Hello Forum members,
Some of you may know that I need to take a sabbatical of undetermined length (details in the Off Topic Forum). But you didn't expect me to go out without a party, did you?
I saved the best for last. For whatever (premonitory) reason, I only played rhythm guitar and Hammond B3 accompaniment on this Jimmy Smith blues ... except for the very last guitar lick in a train-wreck ending for the Ages. Otherwise, I left the soloing to the stars:
Hammond B3
,,,,,,,,,,Jamie Rhind
Tenor sax
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Jörg S
Solo guitar
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Al Schulman
RealDrummer
,,,,,,,,,,Terry Clarke
Think of it as my guitar version of one of those creepy, diabolical laughs that echoes off into the distance, promising that it isn't over yet ...
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,The Last Lick - Let's Drink to That!Aleck Rand (aka Dean Clark)
Hi, brother !
I´ll raise a toast to your health !
Let us hope that higher powers
will grant us more licks still !
Cheers
Dani
Sensational Dean, no surprises there though.
So you had one tucked up your sleeve, eh?
The B3 solo is just outstanding. Yes, I'll drink to that!
And you should change the name to "My Latest, Best Lick: Let's Drink to That!"
Cheers
Trevor
AMAZING, AMAZING, AMAZING!!! But, who would expect less from a production involving our own ALECK RAND. Absolutely top notch everything the whole way. Let's hope for a complete and speedy recovery for our friend Dean so he can continue to amaze and entertain!! Take care Dean. Greg
Very cool tune. Best wishes for a Happy New Year
Nice tune. I am always impressed (and it should be a continuing inspiration to you as you physically recover) at the number of comments your songs generate on Soundcloud. Such respect is not an easy achievement and has to be earned. You have it in spades.
This arrangement in particular demonstrates you bring a lot more to the table than just licks. Your mind is your music and you have one of the best musical minds around.
Best wishes to a speedy recovery and hoping you keep "the band" together while you convalese.
Hi Dean,
you gathered some amazing musicians around this
song. It's just great.
Let me say it with Greg "Let's hope for a complete and speedy recovery for our friend Dean so he can continue to amaze and entertain!"
Guenter
Dean,
Nice tune and great playing. Wishing you a speedy recovery.
Peter
Greg,
What are the words to reply with? Deep caring and friendship like yours are things I feel. They outrun language. Instead, I'm looking directly at you, right into your eyes. You'll see my expression delivered with a slight nod. You'll understand right away.
Dean
Floyd,
Thanks bud. Let's have another!
Dean
Guenter,
So good to hear your words my friend. I gain strength from them.
Dean
Charlie,
Yours is another of those comments I'm having so much trouble responding to. Because I feel what you say, I look for the return words and none contains an ounce of feeling. They don't even contain much meaning in this situation.
But I think that, without saying anything at all, you know you are a force for good in this mind and heart.
Dean
Peter,
Your best wishes are accepted with gratitude. All the best in the New Year.
Dean
Dean,
I've just listened and, as always, I'm left in awe!
May good things come your way,
Noel
Hey, man, there ain't nothin' wrong with that!
"Hot!" is what I'd call it.
All the best to you, Sir.
HI Dean ...
You and your co-conspirators are sounding terrific! Love this jazzy tune! Great job by all concerned. Totally loved it!
Hope you get well soon! Best to you ...
Alan & Di
Noel,
Your words have always carried great weight with me. They are especially valued at this time. All the best in the New Year to you, mate.
Dean
Al and Di,
So good to hear from you again. Glad you could make the party. All the best to you in the New Year. Don't worry, I can't get far.
Dean
Olemon,
Let me express my gratitude for all the wonderful compliments you have paid me. Glad you liked this party and we'll have more.
All the best to you in the new year.
Dean
Very nice tune.
Great b3 organ and sax too.
Sergio
Dean, You da Man. Love the vocal additions. Great mix- sounds spectacular! Super job on this. You have really opened up my mind to a genre I may not have spent enough time on. So thanks for that. Hope you feel better soon. Tom
Sergio,
Thank you. This was such a blast to make among the four of us guys. The more we got into it, the more ideas for funny additions were contributed by all. Jamie Rhind takes one of the best B3 solos I ever heard. And it was a pure pleasure just to be arranger and accompanist. That's the role I've always preferred. I'd much rather back up a good soloist than solo myself.
