Al Kooper White Chocolate 2008

Al Kooper has had a long and successful career in rock and roll. From his first hit (Short Shorts) as a 14 year old in 1958 with The Royal Teens, to his latest solo release, White Chocolate 2008, Kooper's work has been both eclectic and highly entertaining.

Here's a brief list of Al Kooper moments in musical history:
Wrote This Diamond Ring, a hit for Gary Lewis and the Playboys.
Played organ on Dylan's Like A Rolling Stone.
Was a founding member of The Blues Project.
Was a founding member of Blood, Sweat and Tears.
Produced and played on Super Session in 1968 with Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills, the first-ever "jam" album.
Played piano, organ and horn on The Rolling Stones' You Can't Always Get What You Want.
Recorded seven solo records from 1969-1977.
Produced and played on the first three Lynyrd Skynyrd albums.
Taught composition and recording production at Boston's Berklee College of Music.
And much, much more.

Since 1994, Al has had quite a renaissance, and has released four particularly fine records. 1994 saw ReKooperation, an all-instrumental soul-jazz-rock record full of great versions of classics and a few Kooper originals.

Recorded in 1994 for Al's fiftieth birthday, and released in 1995, Soul Of A Man: Al Kooper Live is a tremendous career overview/live best-of that sees Al playing with original members of Blues Project and Blood, Sweat and Tears, as well as the ReKooperators during a three-day stint at New York's Bottom Line.

2005 saw the release of perhaps Al's best solo outing ever, the fantastic Black Coffee. Eclectic as always, but this one is a perfect mix of what Al Kooper does best. Seven of the tracks feature The Funky Faculty, a group of his colleagues from Berklee College, and a super hot band. My Hands Are Tied and Going, Going, Gone rate with Al's best songs, and the whole CD is flawless. Al's singing, playing, arranging and producing firing on all cylinders. The CD booklet also contains an Al Kooper timeline that reviews his entire career.

Al followed Black Coffee with the nearly equal White Chocolate in 2008. Members of The Funky Faculty and ReKooperators (and other famous guests) return to help , and Al again assembles a batch of fine originals and carefully chosen covers.

All four of the 1994 and later CDs are well worth owning, and outshine much of the contemporary competition.

Al also has a weekly blog post over at the Morton Report called New Music For Old People, where Al, the consummate musicologist, helps the elderly discover musical gems.