Kelly Joe Phelps
Monday 7th March 2005 £13.50 Ticket No: GA2 24
This series has been random in nature. However, I am making an exception this week to mark the passing of Jazz/Blues guitarist Kelly Joe Phelps who sadly died at his home in Iowa on 31st March at the age of just 62
I discovered him via the Paul Jones Rhythm and Blues Show on Radio 2. He played the song Taylor John a couple of times and it made enough of an impression on me that I tracked down the album from which it was taken 2001's Sky Like a Broken Clock on Rykodisc.
This was all the knowledge of him at the time when I when to see him at King Tuts.As anyone with knowledge of the venue knows the upstairs bar is adjacent to the stage and standing area where the shows take place. Normally this is not an issue but when a quietly spoken acoustic guitarist such as Kelly is playing it can become a bit of a problem. Sadly he was pretty much drowned out by the background hum. I would have liked to have had the opportunity to see him in a more intimate venue where I suspect I would have been in for a bit of a treat.
He never really crossed my radar again until two separate visits last year, a few months apart, led me to coming away with a further 3 of his albums from the Community Shop in Kingussie.
Here is the aforementioned Taylor John and a couple of tracks from his 1997 album Roll Away the Stone which have just become even more poignant.
Rest easy Kelly Joe.
Kelly Joe Phelps - Taylor John
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