Happy New Year!
Dean
Tommy,
You paid me the supreme compliment in that Off Topic forum and I'm glad our mutual admiration society continues to cook along. My feeling is that blues guitar at the level that you play it is an art in itself. It's something you can't fake and no amount of rocket science theory can help you if you don't have it. My stock compliment to those who do is, "You're the reason I never took my guitar anywhere near that kind of music." And I tell this to metal guitar players too who use these tapping techniques as well as those monster bass players who play 64th notes. With two fingers. I could have practiced just that right-hand technique for a lifetime and never gotten close.
Oh yeah, you're the reason I never brought my guitar anywhere your kind of blues. And whenever you get the urge for a little fancier accompaniment, just farm it out... TO ME!
All the best in the new year my friend. Keep on!
Dean
hi dean I think charlie nail it your contributions are well done great work always I try to do jazz you hold the the bench mark here on this forum and many places hope to hear from you soon thanks eric
Dean
Sorry to hear about the health issues hope things are improving.
Brilliant song - superb playing all round - so good it's hard to fault in any way.
Dean I hope that you will recover soon and I am sad that you are struggling with your health. Your music and your musicianship is always the best! I always enjoy listening to what you create and perform. You are the finest of the finest!
Sonny
Man, that B3 sounds huge!! This song
has COOL written all over it. You've always
made those RT players sound like you
had played with them for years.
Here's hoping as mentioned that this
will be the latest and assuredly not
the last.
Very best to you.
J&B
Hey F.M.M.
Your kind wishes are most appreciated and your remarks about my jazz musicianship are as sobering as they are uplifting. You know, there's something funny about the guitar: It's the easiest instrument to play right away. Learn three chords and you're off to the races.
But when you try to advance to the level of modern pianists and horn players, it turns into the nastiest, most difficult instrument. Think of a piano keyboard wrapped around itself 6 times. You can play the same thing in four different positions. Unlike the piano, you can't play two notes a half step apart without using more strings: a heavy penalty. The cost is not having enough strings left to get that piano voicing onto the guitar.
That box has been my voice since the age of 7, so there's no walking away from it.
Good to hear from you man.
Dean
Hi Peter,
I hope Forum members understand that I've been dealing with this stuff since about the age of 11. So, except for the last month, which was unprecedented even for me, most of it is just another day at the office. And luckily, I live in one of those states with ... how shall I abbeviate this since Federal Authorities are watching ... a medmar program. Diffused in canola oil, it's kept me out of emergency rooms for 5 years. Previously, I had tried all the biologic treatments you see advertised on TV - Remicade, Humira, etc. These were all arthritis drugs that big Pharma thought could squeeze a few extra bucks out of if they could get it to work on other inflammatory disorders. I don't know a single member of my crew who got any benefit from it.
However, I thank you for your best wishes. The warm response of Forum members has kept me going.
Dean
Sonny,
You're so kind - I feel that warmth, man. I've been going around getting second and third opinions after seeing a neurologist who ordered innumerable tests (MRI for a stroke - damn, I would have known if I had a stroke, bloke! Glucose tolerance test to check if I'm a diabetic. Come on, medic, I ain't no diabetic!) To say nothing of special neurological blood tests requiring the use of only special labs. I could see a wild goose chase staring at me with neurology. But there is some reason for optimism from two other directions. It does not seem that this is the peripheral neuropathy associated with auto-immune disease after all. I'll keep my mouth shut until I have some evidence.
Dean
Hi Janice and Bud,
Of course, our deepest bows for your kind remarks. Actually, there were two B3 players at work here. Jamie Rhind soloed - and did he ever bang that one across - and I comped and played left-hand bass. That is what I really love to do, because the bass is the last frontier of jazz organ. The equivalent of, say, a Jaco has yet to appear on the instrument. There is only one player in the world that actually does the pedals, comps chords with the left hand and solos with the right: The German B3 player Barbara Dennerlein. You can see close-ups of her high heels dancing all over the pedals on YouTube. So it took two guys to do what Barbara alone could do. But it worked.
As always, thank you for your warm wishes. I have no plans to make that my last guitar lick. It's just the last one for now.
Dean