Search - Kenney Polson :: Paradise

Great smooth jazz from a Bakersfieldian ?

G. E. Williams | California | 08/12/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Recently, I bought this very good "smooth jazz" album by Kenney Polson, but how I got there is a story.



Bakersfield California, in the 50's and 60's it was famous for the "Bakersfield Sound" and as "Nashville West", namely because of country stars like Buck Owens, and Merle Haggard. In the 90's it had notoriety for being the home town for Korn. When I moved to Bakersfield with my family back in the early 70's, it was a small Oil and Agriculture town, and the parties featured head banging Rock, Montrose, Black Sabbath, Led Zeplin etc. So it is curious that the Dances, featured some great "Soul" bands (as they were called at the time). From the mid to the late 70's one band was the premier dance band in the south valley, a band called "Uncle Famous", a band that featured a young alto sax player named Kenney Polson.



One such dance has been burned in my memory for almost 30 years, the dance, a dinner dance held at the Bakersfield Country Club, featured some of the former members of an other dance band favorite from BYU in the early to mid 70's "Gas Food and Lodging" they played some great original(Mike Taylor)songs and a hornless version of AWB's "Cut the Cake" and got the crowd in a pretty good mood, then out came this huge band, chanting " Uncle Famous, FA, Uncle Famous, MO, Uncle Famous, US, Uncle Famous, Uncle Famous, Uncle Famous Yeah! The continued to play the greatest dance of my life, the horn section dancing through the crowd during "Skin Tight", going effortlessly form Parlament to Earth Wind and Fire, etc.



As some of my friends and I were recently reminiscing about the good old days, we asked again how is it that Uncle Famous didn't hit the big time. So I got to searching, and this Album came up as the first cut is titled...Uncle Famous. I contacted Mr. Polson and asked if he was from that great band we remembered, and he was kind enough to respond. I went right away and ordered Paradise, and it is a great smooth jazz album, excellent for winding down after a stressful day. I only hope one day that music trends, can get back to the great dance music of the past.

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