Development of the British Blues & Rhythm
--- show 13 --- 8-27-2014
Zoot Money 1965/66
Blues Inc. with Herbie Goins
1964
Keyboard player George Bruno Money was
born in Bournemouth, Hampshire on July 17th, 1942. After playing piano in local groups, he put
his own band together in 1961. By 1963, he
had switched his emphasis to the Hammond organ and was being backed by drummer
Colin Allen, guitarist Andy Somers, and Nick Newall (who played both saxophone
and flute) when Money went to London to take advantage of the opportunity to
replace Graham Bond as organmaster and main vocalist in Alexis Korner’s Blues
Incorporated. While there, he decided
London was to be his new home and called on the band to rejoin him, adding bass
player Paul Williams and baritone sax man Clive Burrows to the mix of the new
edition of Zoot Money and his Big Roll
Band. After departing Blues
Incorporated, his ensemble picked up a residency at the Flamingo and became
managed by the club’s owners, the Gunnell brothers.
The band put out The Uncle Willie in
August of 1964 for the Decca label, but shortly afterward signed with EMI /
Columbia. Manager Rik Gunnell financed
their first album, and we took it along with some of their singles from the
same period from the expanded CD version to provide the material for our second
Zoot set. Their follow-up album ZOOT! was
recorded live in 1966 from Klook’s Kleek but was unavailable in our price
range. We were, however, able to fairly
represent their stage act on our first set with a different live recording,
also taken in 1966 at an unknown club. Bass
player Williams provided the vocal on Ain’t That Peculiar (as well as Rags and
Old Iron from our studio set) and, along with Herbie Goins, sang background for
You Don’t Know Like I Know.
In the mid-60s, London had a vibrant
nighttime music scene with several bands packing the clubs most evenings of the
week, and the Big Roll Band was no exception.
While this didn’t always translate into record sales, the popularity of
these bands throughout the country was undeniable. One thing that held Zoot out from the rest
was a zany aspect he would add to the show, like running through the audience,
dropping his drawers if the whim struck him, and during the performance of Bare
Footin’ removing the footwear of some of the more attractive ladies seated in
the front row. But as he told Melody
Maker’s Chris Welch, “The looner image is a hard thing to keep up. I don’t feel that funny all the time”.
It has always amused me when listening to
well-known American songs done by British musicians how often the words are not
quite right. A perfect though somewhat
unique example is the Rolling Stones version of Rufus Thomas’ Walkin’ the Dog. It is natural that the phrase “didn’t come
back ‘til the fourth of July” would have no relevance, but “didn’t come back
‘til a quarter to five” just doesn’t cut it.
Similarly, possibly because so many of his songs have been recorded, many
of Chuck Berry’s lyrics have been misinterpreted. Zoot explains one example when he tells us
that they “used to listen to the sound of the record and guess what they were
singing. If we didn’t know what they
said, we just made it up. It was so
weird. I was fanatical about getting the
words right, but even the name of the band came about because I got it
wrong. Remember Chuck Berry’s Johnny B.
Goode? He sings: ‘Someday you will be
the leader of a big old band’. I thought
he said ‘a big roll band’. So my whole
career is based on mishearing the lyrics.
But I liked the idea of our band rolling rather than rocking.” Regarding his own nickname, it was chosen because
of his admiration as a teenager for Jazz saxophonist Zoot Sims.
I have become increasingly enamored with
Dick Heckstall-Smith as I have been digging deeper than just his experiences
with Graham Bond and John Mayall, so it pleases me today to begin to follow the
path of the only other British horn man whose name became familiar to my ears,
that being Johnny Almond whose first recorded appearances were with the Big
Roll Band back in 1966. That is not to
say that through my habit of, and interest in, reading the liner notes there
are not several others who have crossed my listening path several times, but in
Almond I hope to acquire enough material to understand his place in our
timeline. Almond (along with Geoff Condon on trumpet, flute and flugelhorn) replaced
Clive Burrows in June 1965, who signed on with
James Brown was a favorite among the G.I.s
frequenting the Flamingo so it is quite natural that Zoot would pick I’ll Go
Crazy to open the first album while utilizing I Got You (I Feel Good) as the
opening number for the first of our live sets.
They actually had a deal set up to tour with James but Money was too
eager to impress at the opening show and carried his antics a bit too far, as
Zoot explains, “We were the first band on and I took my trousers off and tried
to upstage everyone….. I think I was a bit nervous and I thought ‘We’d better
put on a good show’, so I went absolutely apeshit”, so it was determined that
the band was not a proper choice for the remaining gigs.
I was going to save the closing portion of
today’s last set, featuring Zoot's contribution to a 1994 tribute to Alexis
Korner, for a more appropriate spot in our timeline but, this likely being our last
installment to include Alexis, it seemed totally fitting to wind up thus. I was sufficiently impressed by this set that
I purchased all three CDs available from the concert and was somewhat disappointed
comparatively. Not only was Zoot Money’s
set (without the big Roll band) the most impressive set, and that is saying
something considering the participants included, such as Jack Bruce, Paul Jones
and Tony McPhee, all of whom will be further represented as we go along, but
Money’s song selection was appropriately chosen from Korner’s music rather than
from the performers’ own past hits.
Still, when we get to that timeframe in our series, there is plenty of
quality material for at least part of a show, likely even to fill the three
hours, but that’s 1994 and way down our ever-changing show list.
