Blues Hall of Fame picks for 2009

The Blues Foundation has named those to be inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame for 2009, including performers Taj Mahal, Irma Thomas, Son Seals and the Rev. Gary Davis.

They'll be inducted in a ceremony in Memphis on May 6, followed the next day by the Blues Foundation's 30th annual Blues Music Awards. Here's an AP story on the announcement, focusing on Taj, shown at right at the Pittsburgh Blues Festival last July. 

I like those choices. Mahal and Thomas are both long-time blues and soul masters, and the work they've done, the music they've made, has not only contributed mightily to the genre, it's made a lot of people feel good, and that's what's really important.

I'm a little surprised that Davis is just getting named -- he's a true legend, a powerful influence on blues guitarists, and the source of great music. Seals is another good choice. He was a fine Chicago bluesman, one I fondly remember from the late '70s playing at Mancini's when not too many people outside of Chicago and Alligator Records knew who he was.

The Hall of Fame also inducts non-performers, classic songs and albums, including Austin club owner Clifford Antone, discographer Mike Leadbitter and radio programmer and producer Bob Porter. The book "I Hear You Knockin"' by Jeff Hannusch was selected as a Classics of Blues Literature. Check all the inductees here.  

Billy Price's latest, 'Night Work,' really works

Even though it is Billy Price's latest CD, "Night Work" is also the très fine travail of French blues guitarist Fred Chapellier, which they've released in a very soulful, bluesy collaboration on the French label DixieFrog Records, recorded last year at Mojo Boneyard in McKeesport.

It's now available on Price's web site, and will be released officially on March 12. Billy and Fred will hold a local CD release party April 5 at the Palisades Ballroom in McKeesport. They promise special guests for the occasion, and since harpman Marc Wenner and soulman Otis Clay both guest on the album, I wouldn't be surprised to see either or both turn up.

 I've thought for a few years now that Price and his favorite blue-eyed music has never sounded better (I've been listening to him since the late '70s), and the addition of Chapellier, a Roy Buchanan devotee, adds a tough bluesy touch, but keeps the faith with Price's soulful roots. Price and Chapellier wrote or co-wrote nine sides here, and their word processor is as mighty as their blues.

Meanwhile, even though I wrote about the CD in an early sneak preview a few weeks ago, I think it's worth revisiting here. I liked it a lot then, and I like it a lot now -- even more. Here's some of what I wrote, plus some clips from a few songs.

 "Night Work" is filled with Price's always-soulful music, complete with his usual tight and hornful band, all enhanced by Chapellier's crisp, bluesy work. Also contributing to the fun: soul man and Price inspiration Otis Clay, and harpman Mark Wenner of the Nighthawks. There are tracks from some fine writers, inluding Pittsburgh's Mike Sweeney, Jon and Sally Tiven, and fine covers of O.V. Wright and Al Green, including Clay's gritty take on Green's "Love and Happiness."

The CD opens with "Smart Money," written by Price and Chapellier, and features Billy singing in a lower and softer register than you usually find in his club work, where testimony is more the order of the night. The tone adds intimacy and warmth, against the bite of Chapellier's guitar work. Here's a sample:

One of my favorite cuts is the title track, a fine Mike Sweeney tune on the virtues of life after dark, featuring a sensuous Wenner harp and some tough Price singing. Try it on:

I don't mean to overlook Chapellier's guitar work here. He's a strong presence throughout, whether filling in around the vocals, or nailing biting solos that range from soulful to bluesy. Here's a sample from another favorite track, "Don't Let My Baby Ride":  

Here's the track list:

1. Smart Money  
2. My Love Comes Tumbling Down  
3. Night Work  
4. Don't Let My Baby Ride  
5. When the Lights Came On  
6. Love and Happiness  
7. Who You're Working For  
8. Under the Influence  
9. The Wrong Woman  
10. O.V. Wright  
11. All the Love in the World  
12. Champagne Blues and Pittsburgh Soul  
13. Skunk Shuffle

"Champagne Blues" is a Price-Chapellier duet, which just proves that there can be French blue-eyed soul as well. And just in case you read French, here's a review of "Night Work" from Mac & Guitare. But you can listen to the music in any language.

Shemekia Copeland: 'Never Going Back' to the blues?

