50 Years This Month: 'E.S.P.' - Miles Davis

At about the mid-point of his career, Miles Davis formed a band which has been called his “Second Great Quintet”, with a line-up of young talent that included tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Tony Williams. In January 1965, Miles Davis released the album 'E.S.P'. along with this quintet. The album contained no covers, rather all new material by this quintet.

Unlike his old colleague John Coltrane, who would release his ultimate album 'A Love Supreme' in February 1965 (more on that next month!), Mile's E.S.P album is still a pretty traditional jazz album, considering the time in was released. In the mid-60's jazz was taking major steps in many directions, but Miles wouldn't make a drastic change in his music until his 1969 album 'In a Silent Way'. 

Here's the title track from the album:

Big February Blues Release: 'Terraplane' - Steve Earle & The Dukes

On February 17, Steve Earle & The Dukes will release their highly anticipated album. 'Terraplane'.

From the press release:

‘Terraplane’ takes its title from the 1930s Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit model, which also inspired the Robert Johnson song “Terraplane Blues.” … As its title suggests, the album is very much a blues record, a third of which was written while Earle toured Europe alone for five weeks with just a guitar, a mandolin and a backpack. Earle, who was raised outside of San Antonio before migrating to Houston, offers about Texas blues, “There was Fort Worth where the model was Freddy King, and there was the Houston scene which was dominated by Lightnin’ Hopkins. Two very different styles.” He saw both of these giants, and was also exposed to Johnny Winter, Jimmy and Stevie Ray Vaughn, and Billy Gibbons, all of which make their influence heard here within Earle’s masterful storytelling. 

Earle states in the Terraplane album liner notes, “…the blues are anything but superficial. In fact, they run so deep and dark and close to the bone that folks walk around everyday with the blues as though it were perfectly natural for a human being to go on living with a broken heart (apologies to Tony Kushner).” He continues, “For my part, I’ve only ever believed two things about the blues: one, that they are very democratic, the commonest of human experience, perhaps the only thing that we all truly share and two, that one day, when it was time, I would make this record.” 

Here's a song off the album, called 'You're The Best Lover That I Ever Had':

2015 Fender Guitars & Basses

It's that time of year again folks!

Every winter the latest Fender guitars and basses are announced, and here I have complied them all for you!

I can't say I'm very excited for these models this year though. Go to Fender's website for more information.

GUITARS

AMERICAN STANDARD STRATOCASTER HSS SHAWBUCKER 

 LIMITED EDITION AMERICAN SPECIAL STRATOCASTER HSS 

 LIMITED EDITION AMERICAN SPECIAL STRATOCASTER 

SANDBLASTED STRATOCASTER

STANDARD STRATOCASTER HH

STANDARD STRATOCASTER HSH 

 STANDARD STRATOCASTER HSS WITH FLOYD ROSE

SPECIAL EDITION '60S STRATOCASTER LACQUER 

SPECIAL EDITION DAVID LOZEAU ART STRATOCASTER® (4 models)

DAVE MURRAY STRATOCASTER 

SERGIO VALLIN SIGNATURE GUITAR 

SANDBLASTED TELECASTER 

STANDARD TELECASTER HH 

ROAD WORN '60S JAGUAR 

60S JAGUAR LACQUER 

ROAD WORN '60S JAZZMASTER 

60S JAZZMASTER LACQUER

STANDARD JAZZMASTER HH 

BASSES 

SANDBLASTED PRECISION BASS 

DELUXE ACTIVE PRECISION BASS OKOUME

DEE DEE RAMONE PRECISION BASS 

STEVE HARRIS PRECISION BASS 

SANDBLASTED JAZZ BASS

U.S.A. GEDDY LEE JAZZ BASS

DELUXE ACTIVE JAZZ BASS OKOUME 

DELUXE ACTIVE JAZZ BASS V OKOUME 

 STANDARD JAGUAR BASS 

 STANDARD DIMENSION BASS IV

'Married Woman Blues' - J.B. Hutto

Joseph Benjamin "J.B." Hutto was a blues musician active in the 50's, and later from the mid-60s till his death in 1983.

He was a guitar player inspired by the works of Elmore James, and when he moved to Chicago in 1949 from South Carolina, he started getting gigs here and there and started a band called The Hawks.

In true blues fashion, he stopped playing music when a woman took his guitar and smashed it on her husband's head, and worked as a janitor for 11 years, before picking up his guitar again in the mid-60's. Since then he recorded several albums and worked with many other artists.

Here's one of his first recordings upon returning to the music business, called 'Married Woman Blues' on the Chicago/the Blues/Today! Vol. 1 compilation album released on Vanguard:

In Memory of Blind Willie Johnson

Today marks the 118th birthday of blues and gospel singer Blind Willie Johnson. He was born in 1897. 

