BEN SIDRAN

ARE WE THERE YET – LIVE AT THE SUNSIDE

Nardis Records

Ben Sidran, piano/vocals; Leo Sidran, drums/vocals; Billy Peterson, acoustic bass; Max Darmon, electric bass/vocals; Romain Roussoulière, guitar; Rick Margitza, saxophone; Moses Patrou, percussion/vocals.

The first composition and the title tune, “Are We There Yet” reminds me of the Beatles big hit record, “Come Together.”  It’s got the same groove and the same chord changes at the top of the tune.  However, the melody is significantly different, with catchy lyrics that stand on their own.

In June of 2024, Ben Sidran was performing at the Sunside Jazz & Blues Club in Paris, France.  Located on Rue des Lombards, it’s an intimate setting with a loyal and attentive audience. This is where Sidran and his group recorded this Baker’s Dozen of songs.  Nine of them are original compositions by Ben.

For nearly seven decades and 40-album releases later, Sidran has been spreading his grooves, his original music and philosophic lyrics around the globe. He first performed at the Sunside Club in 1999. Since that initial performance, Sidran has returned every year to an appreciative French audience. He talks about this on his new album. However, I think some of the monologues could have been edited out, putting the spotlight on Ben Sidran’s original music and performance, rather than the nightclub banter.

Sidran was born in Chicago, Illinois on August 14, 1943, but raised in the Midwest city of Racine, Wisconsin. In his early musical life, he was a member of The Ardells, a group including Steve Miller and Boz Scaggs. Later, Sidran moved to England, enrolled in the University of Sussex to pursue a Ph.D., and wound up becoming a popular session musician for big names like Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Peter Frampton and Charlie Watts.  In the 1960’s, he partnered with Steve Miller, becoming his keyboardist and songwriter on several recording projects.

I would call Sidran a quirky, but intellectual songwriter, in the vein of Mose Allison, who played piano and sang creative original songs like “Your Mind is on Vacation and your mouth is working overtime.”  Like Mose Allison, Sidran sings with conviction and power. It’s not his voice, but it’s his message that counts. Some of Sidran’s outstanding songs on this album are: “Times are Getting Tougher than Tough,” a blues that talks about making a lot of money but never catching up.  “Take a Little Hit” is another cute lyric where Sidran warns you to “take a little hit before you commit,” and he swings on his piano solo, as does acoustic bassist, Billy Peterson.

Ben Sidran performs one of his big hit songs on this album, “Ever Since the World Ended” and in this political climate, sadly it’s lyrically very apropos today.  Rick Margitza soars on saxophone. “Someday Baby” has a boogie-woogie bass line that takes me back to the music of the 1960s and a lyric that promises, “Someday baby, we’ll all be free.”  A song titled “Time Waits” closes the album poignantly, featuring no vocals, with Sidran simply playing piano with his ensemble.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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