JOHNNY ALLAIR 

Dinner and A Show with JOHNNY ALLAIR

John Allair's musical career began at the vanguard of early Rock & Roll and Rhythm & Blues in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1950s - eventually leading him to tour the world as a long-time member of Van Morrison's band.

He has recorded or crossed paths with John Lee Hooker, Huey Lewis, Elvin Bishop, Maria Muldaur, Tom Waits, B.B. King, Big Mama Thornton, Lloyd Price, Charlie Musselwhite, Joan Baez, Steve Miller, Charles Brown, Johnny Otis  Louie Belson, Jimmy Witherspoon, Bobby Freeman, Memphis Slim, John Handy, Bonnie Raitt, Sammy Hagar, Dan Hicks, Norton Buffalo, Dr. John, Little Willie Littlefield, Tom Fogerty, Nick Gravenites, Chris Issak, Taj Mahal, Country Joe, Boz Scaggs, & Buddy Guy, He sat in with Fats Domino's band at the old Fillmore Auditorium in 1958, and with Van Morrison opened for the Rolling Stones in 2006. He recently finished his latest tour and recordings with Van.

In 1985, Allair made his first solo album, with Morrison bandmate Mark Isham producing. While the album itself, Larkspur, never received widespread distribution, KSAN, then San Francisco's top rock radio station, played one track off the set as though it were a hit record, "High Place (in Your Mind)," which has a Fats Domino sound matched to an appropriately new-agey Marin County lyric.

But Morrison continues to turn up in Allair's life. He has completed 2 short tours with him in 2022, and in September participated in recordings for a new blues-based Morrison album, with appearances by Buddy Guy, Elvin Bishop and Taj Mahal. And Van recorded a new version of John's "High Place (In Your Mind)," with the two of them sharing vocals.

Allair's new album, Cleans House, took shape slowly. He wasn't convinced he wanted to make an album, but he went into the studio and threw down a couple of things.

He repeated the process several times until the better part of an album was done and songs started coming to him. The result showcases Allair's singing and playing with full rhythm and horn sections, a scintillating excursion into the realms of R&B, Jazz, and Classical keyboards, a guided tour by a master. He also recut "High Place (In Your Mind)."

When Allair settles into the syncopated groove on Fats Domino's "Little School Girl" or chops away at the traditional New Orleans grinder "Stack-O-Lee," the hand of a true master is evident. He does not try to fit into Cinderella's shoes. He can only follow his bliss. He couldn't even attempt other styles.

“I can't do it with any conviction," he said. “It would be worthless, worse than mediocre.”