Lionel Young

Lionel Young, one of the greatest blues players alive, and probably THE greatest blues violinist who ever lived, performed at the D Note every Friday night for 3 years or 4 years.

There are many stories we could tell about Lionel, and please add your own in the comments here, but the reason I bring him up just now is because on Facebook a few weeks back, Lionel posted a video of he and his brother playing a violin/cello duet of Amazing Grace at his brother and law, All.

You should be able to watch it here.

Lionel writes,

"This past weekend I had the opportunity to play with my brother Owen Young. Unfortunately that was something that doesn’t happen that often. It did happen at my brother in law Alvin Poussaint’s Memorial service in Cambridge MA. If you aren’t familiar with that name, please look him up. His life was an inspiration to me. I feel fortunate to have known him. He left this world a better place because of the life he lived. He had the courage to risk his life for a better future for everyone."

I got to know Lionel pretty well, but he never mentioned that his brother played cello, nor that his brother and law was Alvin Poussaint, a seminal author of black studies in America.

Also, the inventiveness of the arrangement is great. Both Lionel and Owen change what they are doing every verse of the song. Lionel has such a unique sound on the instrument too. My wife, Genevieve, pointed out the way he elicits the sound of bagpipes in the opening verse.

So great.