The Ash Grove: Mick Jagger Gets the Blues

In his Ashgrove recording, guitarist Dave Alvin laments the loss of a favorite Los Angeles club, a venue that should be on the National Register of Historic Places. It would have to be in an urn, however—the Ash Grove burned not once, but three times.

Ed Pearl (an uncle of Spirit's Randy California) founded the 250-seat Ash Grove in 1958. "I started with the perfect show," says Pearl. "Brownie McGhee, Guy Carawan… McGhee was the Southern folk-bluesman who, at the time, hadn't quite yet formed his famous alliance with harmonica partner Sonny Terry; Carawan is best known for adapting We Shall Overcome with Pete Seeger.”

Going forward, stage acts would include Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Johnny Cash, June Carter, Arlo Guthrie, Kris Kristofferson, Bonnie Raitt, Jerry Garcia, Howlin' Wolf, Willie Dixon, Son House, Mose Allison, Hoyt Axton, Eric Burdon, the Byrds, Canned Heat, Commander Cody, Albert Collins, Larry Coryell, James Cotton, Jose Feliciano, Firesign Theater, Robben Ford, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, Ahmad Jamal, Dr. John, Albert King, Charles Mingus, Pharoah Sanders, Spirit, Muddy Waters, Lightnin' Hopkins, Mississippi John Hurt, "Big Mama" Thornton, the Chambers Brothers, Flying Burrito Brothers, Ry Cooder and Taj Mahal. Many other acts also appeared at the Ash Grove over the years.

On his way out of the Ash Grove one night, Mick Jagger,
a frequent visitor to the club, shook Pearl's hand in gratitude.
He simply wanted to thank Pearl for all the entertainment
– and no doubt musical education – the club had given him.

Robert Hilburn, LA Times music critic, 1973

Everybody hung out at the Ash Grove. It was there that Jim (Roger) McGuinn met David Crosby before forming the Byrds, and a chance encounter of Linda Ronstadt's led to the formation of the Stone Ponys.

Listen to Dave Alvin's tribute, Ashgrove, in its entirety

"I always had two or three cheap recorders going…," [Pearl] explains. "I'd just turn them on because I wanted to listen… Ry, Taj, and the rest of us liked to listen to the old guys." Some 3,000 hours of recorded live performances at the Ash Grove have survived. Many of these recordings may be streamed live or purchased from Wolfgang's Vault.

Currently in production, Ash Grove Burning is a documentary by Sundance award-winning filmmaker Aiyana Elliott. Hers is perhaps not

a recognized name in music circles until one learns she is the daughter of Grammy-Award winner, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, a regular Ash Grove performer. Being very patient while it loads, you may view the movie trailer online

at Ash Grove Film.

"Toots" Thielemans, Rickenbackers & the Beatles

Walkin' & Hummin'

Over the years I bought a lot of jazz LPs, some of which featured a captivating harmonica part. Examining the jacket credits, this guy "Toots" Thielemans kept cropping up over and over. On Quincy Jones' excellent Gula Matari release (very hard to get on CD!), several recordings by Bob James ...the list goes on extensively. I always loved his work, but had no idea who this "Toots" guy was—other than he was apparently very much in demand.

Sometime later I heard The Flying Monkey Orchestra's I Like the Orange Thing while listening to KYOT in Scottsdale, AZ. Chasing down the Monkeys' excellent Back In the Pool CD (recommended!), the credits listed a veritable who's who of the contemporary jazz scene—including Toots.

Then I read yet another bio on the Fab Four, in which I learned the following: it was this 1958 photo (left) that John Lennon saw one day in Hamburg, Germany, and thought, "Gee, if a Rickenbacker guitar is good enough for Jean "Toots" Thielemans, then the George Shearing Orchestra's guitarist, it's good enough for me!" When the Byrds (David Crosby, Roger McGuinn, et al.) saw A Hard Day's Night at the theater, in turn they rushed right out and got themselves 12-string Rickenbackers, providing that distinctive Byrds sound. All from this one photo and Thielemans' reputation (he had earlier been a member of Charlie Parker's All Stars).

Now I was really curious about Thielemans, perennial winner of the Down Beat readers' and critics' poll in the "miscellaneous instruments" category. So when I discovered he was coming to the renowned Yoshi's sushi restaurant and jazz club two years ago this month, I dragged the wife off for dinner and Toots' act.

On our way to drop our son off at the Oakland airport for a flight back east, we had previously dined in the restaurant section of Yoshi's—located in Jack London Square. Served Japanese fashion (sans shoes), we found the sushi to be of the best quality and knew we'd be back at the first opportunity. This time, though, Joanna and I opted for a stage-side table in the jazz club in order to assure us of a good listening/viewing vantage point. Again we were not disappointed, the sushi being every bit as good as we had remembered.

Then the show began, with Toots, then 83, being helped onstage. Enthralled by his natural charm, we were captivated by his performance, especially given his ability to keep it all going at his age! The lineup also featured Kenny Werner on piano and, by the end of his performance, we had been treated to Toots' command of both the harmonica and electric guitar. Sorry, I don't remember if it was a Rickenbacker.

Now if Yoshi's would only book Oakland's own Pharoah Sanders again...

"Toots" Thielemans performs Sophisticated Lady