Amos Garrett
| Amos Garrett | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 26, 1941 Detroit, Michigan, United States |
| Origin | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, country rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, accompanist, session musician, bandleader, author |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals, trombone, bass guitar, mandolin, piano |
| Years active | 1963 – present |
| Labels | Stony Plain, Bearsville |
| Associated acts | Great Speckled Bird, the Cold Club, Hungry Chuck, the Dirty Shames, Better Days, Maria Muldaur, Doug Sahm, Gene Taylor, Geoff Muldaur, Edmonton Folk Music Festival House Band, the 'Eh Team, the Amos Garrett Jazz Trio |
| Website | melmusic |
Amos Garrett (born November 26, 1941, in Detroit, Michigan, United States) is an American-Canadian musician, performer, and author. He holds dual citizenship and was raised in Toronto and Montreal.[1] He is best known for his guitar solo on Maria Muldaur's recording "Midnight at the Oasis".[1]
Over the course of his career, Garrett has recorded with more than 150 artists, ranging from Stevie Wonder, Todd Rundgren and Pearls Before Swine to Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt and Martin Mull.[1][2] He can be heard on Anne Murray's chart-topping rendition of "Snowbird".[1] Guitarist Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin stated Amos Garrett was one of his favorite American guitar players in a 1975 Rolling Stone interview.[3]
Contents
Biography
Early years
Garrett was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on November 26, 1941. When he was five, he was moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He studied piano and trombone through the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto.[4][5]
At twelve, Garrett relocated to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where he began playing guitar at fourteen.[4][5] There, at the Esquire Club, he would learn while watching performers such as Ben E. King, T-Bone Walker, Fats Domino and B. B. King.[1][6] After an attempt to study English literature at a university in the United States, he chose a career in music and moved back to Toronto in 1962.[4][7]
Guitar for hire
Garrett's first professional gig was accompanying Mike Settle at Carnegie Hall in the winter of 1963. Settle was the opening act for comedian Vaughn Meader.[8]
From 1964 to 1967, Garrett played in the Toronto jug/string band, the Dirty Shames, which included Chick Roberts, Jim McCarthy and Carol Robinson.[4][9] It was during this period that Garrett and Roberts took John Hammond, Jr., to see Levon and the Hawks for the first time.[10] The Hawks would later be recommended by Hammond to Bob Dylan.[11]
In 1968, Garrett began a two-year stint of touring and recording with Canadian duo Ian & Sylvia, which led to becoming a founding member of Great Speckled Bird.[4] This band is featured in the film Festival Express. They are shown playing the song "C.C. Rider" with members of the Grateful Dead and Delaney Bramlett in 1970. As a special feature on the DVD release of the film, Great Speckled Bird are shown playing the Dylan-Manuel song, "Tears of Rage".
Garrett moved to Woodstock, New York, in 1970 to play in Maria and Geoff Muldaur's band.[12] Based there, he performed and recorded with artists that were part of Albert Grossman's Bearsville stable, such as Bobby Charles, Todd Rundgren and Jesse Winchester, and as a member of Paul Butterfield's group, Better Days.[6] Garrett was also a member of Hungry Chuck, another Bearsville act, which was formed of ex–Great Speckled Bird members. They released an eponymous album in 1972.[13] Garrett also played trombone on two songs for Jerry Garcia's second solo album, Compliments, released in 1974.
