Dr. Al Kooper and the Funky Faculty
The Bottom Line
October 4, 2001
By David Chiu

"Teachers can rock," declared Al Kooper, "but rockers can't teach." The first assessment could not be further from the truth when Dr. Kooper and his collegiate colleagues from Berklee performed a funky and spirited set at the Bottom Line. The professor gave an outstanding lesson in musicianship, and he and his staff earned favorable teacher evaluation points from the student body (a.k.a. the audience).

Even before his tenure at the Berklee School of Music, Kooper is well-known to serious music fans. His stellar keyboard/organ work on those early Dylan records is still a part of rock lore. He spearheaded the electric blues in the Blues Project and launched jazz rock by founding Blood Sweat and Tears, and became a producer for bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Tubes. Along the way, he has worked with a who's who music: George Harrison, Mike Bloomfield, Stephen Stills, the Rolling Stones, Tom Petty, and Jimi Hendrix.

On his own, however, Kooper's music may not be as well-known as the people he has worked with, though his own output has remained relatively consistent and arguably good. His recently released anthology Rare and Well Done seems to remedy that oversight-Well Done covers the familiar studio body of work; while Rare contains unreleased material including his first single back in 1965.

Kooper could be considered a faithful disciple of the blues and soul throughout his long forty-plus year career. Thus it was impossible such breadth of material in one set that night at the Bottom Line, but Kooper and his band nevertheless showcased some hot buttered blues and funk. A balance between songs and instrumentals, the set list included new material ("Wrestle With This," which sounded tailor-made for Mick Jagger, Kooper admitted), a soulful reworking of his familiar rendition of "I Can't Quit Her," and standards both popular ("Just For a Thrill") and soul ("Green Onions"). The set concluded with his signature "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know" that also left him room to showcase a medley of songs behind the keys: "You Can't Always Get What You Want," "Won't Get Fooled Again," "Blue Jay Way," "A Whiter Shade of Pale," and even Brubeck's "Blue Rondo a la Turk." An encore revealed a hot version of the Fabulous Thunderbirds's "Wrap It Up."

Kooper displayed a warm sense of humor in his banter. He sarcastically commented the fact that during the week of the September 11 tragedy (the week this show was originally scheduled for but was eventually postponed), the owner of the Bottom Line still called him up to ask whether he still wanted to perform that week. Kooper simply hung up the phone.

Even at the age of 57, Kooper was dazzling behind the keys whether it was adding exquisite yet complex flourishes or grinding behind the organ to lend an earthy feel. His vocal style has evolved over the years retaining that blue eyed soul (especially on "Moan for Love"). The keyboard and organ work dominated the show but the leader allowed his colleagues-- Bob Doezema (guitar), Tom Stein (bass), Larry Finn (drums), Jeff Stout (trumpet) and Daryl Lowery (saxes and flute). room to solo and grab the spotlight. His bandmates make an argument that perhaps they should give up their day jobs in academia.

Those who witnessed this well-executed excursion into the blues and soul graded this performance an A+--a curve was not necessary.