Feelin The Blues

Subject: RE: Feelin The Blues
From: Leadfingers
Date: 08 Feb 05 - 09:08 PM

Azizi -New Orleans is where Jazz really got going , and a lot of early jazzmen were hearing the early bluesmen and were influenced by them . As a result , a lot of jazz was in 12 bar format , with a strong feel for the Bluesy side of things . As Jazz developed , the vocalists used a lot of Blues styling in presenting the 'Words' that went with the tunes . So Jazz Blues is just another developement of blues in the same way that Chicago and West Coast and Kansas City Blues are .

Subject: RE: Feelin The Blues
From: Dharmabum
Date: 08 Feb 05 - 08:55 PM

Good source of compilation CD's here
http://www.bluebirdjazz.com/whenthesungoesdown/index.html


DB.

Subject: RE: Feelin The Blues
From: Bobert
Date: 08 Feb 05 - 08:36 PM

Oh geeze, being a blues player myself, is kinda tough, not knowing what you like to direct you...

I'm a hard Delta slde player myself so I like Son House and Fred McDowell the most.

But there are so mnay styles. The Chicago sound is a lot different with lots of horns and electric guitars. I ain't into much of them..

But then there the real down home Hill Country stomp blues that came outta Fred McDowell's playing round Como, Ms. that I really like. R,L. Burnside, R Modrel Ford, Richard Johnston and Danial "Rev. Slick" Balleger play it. Thens there the quieter Piedmont style with lots on intricate finger pickin like John Jackson did so well. Then there's road-house blues which is like real noisey and Texas blues (think Stevis Ray Vaughn here)...

Then there's the old,,old blues from the 20's which was played by botht black and white bands, though both could also play a variety of vaudeville stuff, show tunes and the like...

Tell ya what, Azziz, you tell me what you like off the compilation recordes an' maybe I can tell ya who I think you might like.

Also, as someone meantioned, stop over at tweedsblues.com (net?)

Bobert

Subject: RE: Feelin The Blues
From: Azizi
Date: 08 Feb 05 - 08:35 PM

Just for the "record"..the 88.3 Carnegie Mellon radio station isn't all Blues..

I'm going to have to contact that station to find out when their Blues shows are on because-well let me say it this way-the music that is on now is not to my liking...

But I still appreciate getting the information.

And re Billie Holliday..I have a used CD that I purchased called Great Ladies Of Jazz..which has Billie Holliday singing "God Bless The Child" and "Come Rain Or Come Shine".

The other women on this CD are
Ella Fitzgerald
Lena Horne
Dinah Washington
Sarah Vaughn
Nina Simone
Abbey Lincoln and
Shirley Horne

Leadfingers, I'm curious. I understand at some point Blues turns into Jazz. Would you [and anyone else can weigh in on this] say that those Billie Holliday songs that I mentioned were Blues or Jazz? And would you categorize any other those other singers as Blues singers also?
Does it depend on the song that they are singing?

Or do these questions open up a large can of worms..?

Subject: RE: Feelin The Blues
From: GUEST,punkfolkrocker
Date: 08 Feb 05 - 08:30 PM

"I don't know where you live, but I think the best thing about the Blues is the excitement generated when it's performed live. Search out Blues venues in your town and you'll probably find out that some of the best stuff is being done in the bar down the street by some band with day jobs and no record deal."

.. sorry to take negative issue with this point in such an otherwise enthusiastic thread celebrating inspirational & influential blues music at the core of much of the best music of the last 70 or 80 years or so..

but as far back as the 1970's, nearly all live blues i have had inflicted on me by local amateur and semi-pro bar room guitarists
has been uninspired performances, of turgid, emotionaly impoverished 12 bars 'by numbers' singing, mindnumbingly overlong and soulessly executed cliched guitar jam soloing, pityless and painfull blues murdering shite..

sorry but that seems to have been my reality of live 'grassroots' pub blues in the UK.


Times like this i really miss living in a big city and enjoying
decent touring 'authentic' performers;
and i so envy Americans for living so close to the heart of the real thing

Subject: RE: Feelin The Blues
From: Leadfingers
Date: 08 Feb 05 - 08:12 PM

There are some great low priced CD's I have seen here in UK which are
almost certainly available Stateside - Most of Robert Johnson on one CD , as well as the Jazz side of Blues , Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey from the late twenties through the thirties ! About twenty CD's in that particular set , and a great grounding in blues without going bankrupt . Oh - AND Billie Holliday too !!