After living in Boston for two years, Garrett moved to San Francisco in 1976 to pursue session work.[4][6] There, he continued as member and bandleader of Maria Muldaur's group until 1978, toured the R&B circuits of North America, and recorded with more than 150 artists.[4][6]
Frontman
“I wanted to sing. I loved to sing, but there was no way I could do so being a hired gun for bands.” - Amos Garrett[5]
In 1978, Garrett decided to pursue fronting his own project, left Muldaur's group, and began releasing material through Stony Plain Records, a label based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.[5] His first solo album was 1980's Go Cat Go, which was followed by Amosbehavin in 1982. He formed his backup band, the 'Eh Team, around this time.[1]
Garrett shared performing and recording duties, and co-wrote two songs, on 1988's The Return of the Formerly Brothers with the late Doug Sahm and pianist Gene Taylor. Queen Ida sat in on accordion. The album was awarded the inaugural, 1989, Juno Award for Best Roots & Traditional Album.[4] A follow-up live album, Live in Japan, was recorded in 1990 as Garrett, Sahm and Tayor played clubs and concert halls in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto.
In 1989, Garrett relocated to Turner Valley, Alberta.[5] That year also brought the album I Make My Home in My Shoes, which paid tribute to his boyhood days, especially on "Stanley Street", a song written in recollection of the Esquire Club.[6] Garrett began his intermittent role as bandleader and member of the Edmonton Folk Music Festival's Festival House Band in 1990, reprising it from 1994 to 2000, from 2002 to 2006, and from 2008 to 2012.[14][15] With Garrett, the band has backed such acts as Richard Thompson, Solomon Burke, Ruth Brown, Rick Danko, Jay McShann, Johnnie Johnson and Rosco Gordon.[16] Third Man In, released in 1992, was a collection of covers and originals. Garrett's covers were written by the likes of Bobby Charles and Percy Mayfield. Off The Floor Live followed in 1996. It was recorded live with the 'Eh Team at the Sidetrack Club in Edmonton.
The Cold Club was a collaboration with Oscar Lopez, David Wilkie, Karl Roth and Ron Casat. They released an eponymous record in 1996. Maria Muldaur, Mike Lent and Teddy Borowiecki guested on the album.[17] Garrett released Amos Garrett's Acoustic Album in 2004. It features tracks written by Lead Belly and Hoagy Carmichael, among others. It was nominated for a 2005 Juno Award. This was followed by 2008's release, Get Way Back: A Tribute to Percy Mayfield, which was also nominated for a Juno Award.[18] Garrett was living in High River, Alberta, in 2008.[1]
On November 6, 2011, Garrett conducted a clinic and then performed as part of the Sleepwalk Guitar Festival in Toronto.[19] The festival was presented by Six Shooter Records and curated by Luke Doucet.[20]
Other endeavours
Garrett has authored a number of instructional albums, books and videos.[21][22]
Garrett, who is known as "The Fishin' Musician", enjoys fishing, and hopes to one day catch an Atlantic Salmon of twenty pounds or greater.[1][5]
Discography
Selected long-plays
| Year | Album | Album Artist | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | This Way Is My Way | Anne Murray | Capitol |
| 1970 | Great Speckled Bird | Great Speckled Bird | Ampex |
| 1972 | Hungry Chuck | Hungry Chuck | Bearsville |
| 1973 | Maria Muldaur | Maria Muldaur | Reprise |
| Paul Butterfield's Better Days | Paul Butterfield's Better Days | Bearsville | |
| It All Comes Back | |||
| 1978 | Geoff Muldaur & Amos Garrett | Geoff Muldaur & Amos Garrett | Stony Plain |
| 1980 | Go Cat Go | Amos Garrett | |
| 1981 | Amosbehavin' | ||
| 1987 | The Return of the Formerly Brothers | Amos Garrett, Doug Sahm, Gene Taylor Band | |
