Sunday, July 28.
Let’s start by stating the obvious: you DO NOT want to miss this show! Why? First a little history. The epicenters of ‘60s R&B were, of course, Detroit, home to Motown, and Memphis, home to Stax Records. Truly legendary artists called Stax home: Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Wilson Pickett, Eddie Floyd, and Rufus and Carla Thomas, amongst others. The backing band on these recordings, The Mar-Keys, stood shoulder to shoulder with other all-star studio bands of the day, the Funk Brothers, the Wrecking Crew, and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. The Mar-Keys legacy was further enhanced by extensions such as Booker T & the M.G.’, led by musical prodigy, and the creator of the most iconic Hammond B3 part in history (Green Onions), Booker T. Jones.
In addition to appearing on hundreds of recordings, Booker T. Jones is a four-time Grammy winner, a Grammy lifetime achievement recipient, a memoir author (Time is Tight: My Life, Note by Note, 2019), and the producer of records by Bill Withers, Rita Coolidge and Willie Nelson. Booker T’s Stax Revue brings the funky with a 10-piece band featuring three vocalists, horns, and a crack rhythm section. Harkening back to the 1967 Stax/Volt Revue tour of Europe, this may be the most toe-tapping repertoire you ever encounter. For those of us who did not attend this show in Calgary last year, this will be a do-over of the finest caliber.
Biography by Jay Nelson