Tom Malone profile
Donz5
Bonded by the Blue Brothers
Local tribute group hooks up with original band member for a nostalgic
trip
By Dave Howell SPECIAL TO THE MORNING CALL
November 21, 2009
http://www.mcall.com/entertainment/music/all-blues.7091857nov21,0,2407773.story
Like the blues, Jake and Elwood will never die. Blues Brothers tribute
band The Blues Brotherhood is helping to make sure of that by
providing the Blues Brothers concert experience, complete with
signature Ray-Ban glasses, funky moves and soulful sound.
The nine-piece Brotherhood was founded six years ago by Paul Miller,
co-owner of Looper's Grille and Bar in south Bethlehem, a longtime fan
who loves the group's ''true American music.'' It has become one of
the region's most popular acts, drawing crowds at clubs and festivals
or wherever it plays.
One of its newest fans is Tom ''Bones'' Malone, an original member of
John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd's band. Malone discovered The Blues
Brotherhood on Facebook, the social networking site, after Miller, who
has a page named Jake Blues, asked Malone to be his friend.
Miller asked Malone if Malone would like to play with The Blues
Brotherhood. The response: ''Sure, I'd love to play with you cats.''
And now, on Sunday night, Malone will bring his trumpet and trombone
to Bethlehem and join The Blues Brotherhood in its show at the Sands
Casino Resort.
''This really is a good band. It will be a lot of fun,'' says Malone,
now a longtime member of The CBS Orchestra, the house band for the
''Late Show with David Letterman.''
Malone wrote many of the band arrangements for The Blues Brothers. The
Blues Brotherhood is faithful to those arrangements so Malone will be
able to sit in with the group effortlessly.
''It will validate us and what we are doing,'' says Miller, who plays
the Jake/Belushi character. ''We are serious about the music.''
The music began in 1976 during a skit on NBC's ''Saturday Night
Live,'' when singer Jake (Belushi) and harpist Elwood (Aykroyd) sang
''I'm a King Bee'' in the bee costumes they wore for their ''Killer
Bees'' sketch. Malone, who was a member of the ' 'Saturday Night
Live'' band from 1975-1985, wrote the chart for the skit. The duo
became popular, the music evolved and the rest is history.
With the help of pianist-arranger Paul Shaffer, then-leader of the
''Saturday Night Live'' band and now leader of the Letterman band,
Belushi and Aykroyd assembled their own band. Malone, who previously
had played with Blood, Sweat and Tears and Frank Zappa, was brought
onboard.
Malone was instrumental in establishing the musical direction of The
Blues Brothers, which was a mix of jazz, blues, R&B, rock and soul,
with a strong emphasis on horns.
''We had Matt 'Guitar' Murphy, who was from Mississippi and had played
with blues guys like Willie Dixon. He was the real deal. I suggested
that we add [guitarist] Steve Cropper and [bassist Donald] 'Duck'
Dunn, who provided an R&B element,'' says Malone. Cropper and Dunn
were studio musicians for Stax Records, backing hundreds of records,
including the original ''Soul Man'' by Sam and Dave.
Malone appeared in the 1980 ''Blues Brothers'' film. He says Aykroyd
asked the musicians for road stories that he could include in the
script. The scene where the band plays in a rough bar protected by
chicken wire was based on truth.
''It was not uncommon,'' says Malone, who grew up in Mississippi and
played many ''joints'' there he calls ''less than sophisticated.'' He
mentions a place that had four fights taking place at one time, which
a bouncer stopped by turning out the lights.
Malone, 62, joined the ''Saturday Night Live Band'' shortly after
moving to New York City. He had heard about the band from bassist Gene
Perla, a fellow alumnus of the Woody Herman Band and a frequent
performer in the Lehigh Valley with the Go Trio and other groups.
His ''Bones'' nickname refers to his trombone work, but he also plays
trumpets, tuba, four types of saxophones, flutes, piccolo, flugelhorn,
euphonium, electric bass, and can program a synthesizer. Malone
dismisses his wide range of musical skills saying, ''It was harder for
me to get hold of an instrument than it was to play it.''
