It was a rare evening of entertainment. Charlie was reunited with many of
his old friends and back up players from when he used to tour under his own name
around the US and commanded more respect.
As in other forms of career music,
the older traditional players are being replaced by new/younger hotshots in
recording situations and record company interest. So, it was quite a reunion
and a joy to see for this human aspect alone.
Naturally, this happiness spilled over to a very intimate and enjoyable
concert. Jazz from the 40's, old time gospel (w/4 part harmony), traditional
country tunes, many instrumentals and stellar musicianship was the entertainment
last night. Charlie is playing stronger than ever. It was fun watching how
Charlie, who is used to counting off his tunes faster than normal (because of
the mediocre ability of local drummers that he is saddled with for many gigs
who slow the tempo down during the tunes), keeping up with Bob Mater - 1st
class Nashville session drummer - who started the tunes at these accelerated
tempos and kept them there.
I never heard Orange Blossom Special played so fast.
Charlie tours mostly in France, where he says the audience isn't driven by
any MTV music industry or "American Idol" or "young lion I can smoke anybody
flash in the pan" egotistic attitudes.
He says they come to the concert with
open minds and show true depth and appreciation - more so than here in the US.
I told him it was parallel to the jazz expatriates in the '40's.
He is recording and releasing a few new albums - a christmas album and one
focusing on jazz standards.
The only place to buy his recordings is on his website - _www.charliemccoy.com_ (http://www.charliemccoy.com) .
The Iceman
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