The EFP London Jazz Festival (due to start from 13-22 Nov.) have started a new video series called #JazzChops, a set of interviews with top jazz musicians discussing certain jazz jargon.
Here's the first one, being : What does it mean to have "chops"?
A few months ago I wrote a piece on some news tidbits over the new year, which mentioned I got a new bass.
That bass is my DYI Fender Blacktop Precision Bass. That brings my total Fender bass tally to five!
Here's the review and breakdown of what I think about it: (again excuse the low quality pics, I'm no photographer. Taken at my office.)
Body
First a quick history of the bass: The Fender Blacktop Precision Bass started production a few years ago, and is an affordable P-Bass with two humbucking pickups. These pickups are a huge departure from the standard issue single split-coil pickup of a usual P-Bass. It's made in Mexico.
What I did (to save some money) was to first buy the body on Ebay:
Neck
Then, through my friend Mubarak, I got his Classic 70's Precision Bass neck, which is maple and has black binding and blocks, and the 'TV logo' made famous in the 1970's and attached them together:
Under The Hood
Finally, I strung it with DR Black Beauties, to match the overall theme of black. Sound
Monstrous! Those humbuckers are hotrodded with high output and rumbling lows and, surprisingly, clear highs. Of course it's not crispy clear, so don't expect it to be used for fusion, hi-fi sounding music.
I used it for a few gigs for a reggae band, with great results:
The lows were perfect for the bassy dub sound that reggae needs... it's also perfect for rock and punk music.
Overall, a cheap ($ 500) project that adds a new dimension to my arsenal.
In 1956, blues legend, bassist, and writer Willie Dixon wrote 'I Can't Quit You Baby', for another blues great Otis Rush, for the Cobra Label. It was a success at the time, reaching #6 on the R&B charts. It also was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1994.
This standard is the subject of a huge scandal with Led Zeppelin; because they recorded it on their debut album, without giving proper credit, which led to a lawsuit by Willie Dixon in the 70's. Eventually his name was on the writing credits on later reissues.
It has been covered many times by dozens of artists, including:
Muddy's 1966 album Brass & The Blues; our case study
The stereotype for blues art and design is to always include a horn player, most of the time a saxophonist. It somehow emphasizes that a horn section is an integral part of a blues band.
While it not unusual to have a horn section in a blues setting, keep in mind the blues did not come the city; where the music scene is slick and refined. It came from the Mississippi delta, from the cotton fields, where music was learned by listening to others; no formal training or instruction... very 'primitive' and raw. A place where a harmonica was called a "Mississippi Saxophone", where it was about the hardships and not about getting down to the dancefloor.
So even since the dawn of jazz in the early 20th century in New Orleans with Dixieland Jazz, it had an urban flavor to it. And urban centers, such as Chicago and New York City, were very welcoming to this style of music, eventually leading to the Jazz Era of the 1920's, swing era of the 30's, and bebop of the 40's.
The blues did not gain much popularity in the big cities until the mid-to-late 40's. One of the main Chicago blues pillars is Muddy Waters, whose raw Mississippi sound paired with electric guitars led to an explosion of inner city blues. None of these bands had horn sections.
But later on, artists such as B.B. King started adding a horn section to their band. It ultimately gave them a more R & B, soul/gospel feel. So now you can hear a difference between several bands; one reason that B.B. King was successful is that he played 'higher class music', per the words of Muddy Waters. Horns always evoke a feeling or aura of sophistication.
Which brings me to the point today; in 1966 Chess Records decided to 'renew' Muddy's sound by adding a horn section to his traditional blues. The results were mixed, but the album sold well enough.
With the addition of horns, the music automatically changed to a more R&B sound. This is not the issue here, but rather it did not mix with the style Muddy was bringing forward.
So if you ever get in a discussion about blues and horns, site the above example.
The Dubai Design District is holding a 3 day public festival, from 2-4 April, to celebrate the cultural diversity of the UAE and the region. It will feature design, art and fashion exhibitions, music shows, and food / beverage showcases.
I will be playing the bass for talented Kuwaiti music artist Zahed Sultan, whose eclectic genre of music and visual effects led him to travel and tour the world, from the USA to Japan and everywhere in between. Our segment is on April 3, 7pm.
