Croce Plays Croce for The Angelina Arts Alliance...

Last night was another good one for Angelina Arts Alliance performances in Lufkin, Tx. A.J. Croce, son of late singer songwriter Jim Croce who had a brief but prolific career in the 1970s before his death in a plane crash calls the tour Croce Plays Croce. Though his dad's songs stand the test of time and bring back many memories for my generation he also played originals and covers that spanned the Great American songbook of pop music from 70s funk, the lilt of the New Orleans "Spanish Tinge," boogie woogie, country, flashy big band night club and the blues of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee..   

A.J. is mainly a piano player and he masterfully covered Billy Preston's "Will He Go Round in Circles" and another tune by New Orleans great Allen Toussaint. His father's songs brought back many memories. My high school band director did an arrangement of "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" for the twirlers the year Jim Croce died.   

A.J. Certainly seemed to enjoy the performance as much as I did. He mentioned one of his musical mentors was piano player Floyd Dixon who wrote classics like "Hey Ya Bartender," "One Bourbon One Scotch One Beer" and taught him the boogie piano classics of the 1940s. He talked about collecting old records and mentioned that the Gibson acoustic he played "stays in tune well for a 1955 model." Prices on that model seem to range from $5000 to $8000. It is the righteous, the true believers out touring with instruments like that. 

A.J. Croce is more than just a tribute to his father's music. He's a joyful performer with a story of his own to tell.