He bridged the gap between blues and spiritual music, recording the standard "John the Revelator" and many other songs, including "Nobody's Fault But Mine" which was recorded in 1927, also known as a very popular song recorded by Led Zeppelin.

Here's 'Nobody's Fault But Mine' for you below. Blind Willie, hope you're having a grand old time with the Maker.

Standard of the Week: 'Dust My Broom'

In 1936, blues legend Robert Johnson recorded 'I Believe I'll Dust My Broom', which had inspiration from older blues songs such as 'I Believe I'll Go Back Home' by The Sparks Brothers in 1932 and 'Old Original Kokomo Blues' by Kokomo Arnold from 1934. The song is a standard, upbeat blues shuffle:

However, the "definitive" version of this song is by Elmore James, recorded in 1951 in Mississippi. It features the classic and timeless slide guitar riff in open D tuning. The guitar is overdriven and that gave it's driving, rocking sound:

This version has been claimed as one of the most recognizable guitar riffs in history, and that simple triplet run caused a storm among musicians, and was instrumental in the rise of rock and roll.

It has since been selected for the Blues Foundation Blues Hall of Fame, the Grammy Hall of Fame, and the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry.

Here are a few of the hundreds who covered the song:

HOWLIN' WOLF

THE YARDBIRDS (of ERIC CLAPTON / JIMMY PAGE fame)

FLEETWOOD MAC

ZZ TOP

BEN HARPER

JOHNNY WINTER

Closer Look: Minor Blues

In the general (and most popular) structure of the blues, called the '12-bar blues', the dominant chords are used for the key of a particular song. So for example, in the key of E, you would use the E7, A7, and B7 chords for that structure. 

In some cases however, and when you need an extra 'modal' sound or "less happy" tonality, you would instead use the minor chord. So instead of E7, you would play Em. This results in a completely different sound in a blues structure. Many bluesmen and jazz players used their own variations on the common 12-bar blues to add some variety. These added chords or the mellow minor sound tend to shift the blues sound to R&B or soul territory, as well as more variety in soloing to use more extended scales and chords.

The most popular minor blues song is by far B.B. King's 'The Thrill is Gone':

Some other great minor blues are:


'I Hear Nothing But The Blues' - Albert King

'Midnight Blues' - Gary Moore

'Double Trouble' - Otis Rush

'Moon Blues' - Otis Spann

'Who's Been Talkin' - Howlin Wolf

Pink Anderson & Floyd Council; The Men Behind 'Pink Floyd'

Pink & Floyd

Many people (myself included back when I started listening to the band) wonder what is the meaning of Pink Floyd's name. 'Does it have to do with drugs?' is the most common conception due to the band's association with drugs.

But the answer is much, much simpler.

In 1965, the Syd Barrett put the first names of Carolina blues musicians Pink Anderson and Floyd Council together, changing the band's name from The Tea Set to The Pink Floyd Sound. 

It's basically that simple. Everyone, meet Pink and Floyd!

For more Floyd stuff, check out my video review of Pink Floyd's latest album below:

The Last Remaining Old School Mississippi Blues Musicians

The Huffington Post has published an article showcasing the last remaining old school blues musicians in Mississippi. The photographs were taken by Lou Bopp when he undertook an adventure to capture the blues aura of the Mississippi.

You can see the full list of photos [here]. Thanks Rita for the tip!

Big George Brock

Pat Thomas

T Model Ford

Standard of the Week: 'I'm a King Bee' - Slim Harpo

Slim Harpo, real name James Moore, was an influential blues harmonica player from Louisiana. To celebrate what would have been his 91st birthday (he was born on January 11, 1924), I thought I'd visit this classic blues recording.

 In 1957, Harpo's 'I'm a King Bee' was released to much acclaim, becoming Slim's most famous song. The swamp blues style of heavy rhythms just drives it on home. In 2006, the song received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award for it's legacy. 

The call and response tune with the sexual innuendo makes it raunchy and fun.

Dozens of musicians covered it, including:

MUDDY WATERS

THE ROLLING STONES

THE DOORS

THE GRATEFUL DEAD

AEROSMITH

Blues & Religion

via Mojohand

'Blues is my religion, 7 days a week. The world is my chapel, the congregation is the people I meet' - Sonny Rhodes, from "Blues is My Religion".

It is accepted that the blues has origins from spirituals (among other things); the hymns that were sung in chapels rang across the halls and into the deepest parts of the soul. 

However, the blues was not the type of music to expect hope, forgiveness, salvation, or mercy. For the story of man ever since his origins was deep in sin (if you believe the gospel of course). 

