I can remember it as if it were just yesterday.  I was in Chicago for a banking conference in the early 1990s.  My employer was very generous in always allowing me to travel into the city to attend those conferences I felt were advantageous for my role at the bank, and for that, from a career perspective, I was most appreciative.  However, at 5pm when the daily conference sessions typically ended, two things came immediately to mind.  First, where was I going to dine that night in a city known for its culinary greatness, and two, and most importantly, to what blues club was I going to venture to satisfy my thirst for Chicago blues.

As I was staying at a wonderful hotel on the corner of Wacker Dr. and State St., I was easily able to afford myself a top-shelf dining experience at one of my favorite nearby Chicago steakhouses on my corporate charge account.  But more importantly, I was within walking distance to Blue Chicago On Clark, one of the myriad Chicago blues clubs active all over the city at that time (by the way, it survived the pandemic to still be open).

I had a great dinner, and I wandered west from my chosen dining spot to on W. Illinois St., and when I crossed N. Clark St., I saw the familiar white terracotta façade and half circular windows of Blue Chicago On Clark.  Doors at the club generally open at 8pm, so I only had a few minutes to wait outside as I looked across the street at the post office building, and south down the block as folks arrived at a restaurant situated there.  It was winter, and though the wind was bracing, and darkness had long since descended upon the city, I knew I was where I wanted to be.  The blue neon lights of the club’s sign shone brightly, in a way, signifying what would be yet another fine evening spent there. 

You see, Willie Kent and The Gents were playing that evening, and I could not have been more anticipatory.  Long ago when I discovered Kent and his band, I was overcome by the pure power of his singing, the masterful cohesion of his band, the array of songs at his disposal, and the professionalism and pride of the entirety of the proceedings.  Needless to say, my stay at the club extended until closing, until the last dancer, either alone or with a partner, until the last guest artist sat in for a tune or two, and until the final notes faded.  As always, Kent and his band provided a veritable clinic on Chicago blues. 

Willie Kent came to Chicago by way of a couple of early life stops.  Born in the mid-1930s in Mississippi to a sharecropping family, as were many of the great blues artists who eventually made their ways north to the urban metropolises.  While young, at night, Kent tuned his radio to the great KFFA out of Helena, AR, where he discovered the blues, listening intently as bluesmen such as Sonny Boy Williamson, Robert Nighthawk, Arthur Crudup, among many others, began to shape his ears to the music that would eventually become his vocation.  Though the days he spent as a very young boy were in the cotton fields, long days as they were, an interested Kent began to roam to a nearby joint to catch the bluesmen performing there.  The blues, as could be accurately said, were overcoming Kent at this point.

At the age of 13, Kent left home for Memphis, but eventually found his way much further south into Florida, where he worked a day job until he was 16 years of age.  A decision was made that would forever alter the arc of his life when he decided to leave Florida for Chicago.  Kent never looked back.

Arriving in Chicago, Kent acquired a guitar, but needed guidance to begin to perfect his skills.  The story is that he allowed bluesman Willie Hudson to use the guitar in a swap deal for lessons.  Eventually, Kent assumed the role as the driver for Hudson and his band, allowing him much-needed exposure to the inner workings of an established working blues band.  At times, the band’s bass player, who happened to be Hudson’s brother, was too inebriated to play a show, and Kent was called upon to be the evening’s bass player.  He had already been sitting-in with the group when the opportunities arose.  Over time, as Kent gained a familiarity with the group’s music and dynamics, and his skills became proficient enough, he assumed the full-time bass player role.

1961 became the year, in retrospect, that moved Kent’s blues career in an upward trajectory.  He had joined the band of the great Little Milton, and while with Milton, he began to get exposure to many of Chicago’s legendary bluesmen.  He sat-in with the likes of Muddy Waters, Little Walter, and a host of other who’s-who of the Chicago blues scene. 

Late in the 1960s, Kent made the decision to leave Little Milton’s aggregation, and started a tenure with Arthur Stallworth’s band, and then moved forward to apply his blues bass skills with noted Chicago bluesmen Hip Linkchain and the dynamic Jimmy Dawkins, a man himself who was on the cusp of a greater awareness in the modern blues world via his recordings for Delmark Records.

