Actually known as C.D. and the Naturals, we were four guys enjoying moments of fame on the local club circuit, with side trips to nearby colleges, and great times in Baltimore… C.D. played both guitar and organ. His family had lots of money which by default qualified him as a spoiled rich kid, but Charlie never let that get in the way of fun and good music. Kenny (on drums) was a jazzman at heart, a dedicated musician who still practiced and took lessons. His commitment can be best illustrated by citing the night he was alone at The Boxwood Motel with this incredibly hot chick and played Horace Silver albums for her…until dawn. Art called everybody ‘Cuz’ and always delivered on bass. He was hip, never a stranger to irony, no matter how obvious or obscure. We all had cars then and Art drove a dark blue Chevy II. He called it his Chevy Too Much…
We often had the role of ‘opening act’ for some of the big names and sometimes we were required to back them up. The Coasters were amazed that I knew so many King Curtis licks. Mary Wells sobered up, finally. Junior Walker?…I met Junior Walker at Dickinson College. We concluded our opening with a ‘cookin’ blues called “Hand Clappin”. It was one of those nights when I couldn’t make a mistake (these can be counted on the fingers of one hand).
Junior’s All-Stars came onstage one at a time, replacing each of The Naturals without losing the groove, and soon Junior was standing next to me, his shiny tenor sax hanging from his neck and anxious to get involved. The crowd was ready for some action.
In the world of tenor sax players, there is a long tradition of trading licks and trying to outdo each other. Junior had picked the wrong night for a contest…