Big-voiced blues singer Shemekia Copeland has been belting out blues for more than a decade now, since she started singing with her late father, the great Texas blues guitarist Johnny "Clyde" Copeland, shen she was 16.

With considerable help from her fantastic pipes and passionate delivery, she's rapidly matured into one of the best blues singers around.

But like all talented artists, she didn't want to stagnate in her musical career, if you can call being one of the best singers around stagnating. The result is an album Copeland released this week, "Never Going Back" (Telarc). It's her first for Telarc, and her first toward becoming a great singer, in addition to being a great blues singer.

It's not that this album is not bluesy, or not filled with the soul of the blues. But it's a little funkier, it's got an occasional southern R&B or gospel feel, some organ tracks, and some experiments with music like Joni Mitchell's "Black Crow," that do push in a new direction. Another factor is the presence of producer and guitarist Oliver Wood (the Wood Brothers), who adds impeccable taste and judgment in the musical choices and arrangements. Here's a sample of "Black Crow":

One of my favorite cuts is the opening track, "Sounds Like the Devil," written by Copeland and executve producer John Hahn, with its very contemporary political and religious themes, and that approach is also something a little different for Shemekia. Here's a sample of "Devil":

There's a Percy Mayfield song, "River's Invitation," with its own spiritual quality, and "Dirty Water," a gritty, soulful track. Shemekia pays a fine tribute to her father at the end, with just a couple of guitars, on the very bluesy "Circumstances." Throughout everything, her rich and expressive vocals give everything its meaning. Here's a sample of "Circumstances":

This may not be exactly the blues album you would have expected from Shemekia Copeland, but it's an adventurous and exciting continuation of the spectrum of her blues career. She is never far from her roots here, which is a good thing, and she's also never far from the new expressions that creative talent produces. That's a good thing, too.

Never going back to the blues? Let's hope not, but for now, Shemekia Copeland's step forward is very impressive, very musical, and very enjoyable.

A few blues links

Just a few things for you to consider today. There may be a quiz.

Some new YouTube blues (and related) videos, including Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Rushing and Jimmy Witherspoon. at the top of the the list.

An interesting article from a writer explaining how he learned to love to blues.

A nice item about the first women in blues history.

Also, tomorrow night, a show at Moondog's features Fruteland Jackson, an acoustic bluesman, who also deals in the oral history of the music and blues storytelling as part of programs that he presents in schools.

And a note on the latest Bluzapalooza, the concert tour that has done two tours of Iraq to entertain U.S. troops:  Another Bluzapalooza show is  taking the blues to Egypt on March 24 for a performance at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and an already sold-out concert at the Cairo Opera House. The shows will feature Billy Gibson, the Memphis-based blues group Delta Highway and "Little Boogaloo" Eden Brent.

Blues in the night: John Hammond at the Thunderbird

John Hammond worked his way slowly to the stage at the Thunderbird Cafe Wednesday night, trying to squeeze through the solid mass of not-even-standing-room-only fans to shouts of "Let the man through!" Once he got there, he surveyed the packed house, already applauding. "The Thunderbird rocks," he said, and launched into a nearly two-hour solo set of sweaty, soul-stirring, wire-bending acoustic blues.

Indeed, Hammond was "the man," and the T-Bird did rock. Hammond played and sang the blues with exhausting intensity (for him and us), working through a classic blues history songbook.

With a pair of guitars, including his classic resonator, harp rack, vocals filled with grit and passion and a left foot that kept time like an atomic clock, Hammond filled the room with timeless music from old blues masters. It's always amazing to hear so much music from one person -- a reminder of what complete musicians the early bluesmen must have been.

John didn't seem to hit a false note all night, and played one great song after another. My favorite, though, was an emotional and intense reading of the classic Robert Johnson song, "Come On In My Kitchen." When he had wrung every last ounce of passion from every blue note, John looked as drained as I felt. And he was just getting started.

Here are just a few of the songs on which he worked his considerable skills (BlueNotes can't be writing down everything, you know, what with music to listen to, photos to take and beer to drink): A super-fine string-bender on Big Joe Williams' "Drop Down Mama," Blind Willie McTell's "Mama, Tain't Long Fo' Day" and Sleepy John Estes' "Someday Baby Blues." He also channeled some Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Howlin' Wolf, Lightnin' Slim  and more. He also showed off a few of his own tunes (he never really rolled his own until a few years ago), and one of the best was a pure blues called "You Know That's Cold."

