The setup at the Music Box Supper Club this past Wednesday night offered a unique environment for experiencing live music. With long dinner tables positioned lengthwise from the stage and reserved seating, an environment of connection and community was hard to avoid. Strangers were seated together side by side, but also face to face, as they enjoyed a bite to eat, a drink, and the music on stage. As people took their seats, placed their orders and settled in with the anticipation of a night of musical excellence, you could hear the random conversations of people meeting for the first time.
When the lights in the hall dimmed to rise upon the stage, the growing audience was met with the smooth sounds of two of Cleveland’s own exceptional artists. Nathan-Paul on saxophone and Theron Brown on keys took hold of the stage and directed the audience into the halls of auditory discovery. The duo on stage intricately wove together soulful originals with timeless covers. Delivering sound that entered your ears, slid through the channels of your mind to tease your emotions before it grounded itself in your heart and soul.
After a brief interlude, the root of the crowd’s growing excitement emerged. Booker T Jones and his band walked on stage and, before a single note was played or word spoken, the crowd greeted them with a roar of approval. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, who has created a profound legacy and left an indelible print in the analogs of musical history, waved in response with a smile filled with the humility of true appreciation. Booker T then turned to his organ, sat down and began the night’s journey through music, sound, and stories filled with history and genius.
Joining him on stage were his son, Ted Jones, on guitar, Neal Daniels on drums and Lawrence Shaw on bass—three young musicians whose artistry and power undoubtedly will create lasting imprints in today’s changing musical landscape. Ted Jones intoxicating guitar virtuosity left it hard to believe he is only a few years into his voyage of dedicated musical expression.
Having just completed his latest trip around the sun on Monday, reaching the powerful age of 74, it was fitting that Booker T Jones would take us on a trip through his life and music. A concurrent journey for him, Booker T took time to share the stories behind the creation of many of his original songs and some of his experience of those stories of life we all connect to particular songs—except in his case he was playing the music… with the artist themselves. As he took us from his early years being “raised on Gospel and Blues” in Memphis, Tennessee, through his college years and out to California, his words would give way to song. And when the notes faded, he provided another window through which to see his personal history and experience. A story about heading out at the request of his neighbor, Bob Dylan, to play a song on a movie set led to a cover of Knocking on Heavens Door. As he shared another memory, involving Jimi Hendricks, the licks of Hey Joe suddenly fell from the stage.
Booker T Jones smooth, gravely voice danced above the keys and lofted above his guitar. The music shifted between power and grace, soul and spirit. Some of the most poignant moments on stage were those shared between father and son. The deep bond between the two was openly evident in the charisma and connection evident between the two of them in their person and in their playing. After the story of a shared experience with Prince at an awards ceremony, the other members left the stage to the father-son duo. With nothing but their guitars on hand, the two delivered a powerful rendition of Purple Rain that was saturated in a beauty that merged strength and grace with the immutable sound of two voices connected by lineage, respect and love.
The entire evening was filled with moments of awe-inspiring musicality. It had been a long time since I had been to a live blues performance by any artist. To return to the experience of this impassioned genre of music with an artist such as Booker T Jones at the helm was a powerful voyage. The music on Wednesday night did not simply invade the ears. It reached in, grabbed your heart and shook its way into your spirit. For me, naturally, my body could not help but follow the groove. I abandoned my seat to join the others along the perimeter who couldn’t contain the affect the music created within them. And as the night drew to a close, the entire venue rose to its feet for multiple standing ovations for Booker T Jones and the incredible young musicians who joined him on stage.