SFJAZZ presents Henry Butler
2014-02-07
Joe Henderson Lab
SFJAZZ Center, 205 Franklin St, San Francisco, CA
7:00 PM, Friday, February 7, 2014

[7:04 PM lights down, announcements by Randall Kline]

1. [7:10 PM] Samba C
2. [7:20 PM] Eleanor Rigby
3. [7:32 PM] L'espirit De James
4. [7:38 PM] Booker Time
5. [7:46 PM] Orleans Inspiration
6. [7:54 PM] Ooh Poo Pah Doo
7. [7:56 PM] Ya Ya
8. [7:59 PM] Working in a Coal Mine
   [set ends 8:02 PM]

[8:29 PM lights down, announcements by Randall Kline]

1. [8:35 PM] Improvisation on an Afghanistan Theme
2. [8:41 PM] No Substitute for Love
3. [8:49 PM] Will It Go Round in Circles
4. [8:56 PM] Tipitina » [9:02 PM] ?outro jam
5. [9:02 PM] Go to the Mardi Gras
6. [9:09 PM] Dimples
7. [9:13 PM] That Lucky Old Sun
8. [9:20 PM] Voodoo Man
9. [9:26 PM] ? better off alone (unreleased Henry Butler country song)
10. [9:31 PM] Hi-heeled Sneakers
    [show ends 9:36 PM, no encore]

• Henry Butler: piano, vox.

Traffic all messed up tonight because of the storm, so we head to West Oakland BART and ride in. Happily, it's only drippy as we exit the station, so our walk over to SFJAZZ is dry, and we actually arrive in good time – about 6:30 – and early enough to be only the fourth group in line. Poi-fect! We end up waiting about 20 minutes before they actually open the doors – gotta let the piano tuner do his job in peace! Anyways, it worked out fine cuz everyone in front of us wanted to sit in the front rowso we got our first choice seats on the aisle of the second row. Like I already said, poi-fect!

Henry's set was fabulous, and quips and easy-going banter kept everyone entertained even when he wasn't skipping both hands across the black and whites. I suppose I could quibble that for the price, the sets were rather brief, but given the superb musicianship that Butler displayed, I'll refrain from registering that complaint.

Back to the calendar!