Nobody understood that better than drummer Dave Elliott and bassist John Previti, who played beside him longer than anybody else — though the ride could often be thrilling and confusing.
“Well, it’s funny — it’s the name of one of his albums, but he was relentless,” says Previti. “I had a real sense of tapping into an earlier era — I don’t know how to explain it, but when we did a Fats Domino tune, for instance, I just felt like it was 1956, playing with Fats Domino. It was almost a mystical experience. It probably was.”
“What doesn’t get talked about much is, when he played any particular tune, he covered all the parts,” says Previti. “He could phrase like a horn player or an organist; I got used to that very quickly. He didn’t always play like a guitar player — he always knew what everyone was supposed to be playing. Over the 18 years I played with him, I think we rehearsed four or five times.”
“People talk about his speed, and ability — chops are measured in different ways. It wasn’t speed, it was control. With him, every note was controlled, authentic.”
— Ralph Heibutzki
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