The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #105529 Message #2172692
Posted By: Kent Davis
16-Oct-07 - 11:05 PM
Thread Name: Nat Reese, West Virginia Bluesman
Subject: Nat Reese, West Virginia Bluesman
Nat Reese is retiring. The story and some links follow.
By GREG JORDAN Bluefield Daily Telegraph
PRINCETON — One of West Virginia's most celebrated musicians has decided that it's time to hang up the guitar.
Actually, Nathaniel H. "Nat" Reese, Sr. still plans to pick up the guitar once in a while. He had played a lot of concerts ever since he played for the sum of $6 when he was 9 years old.
He has garnered his share of recognition, everything from seeing one of his albums archived at the Library of Congress to receiving a resolution from the City of Princeton and being named an Honorary Mountaineer by West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin.
Reese sang blues, swing, gospel and other music at venues ranging from the coal camps of Appalachia to the blues festivals of Belgium and Germany. He sang in the rain. He sang before small groups and audiences in the hundreds and thousands.
But now the time has come to slow down. He played his last official concert Oct. 5 at the Capitol Center Theater in Charleston. "I decided that I'd hang it up," Reese, now 83, said Friday.