A lot of people have been asking us how the James Brown Tribute show we just did came about. They want to know how we connected with alumni of his band, and what it was like working with them. Well, here it is…

One day back in late July I was driving into the Secret Stash offices when I got a call from our booking agent, Jack. He had me on speaker phone with some of the other agents at his office. He explained that he had this idea… to connect us with members of James Brown’s band with the purpose of creating a James Brown tribute show. Before he could even finish talking I told him we’d be in.

I’d like to step back and provide a little context here. Jack has been doing this sort of thing for a very long time… connecting musicians who can create something special together, specifically in the areas of R&B and Jazz. In the 90s he co-managed and booked Booker T And The MGs. He also worked very closely with The Blues Brothers Band (which was a super band of sorts). At one point he put together the first Stax/Volt revue since its heyday. Later on he would develop and book the Blues At The Crossroads series, which paired musicians like The Fabulous Thunderbirds with James Cotton, Tinsley Ellis, and others. Last year he put a Crossraods show on the road featuring Lee Fields, Irma Thomas, and Alecia Chakour. Additionally, he books the “Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour.” This year’s installment features Ravi Coltrane, Gerald Clayton, Joe Sanders, and others. Anyhow, you get the point. He and the guys at the agency love to get people together to make music.

As for us, well, I think it’s fair to say that the music and showmanship of James Brown has been a huge influence on us from day one. While on tour this summer we drew constant comparisons to Brown and The JBs:

“Sonny had that James Brown type of authority over his band.” –Finland Today

“He can belt like Brown… He held the audience in his hand getting it to jump up and down un-self-consciously.” –Rochester City Newspaper

“A testifyin’ soul revue not unlike the great James Brown and the JB Horns.” –The Monterey Herald

Anyhow, within a few days the agency had connected me with Fred Wesley’s manager and with Jab’o Starks’ manager. For the uninitiated, Fred was James’ trombone player from ’68 - ’75. For a good chunk of that he also served as band leader, musical directory, and composer. John “Jab’o” Starks was James’ longest running drummer. From ’65 - ’75 he played on countless hits and toured the world with James Brown.

Both managers were very responsive to the creative vision that we had for the show. Rather than just learn a set’s-worth of songs and work our way through them one by one, I wanted to try and recreate the experience of a James Brown show from the late ’60s/early ’70s. The songs should run together seamlessly. The crowd should be involved in call and response. The band should be required to follow the front man up, down, left, and right. The show should be dynamic. It should go from 10/10 intensity, to intimate and delicate at the drop of the front man’s fist. After our first chat, I sent everyone packages that included both of our records, as well as some other things that I had reissued on Secret Stash. I wanted them to see how much respect we have for this music, and the amount of love and care we will treat it with when it is placed in our hands. After checking everything out, they were officially interested. Now… we just had to find a time and place to do it.

The idea sat on the back burner for a little while, as this was prime touring season. Right before our fall tour, I spoke to Jab’o’s manager who invited me to Madison (one of my favorite towns) to watch him play with Fred, Clyde, and Fred Thomas (look ’em up if you don’t know… I’ll be writing forever otherwise) at a very special event in which the mayor would declare Clyde Stubblefield Day. This event was just days after the tour would wrap up and I was supposed to be visiting family in Gatlinburg, TN. My lovingly supportive wife agreed that we should augment our vacation plans to accommodate for time in Madison to go see the show and meet the guys.

In Madison I got to spend about an hour alone with Jab’o. We hit it off instantly, but frankly, I think he hits it off with everyone. He’s one of the sweetest, kindest, funniest people you could ever meet. If you ever meet someone who says they don’t like this man, stay the hell away from that person. They’re probably very dangerous. After hanging with Jab’o, the misses and I killed some time around town until the show, which included a visit to the crash site of Otis Redding. At the show, I met Fred. We only spent a few minutes together, but we quickly agreed that we’d love to make something happen.

The next day, on the drive down to TN, I called Jack and told him we should set something up ASAP. I believe within hours he had a block of dates in early January held for us at The Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis. We were able to find two days that work for everyone (it was 4 shows over two nights), and away we went.