Subject: RE: Feelin The Blues
From: Azizi
Date: 08 Feb 05 - 07:58 PM

Okay now I'm really going to get turned on...

to Blues music that is.

Thanks, Susan for info about 88.3 FM station. I am listening to that Carnegie University radio station on my radio as I am typing this. Although there are Radio Nation interviews on now, I understand that music is due in 10 minutes. I believe that I may have turned this radio station on at one time, heard talk and never stuck around to realize that the station also {mostly?] consist of music...

I also am checking out the other links that were given and will go Searching through the old threads.

I appreciate this, folks. Keep the posts coming!

Azizi

PS: This shows that sometimes the global Internet community can point you right back to resources in your neighborhood...

Thanks!

Subject: RE: Feelin The Blues
From: Amos
Date: 08 Feb 05 - 07:51 PM

For me, the beginning was Sonny Terry and Bill Broonzy, on the one hand, and from the more urban side of the fork, Bessie Smith.

A

Subject: RE: Feelin The Blues
From: Stewie
Date: 08 Feb 05 - 07:45 PM

My apologies - 'Lawrence Cohen' in my previous post should have read 'Lawrence Cohn'. Must have been thinking about Leonard!

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Feelin The Blues
From: Stewie
Date: 08 Feb 05 - 07:41 PM

Tony Russell is one of the most knowlegeable people around in respect of the blues and early country music. I commend to you a reading of his 'The Blues from Robert Johnson to Robert Cray' Harper/Collins. His recommendations of 'Milestone recordings' should set out a pretty good guide for you to be getting on with. Lawrence Cohen's (Ed) 'Nothing But the Blues' Abbeville Press also has a wealth of information.

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Feelin The Blues
From: Peace
Date: 08 Feb 05 - 07:31 PM

http://www.thebluehighway.com/history.html

http://tweedsblues.net/

Subject: RE: Feelin The Blues
From: ramblin
Date: 08 Feb 05 - 07:20 PM

The blues recorded in the 20s and 30s is what really turns me on - a good place to sample a lot of that is on the Weenie Juke:

http://www.weeniecampbell.com/juke

Takes requests, too.

I guess if I had to pick one favorite blues musician, it'd be Blind Lemon Jefferson... but there are a lot of guys who maybe only recorded a handful of songs each - those are often among my favorites, too. Lots to explore!

Subject: RE: Feelin The Blues
From: wysiwyg
Date: 08 Feb 05 - 05:41 PM

WRCT 88.3 FM, Pittsburgh - Carnegie-Mellon University Radio's page indicates they can stream even to the worst dialup connections. Or maybe you are close enough to just tune them in.

~S~

Subject: RE: Feelin The Blues
From: GLoux
Date: 08 Feb 05 - 05:38 PM

Also, check out Elijah Wald's Escaping the Delta book.

Also, check out some old threads here at Mudcat. There was one a while back on Leadbelly that Elijah Wald posted some comments on.

-Greg

Subject: RE: Feelin The Blues
From: wysiwyg
Date: 08 Feb 05 - 05:35 PM

For P'burgh area blues radio (and more), try:

Pittsburgh Blues Society's Links

~Susan

Subject: RE: Feelin The Blues
From: M.Ted
Date: 08 Feb 05 - 05:21 PM

I looked at this and thought, ah, it will be easy to drop three or four names--but it isn't that simple---the reason is that there are different styles from different times and places, and, depending on which you like, different people are important--

For me, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charlie Patton, Son House, Lonnie Johnson, Robert Johnson,T-Bone Walker, Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Reed would probably be the ones I'd mention as being really important--but lately, I've been listening to Memphis Minnie, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Jackie Brenston/Ike Turner and the Rhythm Kings, Amos Milburn--there is so much good stuff, you would be overwhelmed by any list anyone comes up with--and I generally like the old, older, and oldest stuff--


What I would do, if I were you, would be to find an online blues station, and just listen and make note of the people you like--and not just one station, because no one showcases all the stuff that is out there--

And don't be in a hurry--

Subject: RE: Feelin The Blues
From: Wesley S
Date: 08 Feb 05 - 05:19 PM

You might watch for the series on PBS about the blues. It was produced by Martin Scorse. It's hardly a complete history but it would give you a good overview of the history. Perhaps your local library has a copy. Good Luck.

And check out this link

http://www.dirtylinen.com/linen/special/bystate1.html

It a guide to whos playing where. I see that John Hammond Jr is plying in your town this Friday night- the 11th. If you enjoy the blues you should make an effort to see him.

