Pinetop: A special night of blues served up hot
Ageless piano giant Pinetop Perkins was the main dish in a three-course meal of fine music at the Dakota.
By JON BREAM
Star Tribune
June 9, 2009
The internationally famous Dakota Jazz Club is known for its sumptuous food and its delectable music.
On Monday, the downtown Minneapolis nightspot served a special three-course menu of the blues, which will surely rank as one of the year’s most memorable musical meals.
Blues piano giant Pinetop Perkins, who played with Sonny Boy Williamson and Muddy Waters before starting the Legendary Blues Band, was the main course
Perkins’ timing on the piano was as impeccable as his gray tone-on-tone striped suit. His strikingly long, youthful-looking fingers — as long as an NBA star’s — with their manicured nails glided across the keyboard with ageless eloquence. With his right hand, he offered elegant horn lines, often in tandem with — or echoing — Smith’s harmonica line.
Think of it as one of those entrees that was nouvelle-cuisine petit but truly unforgettable.
Oh, for the record, Perkins will turn 96 next month. Smith was right: When it comes to music, age don’t mean nothing.
