Calvin Keys - Shawn-Neeq

Calvin Keys's 1971 debut album for the Black Jazz Records label announcedthe arrival of a new star in the jazz guitar firmament. Keys had spent the '60s backing up the cr�me de la cr�me of jazz organists�Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff, Jack McDuff, Richard Groove Holmes�but for his first record as a leader, he was eager to play with a piano player instead. So he recruited one of the best�Larry Nash, who, besides being a member of the L.A. Express, played with everybody from Eddie Harris to Bill Withers to Etta James.Bassist Lawrence Evans, drummer Bob Braye, and flautist-songwriter OwenMarshall rounded out the group on Shawn-Neeq, which might remind someof Pat Metheny's early work (Metheny acknowledges Keys as an influence), orGrant Green. But what gives Shawn-Neeq extra depth is that it comes from the heart; as Keys says in Pat Thomas' liner notes, which feature an interview with the artist: My thing was, I write about some of the experiences that I've had in my life. Keys has since become a fixture in the Bay Area jazz scene; this is the album that started his journey. Another gem from the celebrated Black Jazz catalog!