This evening, pianists Roger Kellaway (US) and Peter Beets (Netherlands) are collaborating at New York City’s Sheen Center. It’s part of the Jazz On Bleecker Street series. Their concert is scheduled to include a medley of pieces written by the British nobleman Paul McCartney.
Here is an earlier encounter of the pianists playing works by McCartney at a concert with the Asheville, North Carolina, Symphony. Kellaway is on the left of your screen, Beets on the right. The drummer is Ron Krasinski, the bassist Ike Harris. To be certain that you know the names of a couple of the songs, Kellaway announces them, emphatically.
I haven’t heard much from Roger Kellaway in recent years. This video finds him in wonderful form. Never heard of Mr.Beets, but he complements Roger beautifully. McCartney’s music has never sounded better.
Yeah, man. Sir Paul would be delighted, I’m sure. Great compatibility these two, for sure. Loved it madly.
Kellaway has long been one of my favorite pianists since I heard him in Art Pepper’s rhythm section in Art’s last Chicago appearance at Joe Segal’s Jazz Showcase, a month or so before Art died. Both were playing great—so great, in fact, that I came back for a second night as much for Roger’s performance as for Art’s. Art’s performance was so strong that he was booked to headline the Chicago Jazz Festival a few months later on the basis of it, but he didn’t live to play the gig.
While still in Chicago, I long urged Joe Segal to book a reunion of that great quintet with Clark Terry, Brookmeyer, and Kellaway; Joe wanted to do it, but couldn’t make it happen. And since moving to the Bay Area, I’ve been trying to get jazz venues to book both Roger and Barry Harris (separately—I wouldn’t want to limit their playing time by having them both on the same bill). Both have far too much to offer for that to be a satisfying evening.
Mr. Kellaway certainly has done some adventurous things, but it seems he departed a bit too quickly from where he was going on the first 1963 Regina album with tunes such as “And Elsewhere,” where he’s joined by Jim Hall.