A turning point for Kent was when Dawkins left his residency at the famed Chicago west side blues club, Ma Bea’s.  Here, Kent assembled his first band to represent his blues vision, a group that included Robert Plunkett as the drummer, and Willie Lyons as the guitarist.  The group, name Sugar Bear & The Beehives, would stay in residence at Ma Bea’s for roughly six years, and the club provided the setting for Kent’s first album with Lyons entitled Ghetto.

After leaving Ma Bea’s behind, Kent decided to switch back to the role of the trusted solid sideman, offering his bass playing skills to Eddie Taylor and his band.  However, upon Taylor’s death, Kent decided once again that he wanted to be out front and recruited Timothy Taylor to provide percussion duties, and Johnny B. Moore to proffer his guitar skills.  The new group was named Willie Kent & the Gents, a band name Kent’s groups would forever use.  The associations with Taylor and Moore too would prove to be enduring.

At this point, many blues performers were steering into the glossier world of R&B, finding their movements away for the more traditional blues cadence to their likings.  Music for younger blacks in the urban centers did not revolve around the blues.  However, Willie Kent & the Gents stayed true to the urban blues sound forged in the urban environments that had their roots in the historic Delta vein.  Ultimately, this served Kent and his groups well. 

Kent remained both an evening bluesman and full-time employee of a trucking concern until 1989, when a triple heart bypass procedure was performed.  Due to the serious nature of what Kent went through physically, he found himself in a time of reflection, both upon his primary occupation, and as his role as one of Chicago’s top bluesmen.  Decisively, Kent decided to abandon his day job to focus upon the blues full-time.  And, we are all the better for that decision. 

Kent recorded an album in the relative immediate aftermath of his decision to make the blues his full-time occupation that was released on the Big Boy label, representing his first solo recordings in almost 15 years.  Kent then had his first release for Delmark Records in 1991, an association that eventually saw him release four solo outings, plus appear on six additional works on the label.  Kent was also featured during this fertile period on a Wolf label outing with Tail Dragger and Johnny Littlejohn, plus his own Wolf label recordings, one a fine “live” effort entitled Live At B.L.U.E.S. In Chicago, and a second one dating to 1998.  He also recorded a collection for the Blue Chicago Records label.  Indeed, Kent’s output accelerated rapidly once he formed The Gents.

It should be remarked upon that Kent also recorded with Lil’ Ed on the Earwig label, a collection that holds up very well.

Kent, besides being a masterful blues bass player, had a bellowing, emotive voice that commanded attention.  It was almost as if he had no need for a microphone.  However, Kent’s strong, confident style of singing should not be construed as histrionic in any fashion.  Rather, it conveyed his conviction and self-assuredness in his role as The Gents’ vocal front man.  His voice was a commanding instrument unto itself.

The Gents remained a fairly consistent group, including, over time, the fine talents of Jake Dawson (guitar), Johnny B. Moore (Guitar), Timothy Taylor (drums), Kenny Barker (keyboards), Willie Davis (guitar), Baldhead Pete (drums), among a few others.  Whoever the band members, Kent was an expert bandleader, and his groups always played with respect for the music and the show-at-hand. 

It should also be noted that Kent championed the career of Bonnie Lee, a Chicago-based singer whose leather-lunged approach was a hug hit whenever she took the stage as a guest with Kent and his band.  He and the group traveled and recorded with Lee, and Kent made sure her visibility in the blues realm was high.

Kent was the recipient of many blues music awards, notably the W.C Handy Best Blues Instrumentalist, Bass designation a total of ten times, along with similar accolades for a number of years from the notable Living Blues Magazine, along with other honors.

Kent passed away in 2006 after having been diagnosed with cancer in 2005.  However, he continued to play shows as long as he was able to do so during his period of treatments for his condition.

Willie Kent grew to a prominent position in the tough Chicago blues world threw the strength of his vocals, his proficiencies on the bass, his sheer drive to succeed, his ability to professionally head a blues band, his knack of identifying highly-skilled bandmates, and being generous with his time and efforts.  Kent is sorely missed to this day.  Pick up one of his recordings and enjoy the abilities of a true Chicago bluesman who moved everyone who were fortunate enough to see and hear him play.  You will not regret the experience.