As soon as I got home we went to work selecting songs. We probably came up with a list of about 25 songs to pick from. I sent the songs to Fred and Jab’o so they could let us know which ones they wanted to do. From there we picked the final songs. After that, Riley (trumpet) spent some time with Sonny confirming which key each song should be in. Then, he charted out ever song. He referenced dozens of live recordings of the band to find all the little things that made the live show special, and incorporated them into the charts. I think one of the coolest things he did, was craft two medleys for the show. They turned out incredible.

 

Once all the charts were done, he and I sat down and created a seamless set list. After that, the band members took the charts and began working on the songs individually. We would eventually rehearse about 6 times before our guests arrived. Some of the rehearsals lasted 4+ hours.

Jab’o and Fred arrived the day before our first show. We rehearsed that evening for about 2.5 hours. There was a moment in that rehearsal that will stick with me forever. We were playing “Doing It To Death,” which is a signature song for Fred. He asked how we wanted to do it and we just said, we’ll do it however you want to do it. Then, wham! He took over rehearsal. It was crazy to watch him work. He got exactly what he wanted out of everyone in record time, and did it while being one of the nicest, funnest guys you could ever work with. He didn’t have an attitude or turn into a drill Sargent. It was extremely impressive.

 

We ran through some things one more time the following day (sans Fred) for about an hour. After that, it was show time! That’s it, we had about 3.5 hours of rehearsal with our heroes for a 75 minute show. The first show went well. We were all getting used to it, but it turned out well and all the reviews and feedback were great. The second show (later that same night) went very well. It was apparent that everyone was really getting a feel for it.

The following afternoon we went over to MPR and did an in-studio session for 89.3 The Current. It was tons of fun. Everyone there was super excited to have Jab’o and Fred in the studio. By the end of that session I was really starting to feel that everyone had become very comfortable with one another. Jabo’o and Fred started giving tips and pointers to Sonny. I honestly think that is when things really clicked for us.

That night we took the stage and played what I felt was one of the best sets of music we’ve ever played. The energy was through through the roof and everyone on stage was functioning as one powerfully cohesive unit. Fred tore apart solos on tunes like I Got The Feeling and practically brought the room to tears with a solo on Try Me. Later on I would have access to the multi-track board recordings and would spend a considerable amount of time just listening to the horns. Somehow, anytime they were harmonizing, Fred always picked the hippest parts. He didn’t use the charts we made. He worked from memory and from ear. But every single note he played was exactly what the song needed. As for Jab’o… It was absolutely inspiring. I think the band gave complete control of the groove over to him, and we all just followed. At times it felt like we’d been playing with him for years. I’ll never forget watching Nick (bass) play with him, particularly during that set. He latched onto every little nuance (of which there are many) of Jab’o’s playing. After that set, Jab’o said to me, “I haven’t played like that in 30 years. You guys really get this music.”

When the time rolled around for the second set of that night, I feel as though we rode the wave of set one to the end. It was perhaps the most fun I’ve ever had playing music in my life. We got to play some of the greatest music ever recorded, with two of its architects, who turned out to be two of the greatest people I’ve ever worked with.

Now what? Well, let’s do it again! We’re currently exploring opportunities to bring this show to new audiences in 2016. Stay tuned for more information.

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Some of my favorite moments of this project so far:

*I set up Jab’o with a 60s Ludwig drum set in the studio for rehearsal. He hated it. But, he is such a nice guy, that he didn’t even want me to get him a key to tune them to his liking. He didn’t want to put me out one bit. Instead he just wore a smile and played the hell out of ’em anyways! He did wind up falling in love with the old acrolite snare on that kit, though.

*During the full group rehearsal Fred cracked several jokes about what sorts of things should normally be at a good rehearsal. He also made a hilarious joke about taking breaks. Ask me sometime and perhaps I’ll share them with you.

*Before our second night of shows, a few of us were eating dinner and Fred started talking about how he wound up playing for James Brown. He said before he played with James, all he played and listened to was Jazz. Jab’o on the other hand was playing blues with Bobby “Blue” Bland before joining up with James. Far too often people think of soul music as a very one dimensional genre of music… as if it is this one pure genre. The fact is that it is the coming together of several genres. Listening to Fred talk about the early days really enforced that for me. He also described the first time he saw James perform and the impact that had on him.

*We played cold sweat with both Jab’o and I on the drums. He is the most playful, creative, relaxed musician I’ve ever played with. Working our way through completely improvised drum breaks together was beyond fun. His smile and laugh are infectious and really have a positive impact on the playing of everyone on stage with him.