Strangely, Malone only majored in music for one semester in college,
and did not like it. He graduated with a degree in psychology from
North Texas State University. However, while in school he played in
many bands and contracted musicians for others. A classmate was fellow
Blues Brothers bandmate, saxophonist ''Blue'' Lou Marini.
Malone joined Letterman's ''Late Show'' band in 1993 and has done many
of its arrangements. He is on more than 350 recordings and more than
3,000 radio and television commercials, and arranges music for film
and TV.
Malone works Monday through Thursday for the Letterman show, so he can
get away for weekend gigs.
He has played with other tribute bands, and in 2008 teamed up with
Cropper for Blues Brothers tributes in Japan and France.
The Blues Brotherhood has become more polished over the years and more
interactive with the audience, especially Elwood, now played by Ricky
Bell, who does not hesitate to stroll onto the dance floor. They have
learned all the songs covered by the original Blues Brothers, and more
by artists like Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding that the original
group might have performed if Belushi hadn't died and the group had
continued.
The Blues Brotherhood has played at Mayfair, Musikfest and will be
part of Bethlehem's First Night on New Year's Eve. Sunday's show at
the Sands will be the group's second there, with two more scheduled.
Miller says that the continued popularity of the ''Blues Brothers''
film at colleges, along with the nostalgia of older fans, diversifies
the group's audiences. He sees people ages 20 to 60 on the dance
floor.
Says Miller, ''It's true American music. The Blues Brothers are really
a cover band themselves. They didn't write or create any of that music
themselves. They pick from the Memphis Stax and Volt sound and Chicago
horn sound. ... Disco was fading, punk hadn't started and they filled
that gap.''
Dave Howell is a freelance writer.
Alan Page
"Donz5" wrote...
> Bonded by the Blue Brothers
> Local tribute group hooks up with original band member for a nostalgic
> trip
> By Dave Howell SPECIAL TO THE MORNING CALL
> November 21, 2009
> http://www.mcall.com/entertainment/music/all-blues.7091857nov21,0,2407773.story
> His ''Bones'' nickname refers to his trombone work, but he also plays
> trumpets, tuba, four types of saxophones, flutes, piccolo, flugelhorn,
> euphonium, electric bass, and can program a synthesizer.
<snip the rest>
A nice article but it omitted a major instrument.
Tambourine.
--
Alan
~WWWWW~
What a Wonderful Web We Weave
DDY
a nice bio on Tom to go along with the above:
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=2700
"Miller asked Malone if Malone would like to play with The Blues
Brotherhood. The response: ''Sure, I'd love to play with you cats.''
(Has Tom been hanging around with Paul, by any chance?)
I never cease to be impressed with the talent and credentials among
the members of the CBS Orchestra.
David D
DDY's Late Show Fan Page
http://www.ddy.com/dl3.html
Sally
Hmm..I'm thinking of a Top Ten List of Paul's favorite words.
10. Cats
9. Nutty
Sally
Gary
> [h/t BH]
> Malone joined Letterman's ''Late Show'' band in 1993
Thanks for posting this Donz. Good article.
Did Tom join LS at the very start of the CBS run?
Gary
Gary
> "Miller asked Malone if Malone would like to play with The Blues
> Brotherhood. The response: ''Sure, I'd love to play with you cats.''
> (Has Tom been hanging around with Paul, by any chance?)
Its funny. After reading the article I decided to put on some Blues
Brothers on my RealPlayer random. The first song it played was “Season
of the Witch” from Blues Brothers 2000, which contains the following
lyrics:
When I look over my shoulder,
What do you think I see ?
Some other cat looking over
His shoulder at me
Gary
Donz5
Forty-six shows in, with Bruce Kapler, when they replaced keyboardist
Bernie Worrell on the November 1, 1993, show.
Steve Curtis
I would guess that Tom probably began his career as a child prodigy on
the slide whistle. :)
Tony Linguini
On 22-Nov-2009, Sally <Sally...@aol.com> wrote:
> Hmm..I'm thinking of a Top Ten List of Paul's favorite words.
>
> 10. Cats
> 9. Nutty
8. Kooky/Koo-koo
7. Wacky
6. Yeah
Twibil
>
>
> A nice article but it omitted a major instrument.
>
> Tambourine.
Tamborine, hell: MORE COWBELL!