“Charlie Wood is a rare species, very much in the lineage of Mose Allison and Ben Sidran, with a gentle nod to Donald Fagen, and there are precious few performers who can carry that off with such aplomb and still sound original”
Tim Stenhouse
"Charlie who?” is the usual response I get from people. when I mention American blues jazz composer, lyricist and keyboard player, Charlie Wood. I usually pique their interest when I reply "The same Charlie Wood who toured all over the US and Europe as the keyboard player in Albert King’s band.
Since moving to the U.K. after marrying a well known British jazz singer, Memphis-native Charlie Wood’s own career has been largely eclipsed by his more famous wife, Jacqui Dankworth. It’s not a bad trade off, considering Dankworth is such an in demand jazz singer, both here and abroad. That’s not to say Wood doesn’t have his fans in the U.K. Besides working with Dankworth, Wood continues to forge his own illustrious career with his band, The Charlie Wood Organ Trio, at every opportunity.
Stateside, things have been very different for Charlie Wood. In his early twenties, Wood toured the US and Europe as keyboard player for blues guitarist Albert King. He later returned to his hometown of Memphis and establishing a residency on the city’s historic Beale Street. This residency lasted for many years, during which time Wood performed with a wide range of musicians including B.B. King, Georgie Fame, Joey DeFrancesco, George Coleman, Mulgrew Miller and Alvin Batiste.
Honours received during these years included being awarded the Freedom of the City and a dedicated Charlie Wood Day by Memphis City Council, the N.A.R.A.S. Premier Player Award for Keyboards and the Beale St. Merchants’ Association Entertainer of the Year award.
In October 2014, Wood became the 136th recipient of a Brass Note on Memphis’s Beale Street.
Undoubtedly, we are very fortunate to have so many incredible keyboard players gracing our stages here in the U.K, particularly those with a leaning towards the classic Hammond B3 sound. Players such as Ross Stanley, Jonny Henderson, Mike Gorman, Stevie Watts - to name but a few - can be regularly seen performing at concerts up and down the country, week in and week out, often lugging large cabinets and heavy consoles to these gigs, a dedication to their craft way above and beyond the call of duty.. I do not hesitate to include Wood in this illustrious company. But for me, Wood’s creativity as a composer and lyricist puts him in another league.altogether
Charlie Wood's musical style is highly influenced by his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee and the sounds of New Orleans, where he lived for several years. With eleven albums already released under his own name, and another with Dankworth, Wood has a tantalising back catalogue brimming with original artistic gems; an enthralling prospect for anyone new to the name Charlie Wood. If you’d rather short circuit this compositional tour de force, I can recommend the following guided tour, comprising 16 select tracks from Wood’s extensive output:
Please Note: The link will take you to YouTube Music playlist. If you are not a subscriber to the service, you may be offered a free trail. Select "No" to continue to the playlist. Please be aware that this free service may insert ads between some tracks, but you can skip the ads after the first 4 seconds.
“Remember the first time you heard Dylan, or Springsteen or Waits? Charlie Wood delivers that same jolt”
Jazztimes
“memorable songs of a quite startling diversity, united by their pointed emotional power”
Jazzwise
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