Al Kooper 70th Birthday Concert

 

Toward the end of the first half of Al Kooper’s 70th Birthday Concert, Kooper introduces the next number as the one song everybody expects him to play.

“I’ve played it so many times,” he says, “I just got tired of it. We haven’t played it in 14 months. But we’re going to play it tonight. It’ll be interesting to see if we can still remember it.”

With that, his band launches into “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know” from the first Blood, Sweat, and Tears album. It’s a magnificent performance. The band, the Funky Faculty, are tighter than tight. Kooper’s voice, always an acquired taste, is in full bloom. He plays the organ as if his life depends on it. It’s hard to see where he’s going to go from here. As Kooper’s voice, drenched in echo, holds the final note, and just as the other band members drop out for what promises to be a heart-wrenching ending to the song, the audience is breathless. Kooper draws out the final “know,” the audience is ready to burst into rapturous applause, and then it happens: Guitarist Bob Doezman strums a familiar tune. Kooper has already started playing the chords on his organ as he begins to sing:

“I saw her today at the reception . . .”

He doesn’t even get to the “glass of wine in her hand.” The crowd in the Swyer Theater officially goes bananas. The band swings into action and it is glorious. Mark Teixiera pounds away at the skins. Guest keyboardist Murry Weinstock tickles the ivories. Doezman grinds out a note-perfect Keith Richards guitar lick. When the first chorus comes around, Kooper gestures to the audience to sing, and the room explodes in splendid musical communion. How could anyone possibly resist?

It’s been an electrifying evening. From the moment he hit the stage, Kooper has held the audience spellbound. He started the show with a short solo set, just him and his keyboard. He quickly switched to guitar and reminded everyone that before he became an organist, he was top-flight on the strings. He played a heartfelt reading of “I Can’t Keep From Crying Sometimes,” joined now by bassist Jesse Williams and drummer Teixiera.

Now Kooper is joined by the rest of the band. In addition to Doezman and Weinstock, trumpeter Jeff Stout and reedman Daryll Lowery comprise a horn section. It’s amazing what a huge sound these two gentlemen make. They do an ample job of representing the BST horns.

After a lovely version of “Without Her,” the group tear into Booker T and the MGs’ “Green Onions,” featuring an astounding solo from Doezman. The rest of the set goes on like this. Each number exceeding the last until the whole thing culminates in that transcendent version of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” Incredible.

The second set keeps the rhythm section but omits the horns and substitutes guest guitarist Jimmy Vivino for a Mike Bloomfield tribute set. As good as the first set was, the second set leaves it in the shade. Vivino is awe-inspiring. He and Kooper, close friends offstage, have an unbelievable unspoken rapport. The two men take turns spinning dazzling tapestries of sound, unheard of since the passing of Bloomfield himself. What do they do? They do “Feelin’ Groovy.” They do “Highway 61.” They do “The Weight” in honor of Levon Helm. (“Are we still in Ulster County?” Vivano asks, showing just how often he gets upstate.)

And, yes, they close with “Like a Rolling Stone,” the song that made Kooper an organist and a legend. Vivano takes the lead vocal. Kooper plays that organ riff we all know so well. When they finish, they leave without an encore, but no one minds. It has been a perfect evening. Nothing could top that. How does it feel? Pretty freaking amazing.

 

Tagged as: Al Kooper