***********************************
You might have noticed in our live Zoot
set that Herbie Goins was invited to
join the band and sing Stormy Monday. My
timeline suggests that Money was Herbie’s immediate predecessor as lead
vocalist in Alexis Korner’s Blues
Incorporated. Like Geno Washington
from our previous show, Goins was an American G.I. stationed in Europe during
the Cold War. Born in Florida and
strongly influenced by his mother, who was a gospel singer, Herbie’s vocals
were first displayed in his church, and he then performed R&B with his
first group the Teen Kings. When he
moved to New York City, he had the opportunity to open for B.B. King, Bobby
“Blue” Band and Sam Cooke, but then the draft took him to Europe in 1957. After his service in Germany, he joined up
with the Eric Delayne Band and, while touring the U.K. with them, found London
to his liking and fell into the ranks of the Chris Barber Jazz Orchestra, but
by the mid-60s moved back to his roots when he joined Blues Incorporated.
We took our first Blues Incorporated set
from the Live at the Cavern CD, taking full advantage of the BBC bonus tracks,
particularly the brief interview segments.
Two versions of each side of the band’s single were included and we
chose to follow the BBC introductions with the 45 versions of the songs. Unlike the Zoot Money live tracks, where the
introductions to the songs were tacked on to the previous track (a common
complaint I have with numerous live sessions), the BBC commentaries were stand
alone tracks, making this possible. With
the exception of Alexis’ vocal on Overdrive, Herbie sang lead on all the songs
in this set. I would guess the song
Alright, Okay, You Win dates way back to the earliest days of Blues
Incorporated as it was a favorite tune for Long John Baldry as well.
I was more than a little disappointed when
I first received the Red Hot from Alex CD.
Korner had done a few releases listed as at the Cavern or from the Marquee
or from the Roundhouse and I presumed the Alex was another such club but, no,
the Alex referred to here was Alexis Korner (silly me!) and I already had this
album on American vinyl under the almost-generic title Blues Incorporated and,
quite frankly, I was not impressed with it back then. However, had I not purchased the CD version,
I would never have come to realize that over the years I have gained a fondness
for the Jazzier R&B style of British Blues.
Back then, what I expected was the guitar-centric Blues of the Clapton’s,
Green’s, Alvin Lee’s, etc.
The album, and our second set, opens with
Herbie’s version of the B.B. King tune Woke Up This Morning and closes with
Charlie Mingus’ Haitian Fight Song, and in between the blend of Jazz and Blues shines
with the twin tenor saxes of Dick Heckstall-Smith and Art Themen, bolstered by
Dave Castle’s alto and flute riding on top of the rhythm section of Korner’s
guitar, Ron Edgeworth’s keyboards, Barry Howton’s drumming and the bass of
Danny Thompson, I believe his first appearance in a longstanding partnership
with Alexis. The Blues is strongest in
Herbie’s three vocals (we opted for his live rendition of Stormy Monday on the
Zoot set) which include Roberta, an excellent Korner original. Korner’s vocal from the first CD, Whoa Baby,
was added to offset the otherwise long stream of Jazzed up instrumentals.
After his time with Alexis, in 1966 Herbie
put together his own group, the Night-Timers, who became successful on the
London club scene and had a popular single, Number One in Your Heart. They were also afforded the opportunity for
sessions with Otis Redding and John Lee Hooker, as well as an unknown Jimi
Hendrix. He merged his Nightimers for a
short time with the instrumental Jazz / Blues group Wynder K. Frog before
settling in to write songs and do behind the scenes television work.
***********************************
I brought in a CD by Ronnie Scott, the Modern Jazz saxophonist
probably best known for his self-named night club which has served as the venue
for many live recordings from various genres of music, and upon my suggestion the
Razzberry availed himself of Scott’s version of It Don’t Mean a Thing, his
standard opening number. We will surely
hear more from the two disc set in about eight months when we once again play a
show of British Jazz in preparation for the 2015 KKUP Jazz Marathon. I Got You (I Feel Good)
Train Train
Ain’t That Peculiar
People Gonna Talk
Hallelujah I Love Her So
Smack Dab in the Middle
Rock Me Baby
Stormy Monday Blues
When I Meet My Baby
You Don’t Know Like I Know
Haunted House
Zoot Money and his Big Roll Band
Announcement
OverdriveBrief interview
I Need Your Lovin’ (studio)
Turn On Your Lovelight
Brief interview
Please Please Please (studio)
Every Day I Have the Blues
Alright, Okay, You Win (studio)
Kansas City (studio)
Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated
I’ll Go Crazy
Alone Came JohnSweet Little Rock ‘n’ Roller
My Wife Can’t Cook
Back Door Blues
The Cat
It Should Have Been Me
Rags and Old Iron
Something Is Worrying Me
Fina
Big Time Operator
Zoot’s Sermon
Zoot Money and his Big Roll Band
Woke Up This Morning
SkippingIt’s Happening
Roberta
Jones
Cabbage Greens
Whoa Baby (from Cavern CD)
Chicken Shack
Haitian Fight Song
Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated
Wild Women and Desperate Men
Geneva / Good Luck SoulCaptain America
Let the Good Times Roll
Zoot Money (at Alexis Korner Tribute)
