“Sunrise on the Sufferbus” by Masters of Reality

by Johnny Piranha

If I had to choose five CD’s to take to the wilderness in a hurry, “Sunrise on the Sufferbus” would be one of them. “Who?”, you ask. That’s right, it’s a somewhat obscure band of musicians from somewhere in Syracuse, N.Y. A group of not so well known players except for one always incredible drummer named Ginger Baker; mostly known for his contributions to Cream, that lil’ ol’ psychedelic blues rock band from the 60’s. If I have to tell you who the other members were, then this won’t mean much to you, and you should just move on the next article.

Masters of Reality really had some genius moments on this particular collection of songs; each a little story with an abstract sense of humor added in for spice. The guitar work is unique but still basic rock and roll. Nothing pretentious.

The album opens with what I call classic signature drumming from Mr. Baker. Unmistakable. No one rolls the tom-toms like him. From there the songs flow like fine wine at a table set for special intellectuals. Not one of the pieces exceeds four minutes. “Mean Little Kitten” is one of my favorites. Just when one thinks the surprises are over, there’s a tune by Baker about the inability of Yanks to make a decent cup of tea. This piece is reminiscent of “Pressed Rat & Warthog” from Wheels of Fire, a spoken word performance with a rock beat backup, very poignant to say the cynical least.

On one of my many tours of northern Italy with my own blues rock band, there was a concert in a 2000 year old Roman arena. There are several of these in small towns throughout Europe. None as large as the Coliseum in Rome, but the architecture is similar. Romans had to have their coliseum games wherever they were. Amazing enough, they still stand, and are used for musical events. Verona has one such arena, used in the summer mostly for opera. That is except for one concert each June dedicated to Jazz and hosted by the recently deceased, and most gentile of drummers, Max Roach.

His theme that particular year was Jazz and Improvisational Drums, and as luck would have it, the line-up was Mr. Roach, Tony Williams and Ginger Baker. Keith Jarrett was the opening act. Within minutes of discovery in the newspaper this event, I had two tickets in my hand. All this for only $20!

To describe the show itself would take at least five more pages of writing, so I’ll make is short and say “This show is burned in my brain forever.” I’ll remember every nuance of the drum-off between the three “Giants of Drumming.” Nothing short of amazing.

After the show, getting in to the backstage area was easy, the same journalists that interviewed this humble reporter were there to interview the stars. It was easy for me to mingle in with this in-crowd. Mr. Roach paid the band while reporters hammered Mr. Baker with unwanted questions about Cream. My opportunity came when he asked me if I was an American. I said, “No sir, I’m a Texan!”, my standard answer to that often asked question. Mr. Baker laughed most delightfully, and I knew we could talk.

I told him right away about how “Sunrise on the Sufferbus” was my current favorite CD. A look of wonderful surprise came over his face and the man smiled the nicest smile and said, “I love that album. I don’t know why it didn’t get more attention.”

He felt that when they released it, it should have gone very large and been an international hit. At that point he opened a nice bottle of Pinot Grigio.

For the next 40 of 50 minutes we discussed all the work he and the others had put into the project. All of arranging the songs, working the fine points, takes and re-takes, etc. The obvious love and care Mr. Baker expressed about this cd as we sipped a most excellent bottle of Italian wine reinforced my own personal feelings about the way the songs had grown on me. No matter that Billboard Magazine didn’t put it on top. It’s just yet another overlooked treasure.

Recorded 15 years ago, “Sunrise on the Sufferbus” by Masters of Reality stands tall in my collection, and I still listen to it often. I find myself sometimes singing or humming one of the catchy tunes.

In closing, I would like to think this little chat has persuaded at least one of you readers to go visit your local music retailer and ask them to order you a copy today. You won’t be sorry.