Reese Black Germany was a legend to all of us, but especially us youngsters in Black & Coe and The Brakes. I am so extremely grateful to Maria Smith for recording the last ever Black & Coe full band set, and Ron McCance for opening up his home and cabin to Black & Coe these last 3 consecutive years.
To put it bluntly, we were pure fucking dynamite the last time we all got on stage. Just last week Reese and I were listening to these recordings going “holy shit why do we sound so good? We never sound like this?”. From the horn section, to Spencer on the keys, to Grady and Luke destroying the rhythm section, to Reese absolutely belting and playing his ass off as he always did, this was some of the finest playing any of us youngins had done, and the finest set Reverend Reese and I ever performed together in our 8 years. The two weeks between us recording this and Reese passing, we couldn’t wait to put this out. Black & Coe got to go out on top, because we will never be able to play these songs the same way again. I am fortunate that we all got to bear witness to the greatness that is Reese Black Germany.
This is for sure the last Black & Coe full band gig we ever did, but I’m pretty sure it was also Reese’s last professional recording he made. Watch out for Everyday I Have The Blues and Red House specifically.
Black & Coe’s last performance: The Legendary Reverend Reese Black
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