In a Minor Groove - rants & raves - craigslist (2024)

Eddie Baccus

"Feel Real"

https://youtu.be/J6JDYenFlII

In the words of Robert Barra "Many a rose was born to bloom, untouched by the
morning sun." In the world of music there are countless numbers of exciting musicians
waiting and hoping for the lucky break, which will release them from obscurity. This
is particularly true in the jazz field where there seems to be more musicians than gigs,
and where the life span of the jazz club is often brief.
Eddie Baccus, the young organist presented here making his record debut, has been
playing in the Cleveland area for the past few years. Organ groups are vastly popular
in Ohio. The fact that he has worked one club date for the past year attests to his
tremendous audience appeal.
Born in November, 1936, in Lawndale, N.C., Eddie is one of 10 children. Five of
his family including himself are blind. His sight faded gradually after birth. At the
beginning of his third school term he was enrolled in the School for Blind Children at
Raleigh, N.C. He says that he started "messing around with the piano" when he was
10. Two years later he began taking lessons. There was always music at home. His
youngest sister plays drums and the other three are pianists. At present Eddie is the
family's only professional musician. His parents moved to Dayton, Ohio just before
his freshman year and he began high school at The School for the Blind at Columbus,
Ohio. Art Tatum was one of the famous students of this school.
Roland Kirk heard about this amazing pianist and contacted him. He left school.
after his junior year and joined Roland's group. Due to parental influence he returned
to school. During this period, he started organ lessons.
After graduation he rejoined Kirk in Cleveland, where they had a successful
nine-month engagement at the "100-Club." Jam sessions were held at the club twice
each week and these sessions helped Eddie broaden his musical scope. Charles Crosby,
the drummer who appears on this date, was the third member of the trio. Crosby is
one of the "Young Men of Memphis" whose home town contemporaries include
Phineas Newborn and George Coleman.
Roland left for New York to join Charlie Mingus. Eddie and Crosby remained at
the 100-Club for a few months, then moved to the Esquire Club as a duo. It was
here that Eddie formed his present trio with drummer George Cook and guitarist
Mose Fowler.
Roland began talking to Smash recording director Jack Tracy about this excitingly
creative organist, and Tracy decided to record him.
Eddie is usually shy among strangers, but when he warms up, he is extremely
loquacious. He has a disarming sense of humor. He recently took his first plane ride.
Due to a time change, the plane left Cleveland at 1 p.m. and arrived in Chicago at
1:05. Eddie said "Man, it's o.k. to go fast, but that was just too much!"
When asked what style he played, he said-he really doesn't know-only that he
hopes it is original. And it is just that. The listener will probably notice that his runs
are of a rare clarity. He does not fall victim to the funky cliches, histrionics, or chomping sounds which have been run into the well-known ground by many organists. Perhaps
this is due to his many years of pianistic training.
His aspirations are to form a quartet by adding a horn player or vibist to the present
group. The trio has a fine sense of communication and complement each other beauti-
fully from the intro number to coda.
-- Edith D. Kirk

see:

https://www.cleveland.com/life-and-culture/j66j-2020/03/53b36813a04248/eddie-baccus-sr-a-musical-treasure-is-clevelands-longestplaying-musician-and-still-going-strong.html

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