Turbinton: The African Cowboy at Charlie B's

By Lee Meitzen Grue

I've been watching

his cool self slide by for years,

in his batik P.J.'s and Islamic hat

he's comfortably chilled

like a bottle of wine

in a hotel room fridge.

At Charlie B's he walks on

after the band's intro and talks into the mike,

about who's back,

who's sitting in tonight,

then he saxes ten minutes of Nicole or something

from Star XX and then

slides back off stage in his slippers

and pads out the front door. The band

takes three solos and he pads

back in on cue from the side door

to take his place on stage and finish

the number.

In the dressing room between sets

he talks about cream, and crack, and stuff

from Canada going to chill the youth

beyond cool to stone cold toe tag in the freezer,

and who's at keeping it out.

He talks collaboration and benefit for and with

everybody there and introduces

us to Yvette Spears, he calls her

the creme de la creme,

and she's a fine big woman in a silver-lame turban

and a Kahlua voice

we hear when we go back out

and she's singing and Earl's out wandering the

halls, a restless big soul

in slippers who comes in

with a honey thick sound

he sends us out of his saxophone

until we're all caught like flies

in liquid amber.

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Earl Turbinton albums: Dominion and Sustenance  /  Brothers for Life