i saw Smokey Robinson last night

[Guest ariceffron]

smokey sounded good, the band was a bit quiet and he didnt do too many really uptempo songs i thought but all in all it was good and there was a string section also to my suprise. and his guitar player was the same guy from the mowtown days who wrote the music to many of the hits. but i was wondering if anyone saw him in the 60s or 70s etc....yea it was completely sold out too- i had 2 sneak in. people love smokey still. you know he is from detroit- i bet he was friends with donald byrd-- anyone know for sure?

[Steve Gray]

Saw the Miracles on the old Steel Pier in Atlantic City in 1968.

Surely Donald Byrd is of a slightly older generation - after all he was in New York from 1955... I think it's most unlikely he knew Smokey.

I read recentlythat Smokey has just made a gospel album -- Any one heard it?

Edited February 19, 2005 by Steve Gray

[robviti]

Surely Donald Byrd is of a slightly older generation - after all he was in New York from 1955... I think it's most unlikely he knew Smokey.

Not really. Byrd is only 7 years older than Smokey. It's always possible they may have known about each other at some point in their lives, but there's no evidence they ever worked together. If you're interested in learning more about the jazz scene in Detroit, check out Before Motown: A History of Jazz in Detroit, 1920-60 by Lars Bjorn and Jim Gallert.

[JSngry]

I'd also think that Byrd's early mid-70s success in R&B circles would have at least heightend Smoke's awareness of Byrd.

Can't overlook a possible James Jamerson link either. Wasn't Jamerson an active jazz player before he started doing the Motown thing? Played w/Yusef Lateef for a bit, didn't he?

[Harold_Z]

I saw Smokey more than once back in the day - in the early 60s Murray The K shows at the Brooklyn Fox. The Temps - all the then current acts. One time I saw the Temptations in a small club in The Bronx called the Riviera Lounge. It was right after The Way You Do The Things You Do. It was GREAT! They had an excellent backing trio of Guitar,Fender Bass (not Jamerson - but GOOD)and drums. They were obviously jazz cognizant players. It was a small room - no bandstand. They were on the floor at one end of the room. David Ruffin was standing at the bar having a beer before the show. It was before they were stars.

I looked at the book Standing In The Shadows Of Motown. Here's a quote:

Veterans like Barry Harris, Kenny Burrell, Hank Jones and Yusef Lateef would take aspiring jazz players like Jamerson or future Motown keyboardist Earl Van Dyke, and teach them the ropes.

I would think it likely that Jamerson and Donald Byrd's path crossed at some point

Edited February 20, 2005 by Harold_Z

[Guest ariceffron]

i would really like to read that detroit jazz book

[robviti]

IT'S GOT A LOT OF COOL PICTURES TOO!!!

Altoist Frank Taylor and bassist

Gene Taylor walking the bar at

Alvito’s in Detroit, around 1953.

btw, the authors maintain a website devoted to detroit music: detroitmusichistory.com

[Soulstation1]

yea it was completely sold out too- i had 2 sneak in.

am i the only one who saw this shit

[JSngry]

No.