Listening Pt. 1
Currently sorting through a box of Charlie’s CDs. Here are three discs of note.
Meditherranios by Luísa Amaro (2009, Altvs)
Amaro is a player of the Portugese Guitar. It’s not like a normal guitar. My father once recorded with another master of Portugese Guitar, Carlos Paredes. Luísa Amaro studied with Mr. Paredes. For a photo of Charlie and Mr. Paredes at a Portugese café, go here.
New York, N.Y. by George Russell (1998, Impulse)
This reissues Mr. Russell’s 1959 LP. John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Milt Hinton, Max Roach, and more, appear. Vocalist and narrator Jon Hendricks steals the show, in my opinion. This is an album about my city.
Essence by Lucinda Williams (2001, Lost Highway)
Essence escaped my notice in 2001. It was produced by Bob Dylan’s guitarist at the time, Charlie Sexton. Some of the tracks sound like they could have been on Dylan’s Time Out Of Mind. Lucinda Williams is an incredible singer and songwriter.
I Love Having You Around by Abbey Lincoln (2016, Highnote Records)
This is a bonus CD, as it isn’t from Charlie’s collection. It was released in 2016, after my father’s death, but was in the same box. It was probably sent to Ruth by the label. Anyways, this is an incredibly emotional and masterful performance from 1980 at San Francisco’s Keystone Korner, a venue Charlie played many times. It’s really an unbelievable performance.
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