By David "Chet" Williamson Sneade
This is
another installment of musicians recalling the long lost clubs of
yesteryear.
In
1978, drummer, vocalist and nightclub owner, Reggie Walley
opened
his second club. Formerly known as the Dutch Cafe, the room was called the
Hottentotte,
at 8 Austin St., named after an African tribe of the same name.
Much like the
Kitty
Kat,
the new club played host to weekly jam sessions.
The
house band consisted of pianist
Al
Mueller,
bassist Bunny Price, trumpeter
Teddy
Blandin,
who was with Buddy Miles when he recorded
the album Them
Changes,
saxophonist Nat Simpkins, who worked with Bobby Hebb of “Sunny”
fame, and Walley on drums.
 |
| Blandin, Walley, Williams, Collins and Price |
Before
the place closed in 1983, people like Barney Price, Sonny
Benson,
Harvey
Williams, Jack Allen, Jim
and Dick Odgren,
Steve
and Bruce Thomas,
Bill
Ryan, Willie Pye, Eddie Dolbare, Dave
Kenderian,
Charles
Ketter, Bill
Vigliotti, Dave Agerholm, Jimmy Robo, Jim and John Russo were
regulars at the sessions.
The
Boston-based pianist Terry
Collins
was
also routinely featured. In the late 1990s, when the Count Basie
Orchestra appeared at Mechanics Hall, Collins, who sat in Basie’s
chair, called Walley and Price and invited them to attend the show as
his personal guests.
 |
| Reggie Walley in hat and Bunny Price with shot glass at the bar at the Hottentotte |
Saxophonist Simpkins has a number of albums to his recording credit, including Just Friends, his first as a leader, which was produced by Houston Person for the Muse Records label. In addition to leading his own quartet, he co-leads a group with the New Orleans singer Henri Smith, which also features saxophonist Charles Neville of the Neville Brothers. Simpkins was one of the first musicians Walley called when he opened the Hottentotte.
 |
| Nat Simpkins |
Q.
You are from the North Shore; how did you hear about the Hottentotte?
A. I was
playing with the Lady Louise Band at the Kitty Kat. Reggie and Bunny
came up to us and said I really like the way you sound. They said I
sounded like Grover [Washington]. They were telling me that they had
this regular Sunday gig and someday they would be calling me. I
didn't hear from them for about a year and I kind of forgot about the
whole thing. They finally called and said, ‘Okay man, you are on —
this Sunday.’
That first
day, I came down early, and do you remember Richie the bartender? He
was acting kind of tough. I didn’t know him and he didn’t know
me. I said I wanted a Black Russian. He said, ‘What? You can’t
order a Black Russian in here, man. You have to get a White Russian.’
He made me a White Russian. I didn’t even complain. Then I played a
set and came back to the bar. He said, ‘Man I like the way you
play. You can have all the Black Russians you want.’
 |
| Pianist Al Mueller |
Q.
Who was in the band?
A. It
would vary quite a bit, but there was the basic band. When I first
started playing it was Teddy Blandin on trumpet. Al Mueller was
playing keyboards on that old Wurlitzer electric. It was Bunny Price
on bass and Reggie Walley on drums. Then, you know, there were always
a lot of people sitting-in.
Q.
Do you recall what the place looked like?
A. It was
really a funky, down home place. You could really let loose and be
yourself there. I met a lot of friends there. People would invite me
back to their homes and give me sweet potato pie. I ended up playing
some parties. Sometimes I’d come early and give lessons to people.
 |
| Pianist Jack Allen and bassist Bunny Price at the club |
It
was in a rough neighborhood. We’d be out in the alleyways on break
and the cops would always come by and check us out. I remember one
time somebody either fell off the roof or jumped. They were just
lying out in the street. People were running out to see it. I didn’t.
I
seem to recall, that they built the stage too small and too high. It
was later used by go-go dancers. Yeah.
We played by the toilet. In 1982 there was a feature in
Time
Out
[written
by
Bob
Bliss and
published by the
Telegram
& Gazette]
on the club. I still have the article. The day the writer came, there
was no heat in the club. It was February. It was like 12 degrees. We
were all wearing our overcoats and we all played the whole gig. I
actually had some thin gloves and I figured out how to play with the
gloves on. I had this long wool coat on and I kept it around the horn
so it wouldn’t get real cold on me. The furnace man came and he
couldn’t figure out how to get it going.
 |
| Walley singing, Pye drumming |
Q.
What was the vibe like?
A. It was
a neighborhood bar. You got a mix of people. There were people that
came down from the colleges. There were some hardcore jazz fans.
There were Sunday-after-church people. Mary [Walley's wife] would get
up and sing a few numbers. And she and Reggie would dance. We’d
have different drummers sit-in and play. Willie Pye would play. He
was into a different concept, but it was cool. We all made it work.
Q.
So all in all, the club was a good learning experience for you?
A.
It was part of my development. It’s funny, because it is kind of
far away. I even played in Worcester quite a bit before that. I
played with American Standard. We played all the high schools and
colleges and stuff. We played in Bermuda for six weeks and then they
joined Joe Cocker.
It was a
good opportunity to have a steady gig at that time in my life. We
could always experiment. I would end up playing tunes that I may not
have even thought about. Different people in the band had influences.
Teddy liked certain tunes that he liked to do. Then we’d always get
special requests. We’d always have to play “Green Onions.” We
used to play “Well, You Needn’t,” “Four,” “Invitation,”
stuff like that.
 |
| Guitarist Bill Vigliotti, saxophonist Jim Odgren, Barney Price (in hat), drummer Willie Pye, saxophonist Sonny Benson, trumpeter Bill Ryan (leaning on amp), bassist Dave Kendarian, and Eddie Dolbare, Jr. on congas. |
Then when Barney came back we played a lot of his tunes. Teddy went away and Barney was the trumpet player. Sometimes Dick Odgren played piano. Then there were the Thomas brothers, Steve and Bruce. Steve took over for me when I left the group. At one point it moved over to the Elks on Chandler. I was traveling down from Cape Ann, about 150 miles round trip. I did it every Sunday for about seven years.
This piece was originally
published on August 13, 2007.
Note: This is a work in progress. Comments, corrections, and suggestions are always welcome at: walnutharmonicas@gmail.com.
Also see: www.worcestersongs.blogspot.com
Thank you for taking the time. I appreciate it.
Also see: www.worcestersongs.blogspot.com
Thank you for taking the time. I appreciate it.
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