Pianist and organist Red Young performs two shows at Walker's Jazz Lounge in Wichita this week.
On Wednesday, March 6, he'll be at the venue to perform a solo piano show, and, on Saturday, March 9, he'll return to the club with an organ trio (with additional saxophone from Wichita's Jim Pisano).
Young, who is based out of Austin, Texas, has appeared on a wide range of recordings and concert stages with Eric Burdon (The Animals), Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Joan Armatrading, in addition to recording a wide range of releases as a solo performer and bandleader.
The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.
You have played a wide range of styles and draw on a broad range of influences. Where did that musical curiosity come from?
It really was curiosity. We'd go over to my grandmother's house on Sundays, and she had a piano. Up until I was six or seven years old, I didn't talk very much. But, at her house, I'd sit at the piano. I was probably two or three years old, and I wouldn't be banging on the piano, I'd be using my fingers. She taught me some songs, and I realized, "This is my introduction to people." I couldn't talk or put thoughts together. My dad had a great 78 record collection, everything from Mahalia Jackson to Duke Ellington to Rachmaninov. I was like a sponge. I listened to everything. Spike Jones especially.
How did you make the transition from piano to organ?
I listened to a lot of classical music and my first teacher was a classical organist, Joyce Jones. I studied with her from about age five to age 10. She did a concert at a university in Fort Worth. She played "Flight of the Bumble Bee" with her feet. I watched that and thought, "This is interesting." My third piano teacher was an organist at Broadway Baptist Church.
In the '60s, I got hooked on [jazz organist] Jimmy Smith. There was a girl I knew at the time, and every time Jimmy Smith had a new album come out, we'd sit and dissect it. There are certain licks that Jimmy did [we liked]. We didn't name the licks. We just numbered them. "Did you hear that new Jimmy Smith album? Did you hear Number 37? Followed by Number 59?" That was so cool!
The organ was prevalent in jazz but one of the first records that got me hooked on it was [The Animals'] "House of the Rising Sun" with Alan Price on organ. I sat down and figured that thing out note-for-note. I don't play organ like an organ. I play organ like an orchestra.
I just have to say that I love Jimmy Smith's playing. He has an impeccable sense of taste.
That's the thing about the organ. It's one of the most dynamic instruments ever invented. You can make it whisper. You can make it scream. And, in my band, if I'm playing softer than you are, you need to turn down!
[Laughs.] You mentioned The Animals and you later went on to work with Eric Burdon as a solo artist, but you also worked with Joan Armatrading.
She was a big influence on me. Really interesting and creative writer. I got a call from [producer/engineer] Glyn Johns [the Who, the Eagles] who was working with Joan. My friend [guitarist Dean Parks] had given him my number. Glyn said, "Mate! You've come highly recommended by Dean Parks! We've auditioned 20 keyboard players and none of them fit the bill. We'll fly you to L.A."
I went right out to a record store and said, "Do you have anything by Joan Arbitrator?" [Laughs.]
[Laughs.]
They said, "No, it's Joan Armatrading." I got two albums, went home and transcribed everything. I had everything charted out, got to L.A. and went to A&M studios. And they said, "OK, we're going to do some material from a new, unreleased album. The first song is called 'Show Some Emotion.' "
I wound up playing the whole album [that day] and then went over to England for rehearsals and wound up touring with Joan.
You also worked with Dolly Parton, Cher and Tanya Tucker and then, as mentioned, wound up in Eric Burdon's band.
I joined in 1982. I knew all the songs. It's really something when you get a call from your heroes. "I grew up playing this guy's music, and now I'm playing with him."
You also worked with Linda Ronstadt in the 1980s when she was in her Nelson Riddle era, doing these pop standards.
I had toured with Eric Burdon and let's just say there was a reason his first band was called The Animals. [Laughs.] That band was so loud, and I was starting to lose some hearing. I went to a doctor who said, "You can't continue to play loud music." I joined up with two women singers and played piano around L.A.
Linda had recorded an album with Nelson that was all ballads and wanted to take it on the road. He told her, "If you do all ballads, you're going to put the audience to sleep. See if you can find a group that you can add to the center of the show that'll pick up the tempo." She came into the club where we were playing and heard us doing "Mr. Sandman," which she'd already done with Dolly and Emmylou Harris. She came up and said, "Why don't you come over to Peter Asher's office and play for me?"
The first two shows we did were at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
You're playing two shows at Walker's Jazz Lounge here in Wichita this week. What's different between the Wednesday show and the Saturday show?
The Wednesday show is solo piano, but I'll sing as well. My tastes are very eclectic; I do classical and jazz. I'll do some Oscar Peterson and some of my own material, standards. I talk to the audience, tell stories.
Saturday is with the organ trio. I involve the audience in what I do. Sometimes, I yell at them, "You can do this one! Sing along with me." When you're playing jazz, you have to involve the audience.
There was a club in Fort Worth called Caravan of Dreams. They would have every major player there. Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie. Jimmy Smith. Eric Johnson. Just an eclectic mix. Dizzy did a show there [that I remember well]. He came out for the encore and had this cane that had tambourine jingles on four sides. It had a rubber foot on it. Each way that he moved it, it would jingle. He'd come out and do this strut [that had a rhythm to it]. The whole time he was dancing and then he'd start singing. In addition to being a great jazz artist, he was also an entertainer. I studied that a lot.