Guitarist Calvin Keys might not be a household name, but if you talk to anybody who’s ever heard his work, you’re likely to see that person nodding their head.
Keys was born in Omaha, Nebraska to a musical family. His dad was a drummer who snuck him into local ballrooms to see stars like James Brown and Little Richard.
He picked up his uncle’s guitar at the age of 13, and soon got good enough to sit in on jam sessions with musicians who were passing through town. At 15, Keys moved to Kansas City and began touring as a teenager.
Keys played in some of the popular organ trios at the time, led by Jimmy Smith and Jimmy McGriff. He also worked with Ray Charles and Ahmad Jamal.
In fact, after a show, Miles Davis asked Jamal if he could audition Keys for his own group. Keys declined, though, preferring to carve out his own path instead. And that he did, after moving to Los Angeles in the late ‘60s.
In 1974, he released his second album as leader, Proceed with Caution!, on Black Jazz Records. Henry “The Skipper” Franklin played bass on that record. Franklin had nothing but nice words to say about Keys.
“As a musician, Calvin Keys was wonderful. As a person he was more wonderful,” Franklin told KNKX.
Franklin talked about how one can still be surprised by an instrument they’ve played all their life. There’s always something new to discover. He thought Keys would agree with that sentiment.
Back when the Proceed with Caution! record came out, one of Franklin’s friends suggested all the band members should use Swahili names.
“Calvin’s name was Ajafika… which means ‘he that has not yet arrived,’” Franklin said.
So Keys kept pressing on, learning, exploring, refining. By 1985, Keys had moved north to the Bay Area, where he became entrenched in the Oakland scene. He taught at the Oakland Public Conservatory, passing his skills on to the younger generation at camps and in private lessons.
There just seemed to be something unique about Keys. The way he played, the way he dressed, the way he carried himself. Pianist Kirk Lightsey recognized it early on. Lightsey said that Keys was a real player and compared him to Kenny Burrell but younger, hipper and more vibrant.
“He had found a new approach to regular songs that we played. He would just do it differently. We’d say ‘damn Calvin, how’d you come up with that?’ He said, ‘Oh, I’ve been practicing!'"
On stage, Keys continued to perform in and around Oakland, right up to the end. He brushed aside suggestions to retire, even after quadruple bypass surgery and a subsequent back surgery.
In the year preceding his death, Keys worked on an album called The Near North Side with his godson, the influential multi-instrumentalist and producer Terrace Martin.
Calvin Keys’ consistent quest to discover and innovate has left jazz fans a lot to chew on, for however long his recordings remain within reach.
