Piano Man steps up to the plate

" Aaron Moore steps out of shadows. "

By Norm Shaw

Call it shades of Wally Pipp.

Pipp was the baseball player who was hurt one day and Lou Gehrig filled in for him. Gehrig went on to play in 2,130 straight games.

Aaron Moore may become known as the Wally Pipp of blues.

Moore is the piano player on Brewer Phillips' Homebrew, the BlueSpeak Record of the Year. While he was primarily brought in to play piano, he ended up with the lion's share of the vocal work, and wrote or co-wrote half of the 16 songs. For his efforts, he earned a solo recording contract with Delmark Records. His first album under his own name is being released this month.

"I don't know how that record could've been better," Moore says by phone from his Milwaukee home. "Phillips told me he was sick that day. I told him I'd hold him up the best I can."

Moore and Phillips have similar backgrounds. Both came to Chicago in the 1950s from Mississippi. Moore was born in Greenwood, Miss., in 1928. He got his start in music by working at WGRM in Greenwood. Even though he played with everyone from B.B. King to Muddy Waters to Howlin' Wolf, Moore was not a full-time musician. From 1951 to 1990, he worked as a supervisor for the Bureau of Sanitation in Chicago.

"I played with practically everybody around," Moore says. "There was the blues folks, jazz folks. But I had job. That came first."

Moore and Phillips met when Moore was playing with Sonny Boy Williamson Jr. (Clarence Anderson) about 10 years ago.

"Sonny Boy had a gig, but the guitar player didn't show up," Moore says. "Sonny Boy said he knew somebody, and he got Brewer. I been playing with Phillips ever since. When he started getting gigs, I told him I'll help any way I can."

The pair have played all over Chicago and northern Indiana. Moore's main efforts today, though, are focusing on his new release. The record was made almost exactly like Phillips' Homebrew. Producer Pete Nathan is again behind the board, and bassist Willie Black and drummer Robert "Huckleberry Hound" Wright join Moore. James Wheeler was brought in as guitarist.

"It should be out any day," Moore says. "I got a call last week saying it was ready. I can't wait to see it."

For Moore, the wait has been long. But if his track record is any indication, his release has the potential for greatness. It's quite possible he will be picking up Record of the Year awards in his own name next year. And for Moore, nothing would be sweeter.