Crazy Heart Live

Here's a shot I snapped of the Crazy Heart band with Jeff Bridges and T. Bone Burnett last month at the 8.0 ("Eight Oh"), not long after The Big Lebowski showing at the Modern. Felt like stepping inside the movie Crazy Heart, weirdly.

Burnett and Bridges earlier this year won Crazy Heart Academy Awards: T-Bone (with Ryan Bingham) for "The Weary Kind" and Bridges (Best Actor) for his depiction of Bad Blake. Burnett was awarded a Stephen Bruton Award at the Lone Star International Film Festival and Bridges was given a Lone Star Society Lifetime Achievement Award. Stephen Bruton, who died last year, worked on the Crazy Heart soundtrack and was buddies from way back with T-Bone Burnett; Bruton had been part of Kris Kristofferson's band (among others) and cut five solo albums.  










I had the opportunity to hear T-Bone Burnett speak for about an hour at the public library. There he talked a lot about his friendship with (Turner) Stephen Bruton, whose family owned Record Town, a "Beatnik record store" where they both learned a ton more about music. I'll pick up from there at some point, but meanwhile, "time out."

This past weekend, I actually went to Record Town and met Sumter Bruton III, Stephen's older brother and a veteran recording musician in his own right. Record Town, which was first opened by the Bruton family in 1957 after they moved to Fort Worth from New Jersey, is still going strong and still has a strong but laid back Bohemian vibe.

Sumter Bruton is a blast, throwing out stories left and right and going every which way with them. He spoke highly of Before Motown A History Of Jazz In Detroit 1920-1960 by Lars Bjorn with Jim Gallert (2001) and at one point, played a lick of John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillen'" on a guitar from behind the counter. Stories bounced from Black Ace to ZZ Top, about the intermingling of blues and country and so on. And he was the very guy who handed T-Bone Burnett the Stephen Bruton Award. "I had to think of things to say . . . like his full name is Joseph Henry Burnett." On a not unrelated note, Sumter Bruton has a reputation for playing in the tradition and style of an earlier T-Bone: Aaron Thibeaux T-Bone Walker.

Sumter is both affable and sharp, and others hung around listening, too. I picked up some Slim Harpo and Black Ace grooves while there.  In the words of Arnie, I'll be back.