Otis Spann (Born 21/03/1930, Died 24/04/1970)

Meanwhile, he continued to be an integral component of the Muddy Water's sound, accompanying him on the ground breaking tour of England in 1958.
Four years were to elapse between some 1956 unreleased Chess sessions and the time Otis Spann was to record in his own right again; when he did it was to be for ventures with distinctly differing objectives. The week immediately following his appearance with Muddy Waters at the 1960 Newport Jazz Festival, an impromptu session - eliciting several songs and a plethora of interview material - was conducted in Chicago by Englishman, Paul Oliver. In October 1963, Spann toured Europe as part of that year's American Folk Blues Festival and recorded some superb solo, contemplative blues in a broken, husky voice for Storyville Records in Copenhagen.

He came to Britain in April 1964 under the aegis of the Harold Davidson Organisation, in company with Muddy Waters, veteran bassist Ransom Knowling and drummer Willie Smith, as part of an American Folk, Blues and Gospel Caravan. It was around this time that writer, journalist, record producer and jazz fan Pete Welding, began to champion Spann's cause Stateside.
When he came back to the States from the 64 UK visit, he began a thriving solo recording career which showcased not just his remarkable talent on the piano but also a skilled composer and vocalist. Albums to be found on Prestige and Bluesway are all worth investigating. He also recorded with the early Fleetwood Mac (Peter Green, Danny Kirwan and John McVie) - the resulting album, "The Biggest Thing Since Colossus" proved to be Spann's last significant work. Just as Spann's superb and singular talent was being recognised as worthy of far more than sideman status, his health started to fail. Contemporary reports tended to suggest that this was alcohol related but his death in Cook County Hospital in Chicago in 1970 was through cancer following a series of debilitating illnesses.

A measure of recognition and respect in which Spann is held took place at a ceremony held at the 1972 Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival, when Muddy Waters presented Spann's widow, Lucille, with a plaque which read:

That September the performance area where the plaque was placed became known as The Otis Spann Memorial Field and remained so for the ensuing years of the festival.

Probably best remembered for the much needed subtle and complementary support he provided for Muddy Water's music, both on stage and in the recording studio, Spann nonetheless proved himself a fine recording artist in his own right. A variety of circumstances prevented him from demonstrating this particular skill as often as many of us would have liked. There is now at least a record of his great playing ("Last Call: Live at Boston Tea Party, April 2, 1970"), recorded only three weeks before his death, which showed his skills as an accompanist (supporting his wife Lucille's vocals) were still strong - worth investigating.