Ever since the legend of Robert Johnson selling his soul to the devil at a crossroads became popular, the blues has been associated with being the blasphemous step-dad of the gospel (I say step-dad because otherwise it would entail purity or fidelity, which the blues ain't.)

Religious imagery is prevalent throughout blues music, particularly the blues of the 20's and 30's; songs talk about the devil, make fun of the preachers and reverends, use biblical imagery and speak of the afterlife, both heaven and hell, in frank terms. From the early days of the blues, there was an attack on religion and some of it's ways. One famous example is Son House's classic song "Preachin' Blues':

Oh, I'm gonna get me religion, I'm gonna join the Baptist Church (2X)
Oh, I'm gonna be a Baptist preacher and I sure won't have to work

I'm gonna preach these blues an' I want everybody to shout
Oooo…oh, I want everybody to shout
I'm gonna do like a prisoner, I'm gonna roll my time out

Oh, in my room, I bow down to pray (2X)
But the blues came along and blowed my spirit away

Oooh, I'd've had religion on this very day (2X)
But the womens and whiskey well they would no let me pray

new version from 1965 (for clarity):

Several blues men and women of that era such as Ma Rainey and others started singing songs about the hypocrisy of preachers, who claim to be pure and innocent but are drunkards and adulterers. Even as late as 1972, Muddy Waters in his song "Can't Get No Grindin", he states:

Some people said that a preacher won't steal;

I caught one down in my corn field.

Many bluesmen sich as B.B. King learned to sing at church, and some are very religious; however the real salvation of the blues lies within yourself, and not in the hands of a preacher or God. 

As a side note for further reading, many blues musicians used voodoo imagery in their songs. You can read more about Voodoo and the Blues in an article I wrote here.

To Haters & Terrorists: Up Yours

Just in the past week, we had the whole Mia Khalifa controversy, the racist article in Al-Nahar and then just yesterday the horrible death of 12 people at Charlie Hebdo in Paris, being the biggest headlines.

I'm not an eloquent writer or speaker and many others have given their 2 cents much better than I can, and given the situation I didn't want to write a song about it, so I'll just say this:

Screw the haters, the intolerant, the oppressors, tyrants, and terrorists.

We and Martin Luther King Jr. have had enough of your shit.

Video: Hoochie Coochie Man - Ali Sleeq with Aziz Ali @ Qout Market

As mentioned in my first post of 2015, I performed at the Qout Market on th 3rd of January with Aziz Ali as a special guest.

Below is a video of one of the songs performed; the classic Muddy Waters song. Send me feedback and share the blues!

'I'm Gonna Murder My Baby' - Pat Hare

Pat (right) playing with Muddy Waters. Andrew Stepens (back) on bass. Late 50's - Early 60's.

A song like this won't pass with the media these days; however it's the blues and the blues get away with everythin'. 

Pat Hare was a blues guitarist who played in Memphis with Sun Records as well as serving as the guitarist for Muddy Waters and later James Cotton in the 50's and early 60's.

True to the blues lifestyle, in 1963 he shot his girlfriend and killed her, and also shot a policeman who came to investigate. Hare spent the last 16 years of his life in prison, dying a year later in 1980.

He was known for playing with a lot of distorted sounds (uncommon in the 50's at that point). 

Here's his 1954 song called 'I'm Gonna Murder My Baby" (cryptic isn't it!)

New Year News Tidbits

Happy New Year everyone! I know most of you are either watching the rerun of Dubai's fireworks or that the new number 1 porn star on Pornhub is Lebanese, but with the first days here are a few quick things that happened on my side:


NEW BASS - Sorta


I ordered a Fender Blacktop Precision Bass body off of Ebay, and I used my Surf Green P-Bass's neck (which is '62 reissue specs) and bolted them on and here is the result; a modern sounding Precision with a vintage neck. "Vintage modified" if you will:

The tone is thunderous with the two wide range humbucking pickups; great for rock tones which I'll be playing this year for several rock bands.


FIRST GIG OF 2015

Today I performed an acoustic blues set with my good friend Aziz at the Kuwait Qout Market, a sort of grassroots market with great atmosphere.

The setlist:

1. Hoochie Cootchie Man - Muddy Waters
2. I'm a King Bee - Slim Harpo
3. Smokestack Lightnin' - Howlin' Wolf
4. Gypsy Woman - Muddy Waters

The response was favorable, considering that we played some deep blues unlike the other bands who played more commercial material. I'll have some videos up on my Youtube channel once I get my hands on a good HD video.

Welcome 2015 and I'll be still bringing you the blues news and music as usual.