Subject: RE: Feelin The Blues
From: Azizi
Date: 08 Feb 05 - 05:11 PM

Thanks to all who have posted so far.

Lonesome EJ, I'll try to find that CD set that you recommended.
And though I'm not really the bar type, I can very well believe that unsigned groups or unknown individual artists sometimes make the best music. So I will try to look into this and see if I can convince a friend or two to go with me to hear some live blues music...

themutineer, of the artists on your list, though I have now read about many of them, the only ones that I have HEARD are
Taj Mahal, Howlin Wolf, Leadbelly, and Muddy Waters...I should have also said in my original post that I do have a couple of Muddy Waters and BB King CDs {though I see that you didn't mention BB King}..and I also have a Leadbelly CD for children.

WYSIWYG,
Blues music on the radio in Pittsburgh,PA??? If there is would someone please hip me to it...

Unfortunately, because I'm on dial up, I don't think that I can get radio stations on the Internet..If someone knows about this, I'd appreciate hearing about it...

I do believe that many more people-including African Americans- should embrace this music again. My theory is that once this music became disconnected with dance, we {African Americans} moved on to other music...I also think that many contemporary African Americans aren't in to Blues music because it is stigmatized as "lower class"...

But that's another story or two or three stories...

Thanks again.

Azizi

Subject: RE: Feelin The Blues
From: wysiwyg
Date: 08 Feb 05 - 04:21 PM

Radio, radio, radio! THEN spend bucks. Let your ear and spirit be your guide.

~S~

Subject: RE: Feelin The Blues
From: themutineer
Date: 08 Feb 05 - 04:19 PM

Hey Azizi,

Welcome to a new world. It get's real good.
I personally love the acoustic, traditional side of the blues. It's what got me really deep into acoustic music alongside people like Woody Guthrie, Bill Monroe and the Carters. I would suggest some of my favorites:

Robert Johnson
Son House
Skip James
Willie Mctell
Blind Boy Fuller
Mississippi John Hurt
Leadbelly
Tommy Johnson
Rev. Wilkins
Lemon Jefferson
Fred McDowell
Henry Thomas

Howlin Wolf
Sonny boy WIlliamson
Muddy
Buddy Guy
Taj Mahal

Subject: RE: Feelin The Blues
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 08 Feb 05 - 04:05 PM

Welcome to the family of Blues Lovers here on Mudcat. There are lots of us who both play and listen to this great music. Some, like me for example, came to the blues through rock n roll. Shucks, I used to think groups like the Yardbirds, the Stones, and Zeppelin wrote those songs. Over the years, I have received an education on the blues. I think a great place to start is to pick up Volumes 1 and 2 of the Blues compilations put out by House of Blues. Volume 1 covers essential territory to an understanding of the roots of the blues, namely music of the Mississippi Delta and the surrounding area. Most of it is acoustic, but you'll get a taste of the guys that got the ball rolling, like Son House, Johnny Shines, Robert Johnson, etc. Volume 2 gets into the electric Blues, and features the great Chicago Bluesmen like Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf and Sonny Boy Williamson, as well as more contemporary artists like Buddy Guy, Freddie King and Robert Cray.
I don't know where you live, but I think the best thing about the Blues is the excitement generated when it's performed live. Search out Blues venues in your town and you'll probably find out that some of the best stuff is being done in the bar down the street by some band with day jobs and no record deal.
Good luck!

Subject: Feelin The Blues
From: Azizi
Date: 08 Feb 05 - 03:22 PM

I have a confession to make. I don't really know that much about the Blues.

Although I'm African American, my music diet when I was growing up consisted mostly of gospels, spirituals, and R&B. Up until about 6 months ago, shortly before I joined Mudcat, the only Blues CDs of that I owned were by Taj Mahal and Bo Diddley. Then I borrowed a KebMo CD and a Howlin Wolf CD from the public library and I was really feelin it.

Since then I bought those particular CDs and other CDs by those artists. I also started buying Blues compilation CDs to get a better feel of what the Blues are about. And I've been keeping an eye out on Mudcat for mention of Blues artists, many of whom I'm ashamed to say I've never heard of.

So, in short, since many of you are CONSIDERABLY more knowledgeable about the Blues than me, I'm asking for your help. Which Blues songs are your favorites and which Blues CDs would you recommend that I add to my collection?


Ms. Azizi