Just heard this cut on Bluesville for the second time in two weeks and thought I ought to find out more. Here's the band up close and personal. Who is the harp player? That's a lot of horns!
I believe this is an old friend of mine from the Boston area who's better known as a sax player but who was always a terrific harp player in his own right named Mark "Kaz" Kazanof, which is why he works so easily with a horn section, unlike the way most harp players are, who when put in this setup, just do nothing but either clam up or don't shut up and play over everything. He used to be a part of a band up this way until about 1978, John Nicholas And The Rhythm Rockers, and they often were Big Walter Horton's pick up band whenever he was in town and Kaz always played sax behind him and backed him up perfectly. He's one helluva musician. ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
It's probably worth noting a) that the groove is swinging wildly, all over the place; b) that WC Clark isn't the slightest bit disturbed by that, and brings everybody back into sync; and c) that although the average listener can't hear any of that, most of the guys in the band, especially the keyboard player and guitarist, walked away from the gig saying "Jesus! What the hell just happened?"
But none of that mattered, because it was live and real. That is the blues.
First time I met Kaz he was playing with this group, from left to right - Johnny Nicholas (Guitar Johnny) Guitar and Vocals, not sure who the drummer is pictured but Fran Cristina of the T-Birds fame may have been on that gig, Mark "Kaz" Kazanoff playing Tenor and Harp (through a Super Reverb), Sarah Brown on Bass, and a young guitar player name Ronnie Horvath, you probably know him as Ronnie Earl! LOL Most of that band was on the Blind Pig Records Big Walter Horton album "Fine Cuts".
@Kudzurunner -- Kaz was a harp player long before he became a sax player and I used to see him quite a bit here in Boston and often hung out with him. Most of the time when I saw him, he played harp thru a real '59 Bassman with Premier 90 reverb unit. Trust me, he knows his stuff about blues and jazz as well and he's a real good guy too.
Sarah Brown used to be part of the Boston scene as well. For several years as John Nicholas & The Rhythm Rockers, they had a regular Sunday night gig at the Speakeasy in Cambridge, MA and on nights when Big Walter had some time off from his gig schedule using them as his pick up band, he'd often be there on those Sunday nights when his schedule was open. ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
Kaz is in the Little Walter book also. He talks about seeing Walter at a show in Boston and taking him to lunch. He also talks about seeing him in Chicago. Like Bob says Kaz is a real good guy. When I was first learning Sax he came over my house and gave me lessons when he was in town playing at Blues Harbor. He would never take any money from me so I would buy him lunch. I don't get to see him anymore since there are no more places left to play That can afford his talent. ---------- Thanks, Albey Scholl The Shadows Blind Willies Blues Club Atlanta, GA
@Albey -- I had a similar conversation with Kaz about him seeing Little Walter live in Boston (and BTW, the cover photo on the Hate To See You Go LP was shot near Harvard Square in nearby Cambridge, MA). ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
