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Some thoughts aboout this and that...

March 2009

The first time I saw Mel on stage was at the Toronto Harbourfront Blues Festival in the year 2000. He was performing with the great Snooky Pryor and this was the event that marked the unofficial beginning of my journey into the blues. At the time, I barely had sufficient knowledge to fully appreciate the pure greatness I was witnessing that day.

My course was set as, after that fateful weekend, that I decided to begin documenting the blues on video. I began to interview anyone who would spare the time to talk to me. Over the next two years, I pursued the possibilities of getting an interview with Mel Brown for my soon-to-be-entitled “Talkin' Blues” project. Each time I’d ask, Mel would politely decline my invitation. However, he never discouraged me from shooting footage of him in the studio or on stage. I think, to his way of thinking, he just preferred to let the music do the talking on his behalf. Who could argue with that? Mel’s music always spoke volumes.

The more I got into the blues and the more I spoke to different blues players, the more I came to understood Mel's place in music. In my opinion, any credible blues musician who knew his “stuff” already knew – and respected – Mel Brown. Mel had attained a position of instant credibility that towered above and beyond most musicians. I remember being in the studio with Billy Flynn and he asked me to take a picture of him standing next to Mel's guitar. I asked him what Mel Brown meant to him and he responded that, as a guitarist growing up in the 1970's, Mel was the one to listen to. He was absolutely thrilled to be playing in a session with the great Mel Brown…and thrilled to be getting his picture taken with Mel’s guitar.

During another Mel Brown recording session, Enrico Crivellaro got a chance to meet Mel for the first time. Needless to say, Enrico was excited at this chance to meet an idol. Within seconds, Mel had handed him his guitar and asked him to play. There was an immediate bond between the two of them that was sheer magic to have witnessed. I imagine that this type of bond was created by Mel with many, many young musicians over the years.

The first time I heard Mel play the piano, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. To this day, I don't think I've heard anything better as far as blues piano is concerned. I'm not a technical person when it comes to music so this comparison may be way off - but Mel sounded as good as my favourite Otis Spann performances...if not better. I talked to Mel a number of times about recording more piano tracks because it seemed as though very few people were aware what an amazing piano player he was. I guess if you played the guitar that well, you really didn't have anything else to prove. However, if you ever get a chance to really listen to some of Mel's piano tracks, I’m sure you’ll agree that they’re something else.

In 2003, the Kitchener Blues Society decided to honour Mel Brown with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Since I would be at the Notodden Blues Festival with Mel and many other blues musicians the week before – and had already done some work on this idea beforehand – I volunteered to create a short tribute video to Mel to salute this occasion. While in Norway, I asked Miss Angel (Mel’s wife) which musicians she’d recommend I talk to for some insights on Mel. She simply looked around the room, which, at the time, contained a veritable Who’s Who of monumental blues acts, and said, “Anyone and everyone”. Nor was she kidding. In one afternoon, my list of eager volunteers included Little Milton, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, Bob Stroger, Snooky Pryor, Marcia Ball, Kent “Omar” Dykes and a handful of others – all happy to offer their thoughts about Mel. In addition to these people, B.B. King, Bobby “Blue” Bland and Kim Wilson had already provided me with generous footage singing Mel’s praises. I might be wrong but I’m convinced that it was this tribute that finally convinced Mel to sit down with me for an interview. This tribute had, in fact, become the genesis for my DVD project with him.

Another memorable moment occurred in the studio one afternoon as Mel arrived, somewhat the worse for wear from his travels. He moved towards the B3 organ and leaned on it, trying to catch his breath. He slowly turned, looked at me and said, “Buddy, you don’t smoke, do you?” I noted that “I did but was seriously considering quitting” and I believe he said, “You do that.” It took a month or two after that incident but I did quit – and during the first few months of quitting, if I ever had a craving, it was Mel’s comment I’d go back to, reminding myself why I decided to stop smoking. I was fortunate to learn a lot of things from Mel during the time that I got to know him – but him being part of my inspiration to quit smoking may be one of the greatest lessons I’ve received from him.

Musically, I was fortunate enough to witness some amazing moments with Mel. He was great to see and hear live but watching him create his magic in the studio was equally unforgettable. Often times, he would nail a solo down in the first take and do a second one just for good measure – which would be just as good, if not better. He’d simply say, “I’m sure there’s something you can use…” I once asked him if he had a favorite solo he had recorded and he responded by saying, “I’ll have to think about that”. I don’t know why but at the time I was surprised by that answer – now, I see things a little differently.

In 2005, Andrew Galloway and I decided to do a DVD project on Mel. The coolest thing about producing the DVD with Mel was having the opportunity to simply hang out with him. Andrew and I would drive to Mel’s house and spend a few hours just chatting about this and that. As informal an act as it was, you couldn’t help but walk away feeling incredibly fortunate to have spent time with him. The last time I received a phone call from Mel, we had a nice chat about Obama becoming President and what that meant to him. He also played me some music he had just recorded. As much as I got to know Mel, I was still in awe of him and, to be honest with you, there was something about talking to him that always made me slightly nervous. This was not because of anything he did or ever said (which is the last thing he would ever have wanted) but simply because…he was Mel Brown and I was in total awe of him. The fact that he’d play me songs he had written over the phone like that was a very surreal experience for me. Years before, I had done something similar with my high school friends when we’d heard something so good that we’d wanted to share it…but this was the great Mel Brown. Silly as it may seem, I’m not even sure how to process that now – except to realize how truly lucky I have been to have known such an amazing man.

I once had an idea of attempting to document the lineage of “cool”. I’d ask someone who they thought happened to be cool and they would respond with a name. I would next track that person down to find out who they thought was cool, and so on. In the end, I soon became relatively certain we’d eventually end up back with Mel. (When I spoke to Mel about this idea – he told me his choice would have been Miles Davis – which makes total sense to me. Needless to say, the coolest guy I have ever met or will ever meet is Mr. Brown, himself.)

As great a musician as he was – and he was certainly that – I think what I’ll always respect most about Mel was in the way he lived his life. I believe carried himself on his own terms unlike any other. Mel never did anything he didn’t want to and he loved everything he did. He carried himself with a sense of style like few people I know. I’ve been thinking about Mel a lot over the past few days and even though I am greatly saddened by the fact that I will never see him again, I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to call him my friend. And that is probably one of the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me in my entire life.

Rest in Peace, Mr. Brown. Thank you for allowing me into your life.