As a teenager in 1973, Greg Packham met Elvin Jones when his drummer at the time was taking lessons with the Jazz legend. A rabid fan of Elvin's, Greg soaked up both his lessons and his live performances. Greg was blown away when Elvin generously invited him to tag along on several recording sessions. With a mix of bravado and naivete, Greg showed up at one session with ax and amp ready to show Elvin his stuff, when suddenly Elvin's wife, Keiko, announced that given Elvin's love of King Curtis, she had lined up Cornell Dupree to play guitar. Elvin then reassured the disappointed teen that he had faith in his abilities and in Greg's appreciation of the way the sound should be. He told Greg, "When you're ready and you need me, I'll be there."
With the success of his first recording, "Action-Reaction," on Stash Records, and after consistently leading his own group, with several of the original band members still on board, the tight, well-organized ensemble was ready for Elvin Jones.
"I've always concentrated on my bandleading and songwriting, so I felt that adding Elvin to my working unit would be very easy," says Packham. And his songwriting abilities are solid, with over 150 original tunes to his credit. You can hear the influences of Elvin Jones' heavy style and use of triplets on many of his tunes.
- And what does Elvin Jones think of the collaboration?
- "I'm his number one fan," says Elvin Jones. My playing is dependent on the material I'm given, and I can only play as well as the material I'm given. Greg writes as good as anyone I've worked with."
"Into the Frying Pan"