Guitarist
Calvin Keys'
Shawn-Neeq is his 1971 leader debut for the Black Jazz label that began doing business that very year.
Keys established himself in the early '60s with saxmen
Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson and
Preston Love. His hard-grooving blues and bop chops landed him first-call gigs with the primary soul-jazz organists of the era, too. He worked with
Jimmy Smith,
Jimmy McGriff,
Brother Jack McDuff, and
Richard "Groove" Holmes.
Shawn-Neeq appeared during the same calendar year as two other future classics from Black Jazz:
Doug Carn's
Infant Eyes and
Walter Bishop, Jr.'s
Coral Keys. Label boss
Gene Russell gave the guitarist the freedom to hire his own sidemen. Rather than choose an organist as an accompanist, he hired a rhythm section composed of pianist
Larry Nash (
L.A. Express), bassist
Lawrence Evans, and drummer
Bob Braye. Flutist/bass clarinetist
Owen Marshall appears on several cuts as well.