound and illustrious picking is pure California gold, while Vaughan, though a master of Texas blues, is an economical guitarist whose stinging leads and shimmering chords provided a good foil for Miller’s rock star sheen.
Miller consistently created a rich and smoky sound. The combination of his dusky voice and dark-hued guitar picking was like bathing in a river of single-malt scotch. Vaughan responded in kind, his extremely clean, focused and measured guitar work regal in its own way, like a sizzling ember forever burning but never burning out.
Songs were often uncalled and unintroduced, one song rolling into the next without much in the way of identification. Vocalist Thomas brought a serious blues goodness to a rave-up tune that allowed her full command of the stage, with the audience responding vociferously. Pianist Berg was also a tremendous asset, his large stylistic vocabulary and upbeat stage presence at times stealing the thunder from the two stars, front and center.
But the spotlight always returned to Miller and Vaughan. Miller crooned “I can get a woman like you anyplace anywhere” in “You Don’t Love Me,” this lush vocal tone complimenting his snaking, hot-gun guitar solo.
Miller’s sound was consistently peaty, dark and punchy. “Travelin’ On My Mind” provided a good pocket for the guitarists’ single guitar trade-off, followed by “Shufflin’ The Blues,” a hot-blooded ’50s-era soul shuffle that recalled every great Texas blues guitarist from Albert Collins to Johnny Winter. “Plain Old Down Home Blues” came near the evening’s end, the guitarists and the audience a single organism of good-time, feel-good blues freedom. DB
Benjamin possessed a fluid, round sound on the alto saxophone, and he was often most recognizable by the layers of electronic effects that he put onto the instrument.
Apr 2, 2024 12:59 PM
Casey Benjamin, the alto saxophonist, vocalist, keyboardist and producer who stamped his distinctive sounds on the…
“He’s constructing intelligent musical sentences that connect seamlessly, which is the most important part of linear playing,” Charles McPherson said of alto saxophonist Sonny Red.
Feb 27, 2024 1:40 PM
“I might not have felt this way 30 to 40 years ago, but I’ve reached a point where I can hear value in what people…
Albert “Tootie” Heath (1935–2024) followed in the tradition of drummer Kenny Clarke, his idol.
Apr 5, 2024 10:28 AM
Albert “Tootie” Heath, a drummer of impeccable taste and time who was the youngest of three jazz-legend brothers…
“Both of us are quite grounded in the craft, the tradition and the harmonic sense,” Rosenwinkel said of his experience playing with Allen. “Yet I felt we shared something mystical as well.”
Mar 12, 2024 11:42 AM
“There are a few musicians you hear where, as somebody once said, the molecules in the room change. Geri was one of…
Henry Threadgill performs with Zooid at Big Ears in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Apr 9, 2024 11:30 AM
Big Ears, the annual four-day music celebration that first took place in 2009 in Knoxville, Tennessee, could well be…
