The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
The Music of Cream boasts some familiar last names in band
The Music of Cream is a touring entity composed of younger relatives of power trio’s members
“Jam bands like Grateful Dead and stuff are like average musicians jamming. We’re talking about the top echelon of musicians jamming, which is what Cream was.” — Kofi Baker, The Music of Cream
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Cream — drummer Ginger Baker, guitarist/singer Eric Clapton and lead singer/bassist Jack Bruce — last played Cleveland 50 years and six months ago at Public Hall on what ended up being the band’s last American tour. ¶ Aside from a 2005 reunion with seven shows in New York City and London, the influential rock power trio’s catalog has remained largely silent. ¶ Now, a half century after that Cleveland gig, the legendary band’s music is being celebrated by Baker’s son Kofi, Bruce’s son Malcolm and Clapton’s nephew-by-marriage Will Johns, who are touring as The Music of Cream. The act has a show slated for Nov. 1 at Playhouse Square’s KeyBank State Theatre.
“We’ve only did seven gigs in Australia and this tour, so it’s really new,” said Kofi, calling from Philadelphia. “I’ve been doing Cream music since 2005, when people always shouted out to play ‘White (Room)’ and ‘Sunshine (of Your Love).’ So I thought, I’ll give it a go and see what happens.”
What eventually happened was Kofi reached out to Malcolm, who as a classically-trained musician worked with Clapton, Little Richard, Elton John and Dr. John, as well as recorded and toured with his father, who died in 2014. Next, the duo added guitarist Johns, who over the years had performed with Joe Strummer, Ronnie Wood, Jack Bruce and Bill Wyman.
“It just brings it into a different level when you have Jack Bruce’s son and Eric Clapton’s nephew,” Kofi said. “Malcom is a multiinstrumentalist. He’s been writing operas and doing jazz his whole life, and Will has been playing blues his whole life. It just becomes a lot more authentic. It’s unbelievable.”
That was the reaction audiences Down Under had experiencing The Music of Cream’s critically acclaimed 2017 tour. Kofi stresses the group isn’t trying to copy the legendary band as much as emulate the threesome’s penchant for jamming.
“You can’t really do a tribute to Cream, because they played different every night,” Kofi said. “So all of our jams are completely original. They have the same sense and vibe of Cream. The audiences are loving it. There’s no one out there doing what we do. I’ve never seen anybody come close. We don’t have any safety nets.
“Jam bands like Grateful Dead and stuff are like average musicians jamming. We’re talking about the top echelon of musicians jamming, which is what Cream was.”
In fact, The Music of Cream has been jamming so much a tour manager recently told the band members they should rein it in a bit. To be fair, Kofi admitted there are times during a long improv section of the group’s 20-plus-song set that he forgets what song they’re playing.
“We jam our asses off,” Kofi said. “We’re like, ‘What the (expletive)? That’s what Cream did.’ And the audiences are loving it, so we’re keeping it.”
As far Cream’s last Rock Hall City show, the picture is perfect. Not only did the jam-heavy band play only six songs, including “Tales of Brave Ulysses,” “Sunshine of Your Love” and “Toad,” but the opener was fellow future Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Ray Charles.
Despite the fact it would be really cool if a relative or descendant of Charles was opening for The Music of Cream’s upcoming Cleveland show, Kofi said that’s not the case.
“Not as far as I know,” laughed Kofi.