Hammond filled time between songs with stories from his long and varied relationship with the blues, and one of the most interesting was how his first hit record, "I Wish You Would" hit in Pittsburgh in about 1966, bringing him here, and beginning a 40-some-year relationship with BluesBurgh. He was then working with members of the Band, before they became the Band.

And after the music was done, an apparently tireless Hammond took a seat near the T-Bird pool table, and the line to buy a CD or just say hello stretched almost to the front door.

Can you tell I liked the show? It was one of the best in town in a while. And it was good to see a packed house turn out for a change. Even if a few guys here and there took advantage of quieter moments to exchange their own stories, ignoring the fact that there was a real performer in the house. Gentlemen (and I'm being tactful here), this was not background music for your bar stories.

One more complaint, while I'm at it. John Hammond's hair. It's fantastic. Some bluesmen make a deal with the devil for their guitar skills. I believe John has sold his soul for great hair. Such fine locks are now just a dim  BlueNotes memory.

Oh yeah, BeerNotes would never forgive me if I didn't mention the fine vanilla porter that the T-Bird has on draft. Goes down smooth and easy with the blues.

Legendary blues singer Piney Brown dies

Piney Brown, a truly legendary, if somewhat unheralded blues singer and songwriter, has died at the age of 87 in Dayton, Ohio, where the Alabama-born bluesman had made his home since 1963. He died Feb. 5, and sadly, his death didn't even seem to make the national news services.

Brown was one of those bluesmen who devoted his life to the music, and his love of what he did showed every time he sang the blues. His last album, a soulful and bluesy outing, "One of These Days," was recorded by Bonedog Records of McKeesport, and Brown played some local gigs. Check at the bottom of the post for a YouTube video of one of those shows.

Here's an obituary from the Dayton Daily News, a nice bio from Brown's web site, and the Bonedog Records site, where you can find his final album.

Here's a sample from his bio of the wide-ranging career that Brown enjoyed:

In 1948, Piney cut several sides with Apollo Records in New York with another session in the early 1950's. From there Piney moved to the Sittin" In With label where he met his life long saxophonist friend Ed Wiley who is also a performing artist. Together, they recorded three singles for the label. In 1952 he had two singles on Par records. In 1953 he recorded " You Bring Out The Wolf In Me" for Jubilee and "Walk-A-Block and Fall" b/w "Whispering Blue" for King Records.

During this time he was regularly nominated as 'top blues artist' in The Pittsburgh Courier's famous Music Polls. For much of the 1950"s Piney toured extensively from Taxes to Chicago and all points between. Piney returned to Birmingham in the early 1960's to help care for his ailing mother. During this time toured the Mississippi, Lousiana, Arkansas tri-state area. Eventually he came to the attention of John Richourg of Sound Stage 7 records where her cut two singles for the lable. It was during this time that he co-wrote "The Popcorn" with James Brown who was using the same booking agency, Universal Attractions. Piney Also performed on packages with Ted Taylor. Chuck Berry, and Bo Diddley.

He sort of remained obscure, even in the blues world, where obscurity can be fairly common. But he remained active and involved with his music as long as he could. If that's not the best of the blues, I don't know what is.

Here's that YouTube video of a medley of songs from a show that looks like it might have been in the Palisades Ballroom in McKeesport not too very long ago.

John Hammond, a modern blues master

John Hammond is one of the best at what he does -- channel the music of old blues masters for our listening pleasure.

But he's been doing it so well for so long that it's getting harder to tell where the old bluesmen end, and John Hammond begins. You know when he plays old acoustic blues that much of it is not his original work. But he's made the music such a part of himself for four decades, that it sounds like his music.

Hammond's music career stretches from rock to folk, but he says he was first inspired by Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley, and it's the blues that seems to have stuck with him, the music that gives him the persona of a modern country bluesman.

But it's a lot easier just to go and enjoy his music, which you can do tomorrow night (Feb. 18) at the Thunderbird Cafe in Lawrenceville. (I took the photo here at the Chicago Blues Festival last summer.)

If you're a really big fan of old country blues, get yourself down to theUniversity of Mississippi Living Blues Symposium from Feb. 26-28. Here's a Blogcritics post about both.

Torture me with the blues

Every once in a while, BlueNotes thinks (don't laugh, please) about why blues, and even other music, seems to be such a complete and all-encompassing emotional experience.

