Booker T. Jones Band, City Winery, NYC, 7.26.16
by Michael Sherer
Posted: Jul 2016
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Booker T. Jones - photo by Michael Sherer
Booker T. Jones is best known for being the namesake of Stax Records’ house band, Booker T. & The M.G.‘s, after joining the Memphis, TN based company in ‘62 at the age of eighteen. Booker was a local Memphis youth. The company had been formed in ‘57 as Satellite Records but its name was changed to Stax in ‘61. Although the area was quite black, the company was founded by two white siblings and business partners, Jim Stewart and his sister Estelle Axton, who came fully aboard the following year after Stewart began it. Stax is a clever combination of their names. Although neither sibling had any experience or even much knowledge of soul music, they embraced those around them who did and went fully in that direction. The label soon came to represent authentic Southern soul at its best and the envy of many.
Booker T. & The M.G.‘s played on most of the records made on Stax throughout the ‘60’s as well as making their own albums for the label. Several of those songs were played here at the hip and intimate City Winery in lower Manhattan, where the food and wine is first rate. Those classic songs included Green Onions, Soul Limbo, Hang ‘Em High, Time Is Tight and Melting Pot. Booker also did some cover songs that mean a lot to him, such as Purple Rain by Prince and Hey Joe, a song written by William Moses “Billy” Roberts Jr., but of course made famous by Jimi Hendrix, whom Prince idolized. Booker also told us some interesting stories behind the songs and charged times.
Booker’s 22 year old son Teddy was on guitar, Melvin Brannon, Jr. was on bass and Darian Gray was on drums. Booker also plays guitar and saxophone, and left his churchy, soulful Hammond organ for a few songs to be center stage to play guitar and sing, such as with these two covers. The whole band sounded great together and as soloists.
Booker’s most recent CD called “Sound The Alarm” was released in ‘13, and some of its songs were performed here. Booker has gone full circle in that the CD is on a reconstituted Stax imprint that Concord Records owns, having bought out Fantasy Records. Fantasy had previously acquired the insolvent Stax in ‘77 after they unfortunately went belly up the year before.
Booker has been alarmingly soulful, hip and swingin’ for six decades. I recommend you catch him where and how you can.