In a new video interview with journalist Alan Paul, Chuck Leavell reflects on his remarkable 50-plus year career as rock’s premier pianist.
Leavell first established himself as a 20-year-old wunderkind with the Allman Brothers Band; rock piano masterpiece “Jessica” was one of the first songs he recorded with the band, way back in 1973.
Paul, the Allman Brothers biographer, jokes in the video that the 73-year-old native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama had somehow turned himself into English rock royalty, serving as The Rolling Stones’ longtime musical director and working with the likes of Eric Clapton, George Harrison, and David Gilmour. Leavell laughs in response, before replying, “All of those characters revere music from the South, and I think that’s one reason I got the gig with the Stones in the first place. … That goes across the board to all these English artists, and I think it helped me to get those positions.”
Leavell also discusses the origins of Sea Level, the mostly instrumental group which started out as We Three, with Leavell, bassist Lamar Williams and drummer Jaimoe; they began jamming together largely because in the years just before the Allman Brothers Band’s first breakup in 1976, they were the only members consistently showing up for rehearsals and soundchecks—and sometimes for the start of shows.
“The first time we performed in public was, I believe, in New Haven, Connecticut,” Leavell recalls. “It was an Allman Brothers show and Dickey [Betts] and Gregg [Allman] were both terribly late to the venue and the crowd was getting upset. The roadies came to us and said, ‘They’re starting to throw things. Can you go out and do something?’ And the three of us went out to try and smooth out the crowd.”
Chuck notes that in addition to a segment about Sea Level, an expanded version of his The Tree Man documentary is aiming to include additional footage of Leavell touring with George Harrison in Japan, his first gig with the Allman Brothers Band, and more.
The full video also includes Leavell showing off his skill as a mimic with imitations of George Harrison and Dr. John, the New Orleans music legend who gave him his first gig—and, Chuck explains, gave him a bag of charms to keep close for good luck.
Sea Level – Summerfest 1979
[Video: RerikFidgikiwi]
The interview, for Paul’s Low, Down and Dirty blog, was conducted around Leavell’s work on Cowboy co-founder Tommy Talton’s posthumous album, Seven Levels. Recorded at Macon, Georgia’s revamped Capricorn Studios, the album features Talton’s former band members and Capricorn label mates Randall Bramblett, Rick Hirsch, Charlie Hayward, and Bill Stewart, along with Leavell.
Watch the full conversation between Alan Paul and Chuck Leavell below. For more from Alan Paul, head here.
Chuck Leavell Reveals Untold Stories About Dr. John, David Gilmour, More