{"id":370,"date":"2015-11-27T05:18:23","date_gmt":"2015-11-27T05:18:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=370"},"modified":"2015-11-27T05:21:27","modified_gmt":"2015-11-27T05:21:27","slug":"from-the-vaults-booker-t-jones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=370","title":{"rendered":"From the Vaults: Booker T. Jones"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0National Public Radio has a series called \u2018Tiny Desk Concerts\u2019 posted on the internet and they are a source of some interesting insights into musicians from a broad spectrum of genres. \u00a0The concept is a bit strange: \u00a0invite a musician to perform in an office and film it as a live, \u00a0interactive interview. \u00a0I first discovered this series researching Lucius\u2019 first CD <\/span>Wildewoman<\/span><\/i> and it was interesting watching a group of five people perform in such a small space. \u00a0My favorite clip so far is the illuminating piece about Booker T. Jones (as in \u2018and the MGs\u2019 – not to be confused with the professional wrestler Booker T.). \u00a0Perhaps a Hammond Organ doesn\u2019t take up as much space as a five piece band, but it certainly seemed to fill up its share of the office used for the Tiny Desk Concert filming. \u00a0Did I happen to mention that there is a small audience in attendance whom I assume must be NPR staffers? \u00a0Yes, it is a bit crowded.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When asked to play one of his own compositions, Booker T. played a tune that he recorded with <\/span><\/p>\n

Booker T. and the MGs when he was seventeen years old and a senior at Booker T. Washington High School in Memphis. \u00a0If you surmised that the tune is known as <\/span>Green Onions<\/span><\/i>, go to the head of the class. \u00a0The smooth tone Jones coaxes from the Hammond B-3 is unmistakeable and even played without a full band, <\/span>Green Onions<\/span><\/i> has an unmistakable feel as the pulsating bass riff is punctuated with the more trebly fills from the other end of the keyboard.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In answer to the question, \u201cHow did you end of playing the organ\u201d, Jones said he began with piano lessons at about ten years of age. \u00a0His father had bought in a clarinet and he described it as a life altering moment, but he wanted to learn more and started on the piano. \u00a0His teacher, Selma Cole, happened to have an organ in her dining room and for the longest time, he thought it was just a china cabinet or another piece of furniture. \u00a0He asked about it several times and she said, \u201cOh, you don\u2019t want to know what that is.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0She determined that he would not be able to afford the $15 organ lessons and piano lessons at the same time. \u00a0He got a job delivering papers to raise the funds needed. \u00a0The day she finally opened \u00a0up the organ and he saw the rows of keys, he had another \u2018grabber\u2019 moment. \u00a0She played him a snippet of Bach and he was fascinated with the warmth he heard in the organ\u2019s tone.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He credits Mrs. Cole with teaching him to crawl. \u00a0He explains that with an instrument like the piano or guitar, the strings are plucked and will continue to vibrate until they are muted. \u00a0On the other hand, the organ will only sound a note while the key is held down so one has to hold a note with one finger while using the other fingers to play other notes. \u00a0Crawling \u00a0gives songs performed on an organ the smooth, flowing feel that one doesn\u2019t always hear with a stringed instrument that sustains notes while the strings are allowed to vibrate.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Demonstrating how the draw bars on the organ can be used to change the Hammond sound from warm and natural to something that sounds eerie, Jones played <\/span>Born Under a Bad Sign.<\/span><\/i> \u00a0Jones and his writing partner at Stax records, William Bell, originally wrote the song for guitarist Albert King. \u00a0Eric Clapton and Cream\u2019s version is probably more universally known than King\u2019s, but Jones\u2019 haunting organ brings a different feel to the song. \u00a0As good as Clapton\u2019s take on the song is, I am not sure the guitar based version carries the same haunting feel as the one Jones plays in this Tiny Desk Concert. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He noted that <\/span>Bad Sign<\/span><\/i> was \u201cwritten in my front room for Albert King, a left handed guitar player.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Another subtle nuance of a Hammond B-3 player can also be seen as Jones performs <\/span>Born Under a Bad Sign<\/span><\/i> when he deftly clicks the organ\u2019s Leslie speaker on and off to add even more texture to the sound. \u00a0A Leslie speaker contains a pair of rotating horns, traditionally mounted in a vented wooden cabinet. \u00a0\u00a0They give the organ a distinct vibrato or wavering sound. \u00a0It can be set for either a slower or faster rotation, but the sound of it winding up to speed or slowing back down to stop gives the Hammond another sound variation that is hard to replicate on any other instrument. \u00a0Jones uses his left hand to click the Leslie speaker on and off and does it so smoothly, one really isn\u2019t aware that he has done it until the tone changes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Time constraints did not allow Jones to expand on his career at Stax Records and his work with the MGs including Al Jackson (drums), Steve Cropper (guitar), Donald \u2018Duck\u2019 Dunn (bass), and other stellar members of the Stax Records\u2019 fabled house band. \u00a0He also didn\u2019t get to talk about his first recording sessions where he played baritone sax and guitar (he is one of those multi-instrumentalists who seems to be able to play just about any instrument, even the oboe which is one of the more difficult reed instruments to master). \u00a0He did take the time to thank the NPR folks on hand for the job they do bringing music to their large audience. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Booker T. Jones may have come on the music scene in 1962, but this NPR clip shows that he is both humble about his ability and happy to have had such a storied career. \u00a0\u00a0His first hit (<\/span>Green Onions<\/span><\/i>) may have been an instrumental, but Jones is also a very capable vocalist. \u00a0His latest releases were <\/span>The Road to Memphis (2011) <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>Sound the Alarm (2013)<\/span><\/i> which will be featured on WOAS-FM in the upcoming weeks. \u00a0<\/span>Sound the Alarm<\/span><\/i> features guest appearances by Gary Clark, Jr., Estelle, and a host of others. \u00a0It also marks his return to Stax Records where he got his start. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t forget to check out our audio and video feeds at <\/span>www.woas-fm.org<\/span><\/a><\/span> . \u00a0Past editions of From the Vaults and other items of interest are also posted there for your reading and listening pleasure.<\/span><\/p>\n

The video clip included here is Jones performing\u00a0Born Under a Bad Sign<\/em> on\u00a0Live from Daryl’s House.<\/em>