Jimmy McGriff: Live at Blues Alley, Washington DC

[HWright]

I'm very excited because Jimmy and his band are going to be playing Blues Alley in Washington, DC this weekend and I have a ticket for the Friday Aug. 4 8pm show.

Edited August 3, 2006 by HWright

[bertrand]

Who else is in the band?

Bertrand.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

im very suprised last time i saw mcgriff was probably 2, more like 3 yrs ago, on a trip. bill w/ joey and ruben wilson. mcgriff hardly soloed at all and he looked like he was at the end. that was 3 yrs ago. the 1st time i saw him was a real cool jazz club expierence it was at a place that hadn't had a jazz show since the 80s and it was w/ hank crawford and they were really tight!

[HWright]

Bertrand:

I checked Blues Alley's site and Jimmy's site, and no details are provided. I'll report back on how the concert went next week.

H.

[bertrand]

Blues Alley never bothers with personnel. Even if I called them between sets, they wouldn't know.

I'll only consider it if the personnel is worth it.

Bertrand.

[Allan Songer]

im very suprised last time i saw mcgriff was probably 2, more like 3 yrs ago, on a trip. bill w/ joey and ruben wilson. mcgriff hardly soloed at all and he looked like he was at the end. that was 3 yrs ago. the 1st time i saw him was a real cool jazz club expierence it was at a place that hadn't had a jazz show since the 80s and it was w/ hank crawford and they were really tight!

I heard him just a while back at the Lenox Lounge in NYC. He was in a wheelchair--looks like he has Parkinson's--cant work the pedals (they're weren't any on his organ), but he laid down a nice groove and the quintet was solid. Reuben Wilson sat in for one full set and he was ON FIRE.

Jimmy is indeed "at the end," but it's the end of a long beautiful road and I think it's great he still out there giving what he has left in the tank.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Jimmy is indeed "at the end," but it's the end of a long beautiful road and I think it's great he still out there giving what he has left in the tank.

Yes maybe. But also maybe a guy should be able to retire if he wants to. The tragedy often is that a musician may have earned plenty in his working life (as I expect Jimmy has) but too often doesn't make provision for retirement and so many are therefore ground into the mill past the point of no return. You can't make people wise, however.

MG

[HWright]

The line up was:

Jimmy on organ,

Jerry Weldon on tenor sax,

Chris (Barlow? Burell? Durell? couldn't catch the name) on guitar

and Don Williams on drums.

It's true that Jimmy doesn't play as much as he used to, but he did lay down a few grooves and interacted with the band at times. I don't know what tunes they played, but most of them were good. Great fun.

Edited August 7, 2006 by HWright

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

The line up was:

Jimmy on organ,

Jerry Weldon on tenor sax,

Chris (Barlow? Burell? Durell? couldn't catch the name) on guitar

and Don Williams on drums.

It's true that Jimmy doesn't play as much as he used to, but he did lay down a few grooves and interacted with the band at times. I don't know what tunes they played, but most of them were good. Great fun.

Good

MG

[Soul Stream]

The line up was:

Jimmy on organ,

Jerry Weldon on tenor sax,

Chris (Barlow? Burell? Durell? couldn't catch the name) on guitar

and Don Williams on drums.

It's true that Jimmy doesn't play as much as he used to, but he did lay down a few grooves and interacted with the band at times. I don't know what tunes they played, but most of them were good. Great fun.

Did Jimmy play the basslines on the organ? I've understood he has to play with bass players or another organist these days due to his illness.

[HWright]

Did Jimmy play the basslines on the organ? I've understood he has to play with bass players or another organist these days due to his illness.

[Soul Stream]

Did Jimmy play the basslines on the organ? I've understood he has to play with bass players or another organist these days due to his illness.

I couldn't say for sure if Jimmy played the basslines on the organ, but there was no bass player or other organist in the group as far as I could tell sitting up front on the left side.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Did Jimmy play the basslines on the organ? I've understood he has to play with bass players or another organist these days due to his illness.

I couldn't say for sure if Jimmy played the basslines on the organ, but there was no bass player or other organist in the group as far as I could tell sitting up front on the left side.

Sounds like he was kicking bass. Good news! A few years back I saw Jimmy Smith, Jack McDuff and Jimmy McGriff all play a show together. McGriff wasn't in great shape back then even....I never would have guessed he would have outlived the others at the time. Long live McGriff....