| 1989 | I Make My Home in My Shoes | Amos Garrett | |
| 1990 | Live in Japan | Amos Garrett, Doug Sahm, Gene Taylor Band | |
| 1992 | Third Man In | Amos Garrett | |
| 1996 | Off the Floor Live! | ||
| The Cold Club | The Cold Club | Cold Club | |
| 2005 | Acoustic Album | Amos Garrett | Stony Plain |
| 2008 | Get Way Back: A Tribute to Percy Mayfield |
Compilation inclusions
| Year | Song | Album | Label | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | "Bert's Boogie" | Saturday Night Blues | Stony Plain/CBC | *composed by Amos Garrett |
| "Home in My Shoes" | 15 Years of Stony Plain | Stony Plain | ||
| "Sure Is a Good Thing" | *w/Doug Sahm and Gene Taylor | |||
| "Talk To Me" | *w/Doug Sahm and Gene Taylor | |||
| 1996 | "Long, Long Time to Get Old" | 20 Years of Stony Plain | *w/Great Speckled Bird *composed by Ian Tyson |
|
| "Small Town Talk" | *w/Maria Muldaur *composed by Bobby Charles |
|||
| "Wrong Lake to Catch a Fish" | *composed by Chuck Willis | |||
| 1997 | "Walkin' Blues" | Absolute Blues Vol. 1 | ||
| "Sure Is a Good Thing" | Absolute Blues Vol. 2 | *w/Doug Sahm and Gene Taylor | ||
| 2001 | "Bert's Boogie" | 25 Years of Stony Plain | *composed by Amos Garrett | |
| 2006 | "Sam's Song (The Happy Tune)" | 30 Years of Stony Plain | *composed by Jack Elliott/Lew Quadling | |
| "Poor Fool Like Me" | *video performance | |||
| 2007 | "Some Kind of Fool" | The Gift – A Tribute To Ian Tyson | *composed by Ian Tyson | |
| 2011 | "Get Way Back" | 35 Years of Stony Plain | *composed by Percy Mayfield | |
| "Teardrops on Your Letter" | *w/Doug Sahm and Gene Taylor |
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 "Amos Garrett - Biography", Stony Plain Records official website, accessed 30 March 2010
- ↑ "Amos Garrett Discography", Amos Garrett's official website, accessed 30 March 2010
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 "Garrett, Amos", Canadian Encyclopedia, accessed 30 March 2010
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Wilson, L., "Amos Garrett, BeatRoutes A player of the month", BeatRoute magazine, 2009, Calgary, Alberta, accessed 30 March 2010
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 "Amos Garrett Biography", PDF file, Amos Garrett's official website, accessed 23 March 2010
- ↑ About Amos Garrett, Garrett's MySpace page, accessed 09 April 2010
- ↑ Bidini, D., On A Cold Road, 1998, p. 17
- ↑ "About Chick Roberts", Chick Roberts' MySpace page, accessed 07 April 2010
- ↑ Valenteyn, J., Review of Chick Roberts' Blue Turning Gray, "John's Blues Picks - November 2004", Toronto Blues Society official website, accessed 23 March 2010
- ↑ "The Band", Wikipedia article, accessed 30 March 2010
- ↑ "Great Speckled Bird", The Cool Groove, accessed 30 March 2010
- ↑ "Hungry Chuck: History", The Cool Groove, accessed 30 March 2010
- ↑ "Past Performers", Edmonton Folk Festival website, accessed 26 September 2011
- ↑ "Performers", Edmonton Folk Festival website, accessed 26 September 2011
- ↑ "Amos Garrett - Biography", Amos Garrett's official website, accessed 01 April 2010
- ↑ "The Cold Club", The Cold Club official website, accessed 30 March 2010
- ↑ "The nominees for the 2009 JUNO Awards are...", National Post, 03 February 2009, accessed 30 March 2010
- ↑ "Amos Garrett", Sleepwalk Guitar Festival website, accessed 26 September 2011
- ↑ Main page, Sleepwalk Guitar Festival, accessed 26 September 2011
- ↑ Homespun Music Instruction - Amos Garrett, Homespun Music Instruction website, accessed 30 March 2010
- ↑ Learn Roots Music - Amos Garrett, Official site of Learn Roots Music, accessed 30 March 2010
External links
- Official Amos Garrett Home Page
- Biography at Allmusic
- BeatRoute Magazine article on Amos Garrett, 2009
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