In case you’re under 70 and don’t know who the name Maynard G Krebs, he was the fictional beatnik character, complete with bongos and goatee, on the classic 50s TV show The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. Well, if that show were still around (and it was a clever one), this album with the famed bassist Ron Carter (along with his trio of guitarist Russell Malone and bassist Donald Vega) teamed with poet/artist Danny Simmons could certainly be the soundtrack.
Oozing with bohemian art, Carter and Danny meet at BRIC House for a casual night of poetry and music. The trio without Simmons does some nice work on the easy swing of “Here’s To Oscar” and “There Will Never Be Another You” to get the crowd into the low ceilinged mood. Simmons comes up and is razor sharp on the clever “Brown Beatnik Tomes” and protests against injustice on the ascerbic “Where Do I Begin.” Casual jive like a black Mort Sahl is on display on “The Jigaboo Waltz” while “Tender” is as beat as anything written by Jack Kerouac. For this one, it’s a night out to put on your beret and shades.