Steve Katz in Concert
Local favorite Steve Katz returns to the stage in Mérida on Saturday February 11 beginning at 7:30 PM at the fabulous Casa de las Torres. Join Steve as he recounts his career in music and shares some of his favorite songs and memories. Tickets will go on sale in limited supply at the library or online beginning January 16.
Steve’s professional career started in the late fifties on a local Schenectady, New York television program called Teenage Barn where he would sing the hits of the day. It was during this time that he befriended many of the great “rediscovered” blues men of an earlier era, like Son House, Skip James and Mississippi John Hurt. There were many other young musicians around Greenwich Village during this time who were, like Steve, obsessed with American roots music whether it be bluegrass or blues. Some, including Steve, Maria Muldaur, John Sebastian and David Grisman, found the common denominator in jug band music and together they formed the Even Dozen Jug Band and recorded an album in 1964 for Elektra Records.
Later, Steve was asked to audition for the Danny Kalb Quartet as a two-week substitute for the vacationing Artie Traum. Artie never came back, Al Kooper joined, and they had the Blues Project, where they experimented, dabbled in their own style and gave Steve an opportunity to showcase his own songs. The Blues Project recorded three albums.
After the demise of the Blues Project, there was no choice but to start another band. Influenced by the Electric Flag and an album by the Buckinghams entitled Time and Charges, a horn section was utilized with rock arrangements that were a touch more sophisticated than most horn arrangements in rock up to that time. Thus, the formation of Blood, Sweat & Tears, a Columbia Records contract, and the album Child is Father to the Man. Recorded and mixed in only two weeks, the album sold moderately well but was a huge critical success.
Al Kooper left Blood, Sweat & Tears after only six months and David Clayton-Thomas was hired as lead singer. Columbia reluctantly agreed to go ahead with a new album. That album sold six million copies worldwide and fostered three number one singles, a major feat for 1969. Steve continued with Blood, Sweat & Tears for six years, during which time the group received a large number of accolades. They won three Grammies, were voted best band by the Playboy Jazz and Pop Poll two years in a row, and won three major Downbeat awards, to name a few. Steve wrote many songs during his tenure with BS&T, including his well-loved “Sometimes in Winter”.
In 1972 Steve met Lou Reed and Steve was asked to produce his next record. Steve jumped at the opportunity to start a new career and produced Rock & Roll Animal and Sally Can’t Dance for Lou. This led to a robust career in music production, as he served as East Coast Director of A&R and later as Vice President of Mercury Records. While there, he became enamored with all things Irish, especially the traditional music and Irish literature. He produced for the Irish group Horslips and also passed on a young group by the name of U2, a decision that Steve would regret for the rest of his life. In 1987, Steve became Managing Director of Green Linnet Records, the foremost record label of traditional Irish music in America. Steve stayed on at Green Linnet for five years, during which time he married his one true love, Alison Palmer, a ceramic artist.
As time passed, Alison’s craft achieved popularity and recognition and they soon found they had a thriving small business. Steve recently released his first solo album, The Juggle. He still performs, does book talks, is a professional photographer, and has produced a memoir.
