Essay: Personal Taste – Moments of Change

Kenny Mackenzie photographed by Alban Sardzinski

Historical musical moments for me: I didn’t think that I liked jazz until my friend Yoshi brought me to an East Village joint with jazz and excellent wine. Bar Louis in NYC. We sat at there, week after week, on Wednesdays at least, listening and drinking. Doodling in a sketchpad the proprietor kept behind the bar.  It was a great haven then, listening to this trio and wondering why the place wasn’t packed and marveling at how little it mattered to the musicians. I admit I kind of liked having it all to ourselves. And I admit that I would see them laugh while playing, puling jokes on each other as they switched from song to sound style with out words, their own little repartee my ears were too untrianed to follow but my eyes were happy to be brought along. Every week I learned more, I saw more, I heard more. Rare to have that kind of quality musical intimacy in such a big city.

Come to think of it, I seem to recall that Yoshi and I met there on the tragic evening on 9/11/2001. Where is Yoshi now? He’s an elusive character. As for Bar Louis, I can no longer vouch for it. If it were there. I mean, the location is still there and there’s a bar. But it’s called Louis 649 now. Like many NY establishments, 9 years is a long time – the original owner sold long ago, and the trio no longer plays there.  In fact, the Louis 649 website says it was a venture started in 2004.  So they aren’t even counting the days it was known as Bar Louis. Though the pictures indicate that many of the fixtures and decorations – put in by hand from the first owner, Andrew, who renovated the space himself – are still the same. The piano Kenny used to play is potentially sitting in the same spot near the window even though the current website announces that they are “all ipod” now. Just in case you were thinking about checking it out, I thought you should have some historical reference.  You can learn more about the music that made the magic – the Kennie MacKenzie Trio – and his other musical endeavors at kmtrio.com.

So, for me, it was the live musical experience and the intimacy of it that forever opened my mind to new sounds. It’s a real gift to have the opportunity to pay close attention. And when you are a performer, the gift of the audience’s attention is great. When you are performing, remember that what you are sharing is more than you realize.

I have his 2008 CD There You Are, and I listen to it often. I am happy to report that the magic is still there, even without the wine and the cozy bar and my friend sitting next to me. I dare to say that if you don’t like jazz, you’ll like this. And if you do like jazz, you’ll like this. I think this press clip from Kenny’s web site says it well:

“This is true jazz, full of improvisational brilliance, real soul and
expert playing. Keyboardist MacKenzie really shines…” – Bob Smith, Good Times Magazine

And here at Chicks with Guitars, we believe in telling you about things we like and things that last, not just things that are bight and shiny and released just now.

And we don’t just like Chicks. Congratulations to Kenny for be the first tribute in “Guys we like“.