There have been at least three Ali MacKenzies in the pantheon of rock, and I come here to celebrate and introduce the most obscure of this trio…
First, there was Ali MacKenzie of London cult 60s freakbeat act The Birds, then there was lanky pianist Ali MacKenzie, stalwart of the hits-era Suzu Quatro band in the 70s. Coincidentally, the latter was – like the Ali MacKenzie I’m about to introduce – from Northern Ireland, and at a point in the early 2000s both of these Ali MacKenzies (‘MacKenzi’?) could be found in the infamously scuzzy, spit and sawdust pub-rockers the Flange Band, a version of which can still be found beneath the spilt beer and gutters of Bangor, County Down.
The Ali MacKenzie I come to praise is a world-class bass player I’ve known since the mid-90s, a man who has seemed strait-jacketed or at least implausibly confined within blues bands and cover bands when, in my view, he should be a member of the post-Entwistle Who or Jeff Beck’s band, or the like, bestriding the stadiums of the world like a colossus. Partly, living in NI is an impediment to any musician having wider opportunities, partly, Ali’s very humble, non-pushy personality is a factor.
I’ve hired him for numerous projects in the past 17 years or more, and I’ve been delighted to help facilitate (at last) the release of an album of his original music, an album titled ‘Space Debris’, comprising fabulous Celtic rock and melodic fusion instrumentals – somewhere between Mark Knopfler soundtrack music, Derek Trucks, 70s Jethro Tull, the softer end of Jeff Beck, etc. The album is released on digital platforms on May 12.
More info can be found on his similarly about-time website (link attached).
Colin H says
Here’s the great man as side man, with the Mighty Mojos – a local radio hit a couple of years back:
Carl says
The Mighty Mojos are unknown to me, but that’s a tasty wee song.
Colin H says
Yes, I like that one too – you can hear, I think, the influence of Status Quo in Ali’s songwriting – not the caricature dunk-di-dunk-di-dunk-di-diddle-dee standard Quo thing, but something of the essence of their less obvious songs. Sadly, the Mojos had a very strong album in the can – very Southern rock influenced, not totally my thing, but very good of its kind – but there’s been a period of limbo for over a year due to the bandleader (guitarist/writer Dave) having a medical issue with his hand flexibility.
Colin H says
One more shameless plug for my pal – his album’s now released and it’s on amazon, so if anyone even thinks this might be their thang, listen to some samples…
Colin H says
Ali reveals his philosophy very well on this deftly crafted 5 minute BBC radio package, with a bit of live bass and snatches from his album. It starts at 15:00 mins in:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08sp6ll
Carl says
Thanks Colin, it sounds well worth exploring.
Colin H says
Thanks Carl – I believe it’s on Spotify, if that’s any use to you…
Carl says
It is, I’ll check it out, thanks.
Colin H says
Ten months on from the foot in the water with the instrumental collection ‘Space Debris’ – after a one-off ‘Ali MacKenzie Band’ gig at a festival last summer – the great man has unveiled a new unit that looks capable of delivering great things.
After only three rehearsals their debut was a two-hour set at a bar in Newry, Co Down, last night. I was under the cosh with a couple of heavy work deadlines but made the time to travel down and see it – fantastic… I was already a huge fan of Big Bill Campbell’s guitar playing, usually found in jazz and chamber music type settings, and to my mind Ali MacKenzie is Ireland’s finest electric bass player (lyrically, melodically, harmonically, creatively…). I hadn’t heard Maggie Toal before – a former Eurovision artiste, I think – but she was mesmerising, and exactly the kind of experienced, confident front person the likes of Big Bill and Ali and their similarly quiet, modest, heads-down muso cohorts (soul-band alumnus Paul on keys and Dave on drums) need for the thing to work as a viable live band.
Ali’s an old pal and I know he’s keen to get more original music recorded with the likes of Bill and other guests, but at heart he’s a live musician – currently in one of the flexible line-ups of Lonesome Chris Todd’s (original music-based) Hardchargers, in local radio personality Maurice Jay’s Pleasure Dome (80s tribute act) and occasionally other blues, soul and rock cover acts. In between being a social worker by day. So I’m thrilled that he’s found a live unit that seems really workable for his own music and his own choice of out of the way covers – James Taylor Quartet, Tedeschi-Trucks, etc.
Debuting it between 6-8 on a Sunday night at a bourgeois bar in Newry was a great idea – if it didn’t work, nobody would find out about it, but if it was great, I’d be there with a borrowed phone to get a few clips. Hence seven clips on Youtube. Here’s one of Ali’s compositions, ‘Same Old Everything’: