King Curtis (February 7, 1934 – August 13, 1971) – Teasin' (1970)
This superb jam by one of R&B's greatest saxophonists who was tragically murdered at age 37 was co-written and produced by Delaney Bramlett, feat. Eric Clapton on guitar.
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King Curtis became an R&B legend during the 1950s and 60s. His sax solos were heard on the Coasters’ classic “Yakety Yak” and “Respect” by Aretha Franklin, for whom he worked as musical director. Jimi Hendrix was a member of his band for a time and said the sound of Curtis’ horn influenced his own playing style.
Born Curtis Montgomery in Fort Worth, Texas, he was adopted and his name changed to Curtis Ousley. He got his first saxophone at age 12 and a year later formed his first group. One of his high school classmates was Ornette Coleman, and the two of them performed together as teenagers. After graduating, he joined Lionel Hampton’s band and subsequently moved to New York City in 1952 where he worked as a prolific session musician.
Instead of sketching the highlights of Curtis’ career here, for a definitive account of his life and times see "Soul Superhero: The Massive Life and Tragic Death of King Curtis," by Michael A. Gonzales. It was published by Wax Poetics in March, 2021 and is highly recommended.
However, a few of his tracks that can’t go without mention include “Home Cookin'” (1965) a live recording of an amazing instrumental featuring Jimi Hendrix; “Instant Groove,” the super funky title track to his 1969 LP, with Curtis himself on spoken word vocals; the beautiful “Giving Up” by Donny Hathaway from his self-titled second LP, which featured a sublime sax solo by Curtis; and this incredible footage of Aretha Franklin’s performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival in June, 1971, backed by Curtis and the Kingpins.
The year before his tragic death, he co-wrote the stellar instrumental funk jam “Teasin'” (1970) with Delaney Bramlett, who also produced the song and played rhythm and acoustic guitar on it.
“Teasin'” featured Eric Clapton on lead guitar and other uncredited session musicians (the original single release was billed as King Curtis with Delaney Bramlett, Eric Clapton & Friends). The track was recorded at Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles, California. It was included on Curtis' Get Ready LP released later that year in 1970.
On July 21, 1971, the day after the Schaefer Music Festival in Central Park, Curtis joined Delaney & Bonnie and friends, including Duane and Gregg Allman, for a live broadcast on WPLJ, recorded at A&R Studios in New York City.
Photos of the session (taken by noted rock photographer Bob Gruen) show him happy and full of life less than a month before his death. On August 13, 1971, he was murdered by a junkie who had been shooting up on the steps of an apartment building Curtis had recently purchased on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
King Curtis was a genius at the peak of his artistic career when he was killed, and it makes his senseless death all the more tragic. But while he was here, he left us a rich musical legacy that will live on forever.
#soul #funk #JimiHendrix #ArethaFranklin #DelaneyBramlett #KingCurtis