Saxman and multi-instrumentalist
Gene Dinwiddie -- often billed as
Brother Gene Dinwiddie -- spent a decade or more playing blues and free jazz before making his recording debut as a member of
the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. A gifted composer and arranger as well as player, he joined
Butterfield's outfit in mid-1967 in time for the group's appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival, in the wake of
Mike Bloomfield's departure. His presence in the lineup, along with that of trumpet man
Keith Johnson, completely reshaped the group's sound as a much more roots-oriented blues ensemble.
Dinwiddie hung back a bit for the first two albums on which he worked,
The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw and
In My Own Dream, taking some hot solos on numbers such as "Double Trouble" on the former album but otherwise not stepping out to the front in a larger role. That changed with the release of
Keep On Moving in 1969, where he and drummer
Phillip Wilson copped the opening track slot with their "Love March." Thanks to its appearance in a live performance on the Woodstock album, "Love March" would become a hit single, the best known of the band's songs, and a staple of the group's live act for its final couple of years (even though it didn't really represent the band's sound). He also worked in an appearance with
the James Cotton Blues Band on record during this period. And on
the Paul Butterfield Blues Band's magnificent Live album,
Dinwiddie's influence would be felt all over, from the opening notes to the end.
He was later a key member of the
Butterfield offshoot group
Full Moon and spent the mid-'70s playing on records by
B.B. King,
Melissa Manchester,
Jackie Lomax, and
Gregg Allman, as well as returning to work with
Butterfield again. His most visible appearance on record in the 1990s was playing tenor sax on
Etta James' album
Stickin' to My Guns.
–
Bruce Eder, Rovi