Kirk Lightsey
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"I couldn't wait to get out of Detroit and get to New York, Lightsey says emphatically. The pianist was working with singer Damita Jo in the city when their regular drummer fell off the stage and broke his neck. "After that we had to use different drummers. During this period I called Roy Brooks to work in Atlantic City and Roy told me that I had been chosen to do this recording with Chet Baker and George Coleman. The marathon sessions for Prestige yielded five records (including Boppin' and Burnin' with the Chet Baker Quintet). "Every day for a week we were playing the shows in Atlantic City and then sleeping for three hours, catching a bus and coming to New York and doing the records, he laughs. "After we had done the music for these five records - it was tons of music - with the same trio we did two more records with Sonny Stitt and Bennie Green. And that kind of started my whole career playing jazz, especially recording. Those records were the first that got me off the ground .

Working with Gordon increased Lightsey's profile and he finally recorded his first disc as a leader, Lightsey 1, for Sunnyside in 1982 at the age of 45. The fruitful relationship with the label yielded a half dozen more sessions, including the recently released The Nights of Bradley's. Lightsey was a mainstay at the legendary club, working there regularly for a decade while he was also recording frequently with the likes of Ricky Ford, Sonny Fortune, Clifford Jordan and James Moody, as well as with the allstar group The Leaders. Then without warning he moved to Paris.

This June Lightsey performed his first engagement in New York since moving. The four nights at Jazz Standard with a quartet featuring vibraphonist Steve Nelson, bassist Ray Drummond and drummer Billy Kilson were exciting ones. One night after performing three sets there he showed up at Sweet Rhythm for a John Hicks memorial and played an early morning "Bradley's set 'til dawn. "Being in New York for that time made me realize why I had to leave. When I did my stress level came down - considerably - and now it's way down. I enjoy it being down like that, but I do intend to visit New York more often. He'll be back Aug. 5th to perform a solo piano tribute to Hicks at Caramoor Jazz Festival. Hopefully it will be just one of many happy returns.
Recommended Listening:
· Chet Baker - The Prestige Sessions (Prestige, 1965)
· Kirk Lightsey - Lightsey 1 & 2 (Sunnyside, 1982)
· Kirk Lightsey/Harold Danko - Shorter by Two (Sunnyside, 1983)
· Kirk Lightsey - The Nights of Bradley's (Sunnyside, 1985)
· The Leaders - Mudfoot (Black Hawk, 1986)
· Kirk Lightsey - Goodbye Mr. Evans (Evidence, 1994)
Photo Credit Bottom photo by Dirk Schelpmeier