PARIS MOVE RATES THE TREE MAN “A MUST / INDISPENSABLE”
Like those of the late singers honored in Morgan Neville's documentary “Twenty Feet from Stardom”, the name of Chuck Leavell (born Charles Alfred Leavell in Birmingham, Alabama, April 28, 1952) does not evoke not necessarily much in the eyes of the general public. Nevertheless, this emeritus pianist can take pride in more than five decades of contribution to modern musical history, alongside names such as Dr. John, the Allman Brothers Band, Marshall Tucker and Charlie Daniels, not to mention his own blues-jazz-rock fusion band, Sea Level, nor of course its almost forty years of collaboration with the Stones. As this good Chuck states in the introduction, this film comes in three parts.
His career as a musician first of all, of course, but also two passions at least as important in his eyes: that of the preservation of nature (through his tree reserve Tree Farmer, on his Charlane Plantation, on the outskirts of Macon in Georgia ), and finally his wife of nearly half a century, Lady Rose Lane Leavell. Here, the great witnesses are called John Mayer, Keith Richards, David Gilmour, Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood, Dickey Betts, Warren Haynes, Julian Lennon, Billy Bob Thornton, Paul Schaffer, Eric Clapton, Charlie Daniels, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Hornsby, Chris Robinson, Mike Mills, Pat Monahan, Darryl Jones, Lisa Fischer, Karl Denson, Bernard Fowler, Don Was, John Popper as well as ex-president Jimmy Carter (who was a fan and friend of the Brothers when he was initially elected governor of Georgia), but Chuck himself and his companion in turn reveal delicious and touching storytellers, while the splendid forest landscapes of Georgia display impressions of classic western movies in Panavision.
Among the many highlights on the program, seeing Chuck Leavell join the Eric Church Band on stage for a superb version of “Ain't Wastin 'Time No More” which opened the Allmans “Eat A Peach” the “Midnight Rider” the late Gregg with Charlie Starr, during the Capricorn Revival concert, or the sequence where old Dickey Betts remembers how Chuck's luminous presence increased tenfold the lyricism of their 1973 instrumental hit, “Jessica”.
In the introduction, Chuck dedicates (in eternal modesty) this film to his four grandchildren, the last word goes to another veteran, Keef “the riff” Richards, who ends this exegesis with: “this guy is a gentleman and a genuine man. I couldn't describe it better, do you understand? ”, Before splitting his legendary saurian smile, and opening the credits.
No better, indeed: an absolute must for any fan of music from the Old South (and the Stones too)!
*Patrick Dallongeville Paris-Move, Blues Magazine, Illico & BluesBoarder