The Jazz Organ Scene

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Booker T. Jones Booker T. was born in Memphis, TN, on 12 November 1944. He was a prodigy, playing the oboe, saxophone, trombone, bass, and piano at school and organ at church. Jones's first entry into professional music came at age sixteen, when he played baritone saxophone on Satellite (soon to be Stax) Records' first hit "Cause I Love You".   While hanging around the Satellite Record Shop, Jones met record clerk Steve Cropper, who would become one of the MGs when the group formed in 1962. Besides Jones on organ and Cropper on guitar, Booker T. and the MGs featured Lewie Steinberg on bass guitar and Al Jackson, Jr. on drums (Donald "Duck" Dunn eventually replacing Steinberg). While still in high school, Jones co-wrote the group's classic instrumental "Green Onions", which was a massive hit in 1962. Over the next few years, Jones divided his time between studying music and playing with the MGs on the weekends. In 1970, Jones moved to California and stopped playing sessions for Stax.   Jones was married to Priscilla Coolidge in 1969. Jones produced Priscilla's 1st album "Gypsy Queen" in 1970, then the pair collaborated as a duo on 3 albums.   Making the charts as a solo artist in 1981 with "I Want You," he produced an album by Rita Coolidge. Jones has also added his trademark keyboard playing to artists ranging in genre from the R&B/pop/blues of Ray Charles to the folk rock/country rock of Neil Young.   In 1985, Booker married Nanine Warhurst. In 1995, Booker T. & the MG's won their first Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance for the song "Cruisin'". Jones was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, and was honored with a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2007. In 2007, Jones was also inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville.   In 2009, he released a new solo album, Potato Hole, featuring Neil Young. In 2011, Jones released "The Road from Memphis". This album won at the 54th Grammy Awards for Best Pop Instrumental Album. Jones holds a total of 4 Grammy Awards. He received an honorary doctorate degree from Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music. from Wikipedia

contact:
homepage:	www.bookert.com
	www.myspace.com/bookertjones
	Click on the logo to see Booker T's tour dates.

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