Other announced music artists include:
1- Mashrou3 Leila 2- Tania Saleh 3- Bei Ru 4- The Narcicyst 5- Qusai & Malikah 6- Autostrad
and many more still to be confirmed. If you are in Dubai you owe it to yourself to attend this free event, and come and say hi to your favorite bluesman (that's me folks).
Imagine you were in some speakeasy, drinking illegal moonshine, got some mobster on your tail; and listening to this version of the insanely popular song by Coolio "Gangsta's Paradise".
Not only is the music pretty much spot on for the Jazz Age of the 20's, but Robyn Adele Anderson and the Post-Modern Jukebox Band look the part as well! The song has gone viral too.
The face of Elwood Blues, actor Dan Akyroyd, and wife of John Belushi AKA 'Joliet' Jake Blues, have started a music label, appropriately called 'Blues Brothers Records'. It will be run under Capitol Music Group label Blue Note, also appropriate. The purpose of the label is to promote blues and new blues artists.
Aykroyd says:
"The recorded music industry today presents huge challenges but also great opportunities," Aykroyd says. "Judy and I are excited to partner with the master ear for talent Don Was and Blue Note Records in fulfilling the true 'Mission From God' — to find, develop and nurture emerging blues performers. After all, that's where American music began in the first place and now it is in the hands of the next generation."
Leroy Carr was an old school blues player from the old generation; he was a pianist whose crooning blues style influenced the second wave of blues musicians. He died in 1935 from nephritis, and was a severe alcoholic.
Here's 'Mean Mistreatin Mama' which features Scrapper Blackwell on guitar, from 1934. This song was famously covered by many musicians, including Elmore James in 1965:
According to the latest Nielsen Music US Report, jazz has become the least popular music genre in the US in 2014. Jazz currently represents just 1.4% of total US music consumption.
Although Classical music is also at 1.4%, it just barely outsold jazz albums by 100,000 units, putting it at the bottom.
5.2 million albums were sold by all jazz artists in 2014 in the USA. In comparison, the best-selling artist of 2014, Taylor Swift, sold 3.7 million copies of her latest album ‘1989’ in the last 2 months of 2014 alone.
This is sad news, especially that many reports have shown that jazz listeners are declining year after year.
It brings up the age old question again.... how do you save jazz?
In 1955, the great blues harpist Little Walter released 'My Babe', which was written by Willie Dixon, bassist and blues songwriter extraordinaire. The song is based on old gospel songs but with lyrics changed to be about love and cheating.
The song reached #1 on the R&B charts and was a great success for Walter and Chess Records:
Since then it's become a blues standard and was has been covered by just about everyone, including:
Elvis Presley
Sonny Boy Williamson with The Animals
Chuck Berry
George Thorogood & The Destroyers feat. Charlie Musselwhite
Ike & Tina Turner
Columbus Short as Little Walter, from Cadillac Records
I had a most musical weekend; first at the Alwan Festival with Karrouhat Band:
and then Qout Market the next day, where I performed a blues set with special guest Jon Teagarden, a superb guitarist. Check out the video below of 'That's Alright' by Jimmie Rodgers (thanks to Sala6a for the video!)
Audio company Sonos and legendary jazz label Blue Note Records have announced a collaborative effort to bring high quality jazz audio to the masses, with the Blue Note Limited Edition Play:1 speaker due March 5 (update: already sold out!) Staying true to the Blue Note aesthetic, the design features a smooth vertical faded finish reflecting the deep bass and richly detailed highs and lows that come through the immersive sound of the PLAY: All PLAY:1s come with two custom-designed drivers with dedicated amplifier Contains exclusive playlists, hand selected by legendary Blue Note artists and famed record producer Don Was to commemorate their 75 years (available for one year) Stream your entire music library, popular music services, and internet radip Start with one, add more over time to fill your home with music Simple to set-up; control from anywhere with your smartphone, tablet or PC/Mac
Blues music is considered a heritage genre; however some musicians have sought to modernize the blues by using cutting edge electronics and technology to experiment with different sounds.
Nu-Jazz and Nu-Metal are quite big scenes right now; nu-blues less so, but here is a list of songs that will broaden one's scopes of how the blues can be manipulated:
Mississippi KKKrossroads - Chris Thomas King
Someday Baby - North Mississippi All-Stars remix by Brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson
Sure 'Nuff 'N Yes I Do - Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