Over the weekend, I ran across an article in the the Wall Street Journal. (Do you remember when the Journal's ad campaign touted the "Daily diary of the American dream"? Of course, now it's the daily diary of the American nightmare. But I digress.)

The article was by the Journal's drama critic, Terry Teachout, whose literate work BlueNotes often enjoys, and who was writing about how music has become a tool of torture, used to break the resistance of prisoners, and also to keep the homeless out of New York's Penn Station.

The idea of using music for some kind of "torture" seems to be based on the premise that, after a while, music fills you up and doesn't let you think of anything else. Well, shoot, BlueNotes could've told them that. That's how the blues works, anyway. And I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same way with all music. Music fills you with emotion. When the music is good, it hits you in the gut and takes over, whether it's a blues guitar bending the wire into blue notes, or a Mozart piano concerto.

Here's what Teachout says in his article about all this:

 "Music, after all, is the most enveloping of the arts, the only one that creates the illusion of occupying both time and space. Live theater comes close, but it lacks music's all-encompassing quality. To enter into the presence of a piece of music, be it a Schubert sonata or a single by Metallica, is to be surrounded and permeated by its essence. The air is full of it -- and the clock is ruled by it. You can't get away from music, which explains its unparalleled power to disorient and disturb."

I like that thought: "Music is the most enveloping of the arts..."  That's what the blues does -- it envelopes, and it penetrates and fills.. That's why it can be such a powerful emotional experience. And I would add that blues music has a special quality, because of the tonal qualities of "blue notes," that make it even more moving and meaningful. The blues takes its shape from "blue" voices and instruments, all trying to speak the pure language of pain and pleasure.

But let's not get too heavy here. Let's just say that the blues, like any good music, can move people. That should be good enough.

More YouTube

I've added a few more videos to the YouTube list, including the links from Bluzer -- thanks Bluzer.

A blues memory

Dec. 15, 1981 -- Blues guitarist Mike Bloomfield dies in San Francisco of an accidental drug overdose.

The blues on YouTube

 I've started a page of links to interesting blues videos on YouTube (and anywhere else I can find them). There are justa  few now, but with luck and BlueNotes' persistence, there will be more. If you have a favorite, send it along.

The page lives here, and also in a link just to the left, under BlueNotes' Stuff.

The real blues, or just an imitation?

What is the blues? Who can play the blues?  Does blues music become something less if it's not played by "original" bluesmen? Can a white boy sing the blues?

BlueNotes has wrestled with these kinds of questions for many years, while listening to "real" bluesmen like Jimmy Reed and Muddy Waters, and blues interpreters from Eric Clapton to Monster Mike Welch.

A post yesterday by the prolific Bluzer, obviously a great fan of the music, who mentions "white blues imitators," has brought some of these issues back into the BlueNotes frontal lobes.

It's worth talking about, I think, since so much black blues music has been rediscovered and supported and performed and interpreted by white fans and white musicians. Very specifically, what do we think of musicans like Jorma Kaukonen, who have learned how to play and interpret some of the original blues masters, but does not exactly re-create it the same style? It's kind of like asking what we might think of Mozart's piano music as interpreted by Otis Spann. Or maybe Jerry Lee Lewis. Or is it? Hey, I only ask the questions.

Do we only want to to listen to blues as performed by its originators? Can "Hoochie Coochie Man" only be fully apreciated when done by Muddy Waters, or does the Guy Davis version, on his new CD, "Sweetheart Like You," get equal billing? Does Bobby "Blue" Bland's ""Further On Up the Road" lose anything when sung by Eric Clapton? (An interesting article here.)

There's a whole genre of blues known loosely as blues rock, mostly the creation of young white guys who learn blues licks, but then also learn that their fans would rather listen and drink and dance to something that's a lot more electrifying and familiar.

As Bluzer points out, these bands introduce lots of new fans to a music they might never otherwise hear. But on the other hand, they might never hear the original, in all its blues power and glory. What to do?

BlueNotes tends to take the position that there's lots of good music out there, and it doesn't necessarily have to be the original thing. But he's sort of a purist too. Why listen to CDs of people trying to re-create Muddy when you can listen to Muddy himself? So let's appreciate the blues and the blues interpreters for what they both are -- an original art form and people who pay trribute to that art form in their own way.