Melvin Sparks In Pittsburgh

[DMP]

Melvin Sparks played at a small neighborhood bar in Lawrenceville (a working class section of town along the Allegheny River that's been up and coming for about 20 years - known mostly as the birthplace of Stephen Foster) last night, no publicity, no listings in either of the 2 local papers' weekend guides - and the place was packed! (Lots of kids.) An organ trio (although some electronic keyboard standing in for the organ), the set was 4 long numbers, mostly one chord vamps - reminded me of what Grant Green sounded like live. It was a lot of fun, the crowd loved it, but the whole thing was surreal - is there some kind of alternate jazz universe out there? (Apparently he was in town a few months ago in a trendy club on the South Side - another working class neighborhood, along the Mon, but this area has been successfully transformed, for better or worse - and the place was empty.) The tickets (at the door - $10) - said "The originator of soul jazz" - I always thought that title belonged to Horace Silver (or was it Bobby Timmons? Jimmy Smith? Les McCann?), but the music was funky enough that we'll let that pass.

[sheldonm]

I saw Melvin several months ago in Indy and he put on a great show of soul jazz. Not sure if he's the originator but a smokin' show none the less.

Mark~

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Groan from over here where this kind of thing happens once a decade.

Very interesting to hear that there's this kind of venue around Pittsburgh.

MG

Edited October 28, 2006 by The Magnificent Goldberg

[robertoart]

Groan from over here where this kind of thing happens once a decade.

Very interesting to hear that there's this kind of venue around Pittsburgh.

MG

Groan from over here too, (Australia) where this kind of thing never happens.

Bet Melvin Sparks was relieved at that second gig when the club started to fill up.

[DMP]

Well, Pittsburgh has a great jazz tradition, many important figures are from around here (you know the list - Earl Hines, Mary Lou Williams, Erroll Garner, Art Blakey, Billy Strayhorn - and some names you might not associate with the city - Sonny Clark, Horace Parlan, Bob Cooper - there are lots more), but, unfortunately, the once thriving club scene no longer exists. The days when you could routinely catch a Freddie Hubbard or Grant Green (or any number of local musicians who never left town, like Gene Ludwig) in a neighborhood spot ended years ago. So it was a surprise to find Sparks (who I last saw here with Lou Donaldson, ages ago) playing in a bar that may well have occasional music but certainly no regular jazz.

Edited October 29, 2006 by DMP

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

What's really interesting is that the gig attracted so many without publicity. Or without apparent publicity, I should say. Someone must have been able to tap into a young people's gossip/rumour circuit somehow. And the earlier gig must have failed because no one was able to do that. Were the people local to the bar's normal catchment or did they come from all over the city?

MG

[DMP]

Guess they came from all over the city (and, while a young crowd, a nice mix), the whole scene was a mystery to me. Does Melvin Sparts have some kind of reputation with the jam band crowd?

[GregN]

Guess they came from all over the city (and, while a young crowd, a nice mix), the whole scene was a mystery to me. Does Melvin Sparts have some kind of reputation with the jam band crowd?

Melvin is huge with the jam banders.

So is "acid jazz" in general. If they

can do the hippy dance...they are there.

g