New York City... See you tomorrow

A little NYC tribute from the "Heart" via Elton.  Let's dedicate this one to Jeff Kazee, a man and his music who makes NYC a little bit better every day.

Enjoy. "And, let's thank the Lord for the people we have found."

Early Elton ...

My buds Jeff Kazee (keyboard) and Rich Pagano (drums) along with bass player John Conte played a free outdoor summer concert outside of City Winery in lower Manhattan, not far from the Holland Tunnel.

The selection here, is the title track from Elton John's Madman Across the Water - one of the more influential albums of my early rock 'n roll exposure, alongside other Elton gems like Honky Chateau, Tumbleweed Connection and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.

The first four songs of Madman - Tiny Dancer, Levon, Razor Face and Madman Across the Water were pure genius. I particularly liked Tiny Dancer and it is forever etched in my mind, now, as the most poignant scene in the Cameron Crowe classic, Almost Famous (2000).  That scene is amongst the best in modern motion picture history.

Anyhow, here's to Jeff Kazee - ticklin' the ivories with some Early Elton.

Please enjoy:

Once ...

I'm on a little bit of a "Broadway" kick as of late, as the TONYs struck quite a chord just as my sister-in-law had tickets for her family to see "MATILDA" and she also won an auction for seats and a backstage tour to "ANNIE," that my youngest will enjoy on Wednesday night at The Palace Theatre.

My youngest, I boast, actually played "ANNIE" when she won the lead role in our local youth drama group in nearby Wellesley.

Anyhow, the "Broadway" kick got me thinking about my incredible experience when I witnessed Steve Kazee in "ONCE," this past winter.  As I wrote, it just blew me away.

Here's why:

TL

Steve Winwood, with One Hell of a Back-Up Band

After contributing as a frontman with Spencer Davis Group, Blind Faith and Traffic, Steve Winwood  launched a solo career in 'circa 1977 and, by doing so, he became a household name of fame in the world of rock 'n roll. 

More recently, he re-united with Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker to play a few sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden - one of which I took-in with my buddies Jim and Craig. It was fantastic.

This morning, a (youthful, wonderful, as opposed to old) Trinity high school friend, Kit, passed along a post via facebook of Steve Winwood playing lead guitar while being backed-up by my two all-time favorite guitarists, Eric Clapton and Derek Trucks.  The clip is featured on The Blog (at) TerryLyons.com today.

Derek is very much on my mind, as I saw him perform with the Allman Bros. Band last week, and I'm looking forward to seeing the ABB play yet another legendary night at The Beacon this Wednesday.  Last week, I witnessed an epic night with a "One Way Out to Blue Sky" segue that ramped up the show in only its third and fourth songs of the night.  Later on, I chuckled as Trucks and bass Othiel Burbridge smiled brightly as Gregg Allman brought it home during Desdemona. It was a classic and a wonderful moment to share with DT as he was only six rows away.

Later on that night, The ABB brought along the era of "The Band" with Gregg Allman's eerily wonderful vocals on "Tears of Rage." It was a religious experience and certainly was along the three highlights of the night, the third being a brass-section-led version of one of my all-time favorite Van Morrison tunes, "Into the Mystic."

The headliner for that tune, aside from living guitar legend Warren Haynes' lyrical performance, was "The Dude," a musician that I just met in February of this year at a Southside Johnny & The Poor Fools show in NYC.  Neal "The Dude" Pawley plays Trombone in the Southside Jukes Horns but he plays just about everything when he's jammin.'

Check out "The Dude" with the Poor Fools. 

And, now, Steve Winwood, E.C. and Derek Trucks...

TL

The Return: Monday Morning Maniac Music

One of the popular weekly items on The Blog (at) TerryLyons.com is back for the summer.  Today's Monday Morning Maniac Music is brought to you by Jeff Kazee, the legendary keyboardist of NJ fame. The great Kazee passes along Booker T and the MGs doing "Time is Tight"

Garden of Dreams and Jeff Kazee ... Give Some More

A high five for my guy Jeff Kazee as he raises awareness for MSG's chairy efforts and the garden of Dreams for Kids:




I have enjoyed the music of Jeff Kazee and the Kazeedigs. I hope to broker a deal to get him up to the Boston area for his debut. It will be a real treat for the Boston music scene.

Kazeedigs

The e-mail of encouragement came from a very good friend, Sammy, who was putting his hard-earned musical reputation on the line. He was asking his friends to head down to West 24th Street, off Sixth Avenue to Chris Noth's "Cutting Room" to see a band headlined by Jeff Kazee.

My decision to attend was made in about one second, as I wanted to support my buddy Sammy. Period. He could have asked me to go see Milli Vanilli sing Barry Manilow's worst hits and I would jump a taxi.

But, let the truth be told, when I saw that Rich Pagano, my favorite drummer this side of Zach Starkey, was in for the gig along with his Prisoner's of 2nd Avenue (PO2A) sidekick and bass player John Conte, I was sold.

The Kazeedigs also featured G.E. Smith of Saturday Night Live fame and appearances by Southside Johnny and the Southside horns, playing "Greats of the 88s," a collection of terrific cover songs. Also appearing were: Saxophonist Craig Dreyer and Trombonist Neil "The Dude" Pawley.

The highlight of the night was walking up to the short line forming in The Cutting Room and seeing an ole college buddy, Paul and his date, in line. We chatted up a storm and I thanked him for a special gift CD he had mailed to me a month or so ago (sound-board CD of Jimmy Vivino's birthday bash at BB King).

On the social scene, there were tons of people, including another good friend, Dan, who recently celebrated the birth of his first child. (Mazel-blankin-tov, they say, right?)

And, it was fun to watch my bud, Sammy, nervously working the PR gig and hoping the crowd would fill in. To his credit, the room WAS PACKED to capacity and actually a bit crowded and hot due to the crowd.

The musical highlight came quickly, as the band opened with a full slate of tremendous cover songs. The best being a Steve Winwood tribute as Winwood and Clapton are playing three nights at The Garden this week. Jeff Kazee's "Low Spark" was as good as it gets, trust me. He also brought down the house with some terrific "Dr John" and "Billy Joel," among dozens of other great tunes, played to perfection.

I can't wait to work with Sammy to get the band up to Boston where they are sure to play to a full house at "Johnnie's on the Side" or "House of Blues."

The "Cutting Room" is a really great place, the kind of bar that is fun to hang in, even when there is no music act in the back room. It has that "West Village" cool feel, with a great crowd of 20-30-40-50-somethings.

Sammy deserves a serious "High 5" for his efforts in filling the joint, and I was happy to mention that to Jeff and Rich after the performance.

Rich will be striking up the "Fab Faux" at Bowery Ballroom this March 13 and 14, and another great item on the music calendar is "Hothouse Flowers" with Liam O Maonlaí, the most under-rated musician on the face of the earth. He is Top 5, all-time.

Since, I don't have the Kazeedigs' video, I'll give you a preview of the March 17th Hothouse show in NYC, straight from Ireland: