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* This is Part 1 of a two-part column on Booker T. Jones. Part 2 will appear in the Nov. 5 Maui Scene.
Acclaimed as one of the founders of soul music, Booker T. Jones will make his Maui debut in Castle Theater at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center on Nov. 5.
Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and a recipient of Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Jones is revered as one of America’s most distinguished musicians.
The array of artists he has recorded with ranges from Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and Neil Young to Otis Redding, Roy Orbison and Boz Scaggs. And his songs have been recorded by the likes of Al Green, Rod Stewart, Santana, Cream and The Clash.
On Jones’ most recent album, “Sound the Alarm,” he teamed with some neo-soul singers to create a classic sound that’s both fresh and a homage to the influential Stax Records music that he helped create.
“We had some new contemporaries on the album, who appreciated the way we recorded back then, and the style and temperament of that music,” Jones explains.
Sharing production duties with brothers Bobby Ross and Issiah Avila, who have worked with Janet Jackson and Mary J. Blige, Jones showcases a number of young singers who are just beginning to make their mark on contemporary R&B, including Mayer Hawthorne, Jay James and Luke James.
On “Austin City Blues,” he teams with Texas blues guitarist Gary Clark Jr., and on the Latin jazz funk track “66 Impala,” he features two of the genre’s top percussionists, Poncho Sanchez and Sheila E.
“That influenced me when I was pretty young,” he says about Latin jazz. “I think a lot of African-Americans at my time were influenced by people like Tito Puente and Mongo Santamaria and the Latin music from New York on the radio. It’s still an influence for me. To have Poncho and Sheila on the same song was very cool. Sheila’s brothers were a big influence. When I was in the Bay Area, I played with them in Carlos Santana’s band.”
Other album standouts include “Watch You Sleeping,” where he shares vocals with Kori Withers, daughter of Bill Withers, whose first hits, “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Grandma’s Hands,” Jones produced.
“I went to a tribute to Bill Withers and he made a video of her singing and it was beautiful,” he notes. “She has a lot of her father’s musical sensitivity. I was reminded of him when we were in the studio.”
First finding fame as the keyboardist with the instrumental soul band Booker T. & the MGs, Jones has lived a fortunate life.
“I was born fortunate in Memphis, Tenn., in a musical Mecca and so many good things were dropped into my lap,” he reports. “The Hammond organ that I learned on was steps away from my home around the corner. That became my major musical voice as a young person, and steps away in the other direction was Satellite Records (renamed Stax Records in 1961). Steve Cropper (future MGs guitarist who worked in a music store) played records for me for free. I could listen to Ray Charles and the Jazz Messengers and Hank Williams, everything. So in a lot of ways, it’s been a charmed life.”
While he’s most closely associated with the Hammond B-3 organ, Jones is an acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer. In high school, he played the oboe, saxophone, trombone, bass and piano, and the organ in church.
“I heard the oboe played at a very young age in the house next door to me,” he recalls. “When the time came that I had access to the school band room, there was an oboe, nobody had touched it. The band director let me take it home, and I was able to teach myself to play that instrument. That led to the clarinet and the saxophone, and of course the saxophone was a fortuitous instrument that I carried into Satellite Records playing for Rufus Thomas.”
In 1960, at the age of 16, Jones made his first entry into professional music, playing baritone saxophone on Satellite Records’ first hit, ” ‘Cause I Love You” by the father/daughter duo Rufus & Carla Thomas.
Two years later, he had formed Booker T. & the MGs, whose original lineup comprised Jones on organ and piano, Cropper on guitar, Lewie Steinberg on bass and Al Jackson Jr. on drums. They soon released the classic instrumental “Green Onions,” which became one of their biggest hits.
It sold more than a million copies, and has been featured in countless movies and TV shows, including a pivotal scene in “American Graffiti.”
Jones was studying musical theory and composition when he came up with the tune.
“I was 17 taking theory lessons and had assumed I could just get into the University of Indiana in 10th grade,” he says. “But no, you can’t just walk in, you had to know music. So I started taking theory lessons and was taught chord progression, and that’s when I stumbled on the progression of ‘Green Onions.’ “
So how did the Hammond B-3 organ become his primary instrument?
“It spoke to me the first time I saw it, just the look of it and the beauty of the wood cabinet,” he reveals. “It was in my teacher’s dining room. She opened it up to play a few notes and played Bach’s ‘Well-Tempered Clavier.’ That was it for me. So I got a paper route and started earning enough money to pay for lessons.”
From 1962 through to about 1970, Jones and his band were basically the architects of the Stax sound, performing on virtually every recording made at the influential record label (with bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn joining the MGs in 1964). They played on hundreds of songs by artists such as Redding, Wilson Pickett, Withers, Sam & Dave, Carla and Rufus Thomas, Johnnie Taylor and Albert King.
“It was a privilege, and it just kept growing,” he recalls. “Al Jackson Jr. was the genesis of the uniqueness of the band. He had chops, as we called them in Memphis. He could really play like Max Roach and those guys. The whole Stax thing was built on rhythm.”
(Check back next week for Part 2 of an interview with Booker T. Jones in which he discusses jamming with his former Malibu neighbors Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson, touring with Neil Young, and performing at blues and soul tributes at the White House.)
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Halloween on Maui is always a great time for local bands getting gigs. With thousands expected to descend on Lahaina on Saturday, you can hear free music in Campbell Park with Kanamon & JB from 5 to 6:30 p.m. and the 8 Track Players from 7 to 9 p.m. While over at Banyan Tree Park, there will be free dance music with DJ Serna from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Marty Dread will feature a reggae “Night of the Living Dread” at Cool Cats on Front Street from 10 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. for a $10 cover.
Fleetwood’s on Front St. will offer two events from 6 to 11:30 p.m. with DJ Gary on the main floor for $20, and live music with the Drivers on the rooftop for $100 (which includes main-floor access).
Charley Longhi will strap on a guitar to rock Longhi’s on Front Street at 9:30 p.m. playing with the Funk-A-Holics featuring Fulton Tashombe on keyboards, the Atomic Horn Dogs horn section and vocalist Shea Derrick.
In Paia, Charley’s Restaurant & Saloon will host three bands for Halloween starting at 9:30 p.m. with the Neverminds, BlackSand and G-Land featuring singer Gretchen Rhodes, guitarist Nils Rosenblad and drummer Kai Katchadourian, all for $15. Tickets are available online and at the door.
Upcountry’s Casanova Italian Restaurant & Deli is planning a “House of Horror” party with Erica Dee and Rhythmstar for $20 starting at 9:30 p.m.
In Wailea, Mulligans On the Blue will present one of its popular Beatles’ tribute nights with the Lonely Heart Shakers, who do a fabulous job of recreating Beatles classics. The Halloween Bash will feature the Shakers at 8 p.m., followed by DJ Money Mike at 10 p.m. with costume contests for Best Beatles Look A Like, Best Irish Costume and Best Original Halloween Costume. Cover is $10 (half-off with a costume).
And Waikapu will rock to the mighty Kings of Spade from Oahu featuring dynamic lead vocalist Kasi Nunes, at the King Kamehameha Golf Club’s Ballroom. Fish Tank will open and DJ Boomshot will keep the dance floor packed. Tickets are $30 in advance and $40 at the door. Call 243-1025.
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TS Restaurants in Kaanapali will host a series of shows featuring renowned Hawaiian musicians today through Sunday. Grammy winner John Cruz will perform from 2 to 5 p.m. today at Leilani’s on the Beach; multi-Hoku Award winner Raiatea Helm will perform from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at Duke’s Beach House; and Walt Keale will play the Hula Grill, along with Andrew and Jay Molina, from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. Sunday.