Friday Night Concert Clip(s)- Jeff Beck: “Pork-Pie Hat/Brush w/the Blues, Charlie Mingus: “Good-Bye Pork-Pie Hat”

One of the best guitarists I’ve ever heard is Jeff Beck. So, what? That’s like saying Mohamed Ali was a braggart.  But the more I listen to Jeff Beck as I get older, the more amazed I am at what he knew about the instrument and music in general when we were younger.

A former Yardbird alumnus like Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page, Beck took a different trajectory early on.  Although he played with other artists, at a time when bands were quite popular, he primarily flew solo, forging temporary partnerships instead of trying to meld as a “band.”  His own “Jeff Beck Group” took different forms while it existed, featuring numerous well-respected but lesser-known artists than its  “Supergroup” contemporaries.  He was quick to embrace different styles of music–today, we’d refer to him as an “early adopter.”  His recordings included classical, jazz  and jazz fusion, long before it gained wide acceptance.

This clip shows that off well.  An homage to Charlie Mingus’s “Good-bye Pork Pie Hat,” slithering into “Brush with the Blues.”  A low-key Friday night for y’all.  Beck at his best. And Mingus (ah, um).

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I discovered Charles Mingus in college.  I used to host a Friday night Jazz show on an NPR affiliate at my school.  Still fairly new to jazz, I had unfettered access to their vast Jazz collection, which  opened doors to a whole new world of music to me.

Just for grins and giggles, here’s the original–Mr. Mingus performing his very own “Good-Bye Pork-Pie Hat.”

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