Assorted Jazz News

I haven't done much on the jazz side of things on the blog recently, so I rounded up a few recent news bits for you!

Read more after the jump:

Video: 4 Blues Styles in Under 1 Minute

Although I'm a bassist, I do fool around on guitar for songwriting purposes.

I have stitched together four short videos into one of me playing on my Fender Telecaster, to showcase some famous bluesmens' playstyles:

1. Elmore James. open D tuning a la Dust My Broom
2. Albert King, a la Laundromat Blues
3. Muddy Waters, a la Rollin' Stone
4. B.B. King, a la How Blue Can You Get

57th Grammy Awards: The Nominees for Best Blues Album

Another year, another Grammy awards ceremony, and as always here are the nominees for Best Blues Album for the 57th Grammy Awards, to be held on February 9, 2015:

Looks like there is some serious competition between the old schoolers and the contemporary artists. Last year, I made this rant about how it was not a good idea to fuse traditional and modern blues into one category.

Here are videos of each nominee; who do you think will win? Personally, my vote goes to Johnny Winter, who passed away earlier this year.

Dave & Phil Alvin:

Ruthie Foster:

Charlie Musselwhite:

Bobby Rush:

Johnny Winter: 

The Ultimate Blues Gift: 'ABC of The Blues'

My sister and her husband were vacationing in Greece, and they got me this gift for my birthday.

This could be the ultimate blues collection.

This 52-disc compilation 'ABC of the Blues: The Ultimate Collection from the Delta to the Big Cities', lives up to its name. There are more than 100 artists represented, performing 1,040 tracks. The music begins at the beginning with Charlie Patton, Son House, and Robert Johnson, and moves all the way through the vintage Chicago years of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, with stops along the way in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, New York, and all points in between. It also comes with a booklet with biographies for everyone in this package.

And not only that, my version happens to have a Hohner Puck harmonica (key of C) included too! It packs a punch for a tiny instrument! 

For scale with a full size Hohner harmonica.

If you're a blues freak like me, or just want to have almost every blues CD you could ever need, then this is it!

Doogie Howser Episode Full of the Blues

Remember Doogie Houser MD? Neil Patrick Harris' early series where he plays a young genius doctor?

Well in one of the episodes (Season 2 Episode 6), Doogie admits a homeless man to the hospital who turns out to be Blind Otis Lemon, a legendary blues player long thought to be dead. When Otis is scheduled for surgery to remove a tumor that could possibly leave him deaf, Vinnie and Raymond sneak him out of the hospital for one last gig.

What a piece of 80's nostalgia... also Otis is modeled after Muddy Waters ("A to Z, Rock n' Roll belongs to me" and being called the original Hoochie Coochie Man) and his name after Blind Lemon Jefferson. 

The songs featured are "Stormy Monday Blues" by T-Bone Walker and "Got My Mojo Working" by Muddy Waters.

Haunting Performance of 'Lightnin's Blues' - Lightnin' Hopkins

From 1963-1966, the European tour of the American Folk Blues Festivals by major bluesmen and women drew huge crowds and massive media attention to blues music. You can read a little about that [here].

One of the performers was none other than Texas bluesman Lightnin' Hopkins, whose blues playing and singing leaves us haunted every time.

Here's that deep, harrowing performance from one of these shows:

Video Review of Pink Floyd's 'The Endless River'

Hey guys, since the arrival of my limited edition of the new Pink Floyd album 'The Endless River' came out, I couldn't stop listening to it. I thought a video review would do the album more justice.

The Endless River - Limited Edition

I'm technologically challenged so please be gentle and send me feedback!

Standard of the Week: 'Mean Ol' Frisco'

In in 1942, Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup recorded the blues standard 'Mean Ol' Frisco'.

The "Frisco" is actually a shorter term for the St. Louis-San Francisco train line, where he sings about his baby leaving him:

Well, that mean old, mean old Frisco,
And that low down Santa Fe
Well, that mean old Frisco, and that low down Santa Fe
Well it carried my baby away, and it's blown right back on me.

Ain't nothin' subtle about this old Mississippi blues track; with it's driving rhythm:

Soon enough many musicians took the song and covered it, such as:

MUDDY WATERS

LITTLE WALTER 

LIGHTNIN' HOPKINS

ERIC CLAPTON

CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE

JOE BONAMASSA 

'Blues Beyond the Call of Duty' - The Duke Robillard Band

Duke Robillard released his latest album "Calling All Blues!" in late September. As usual, it's high on energy and groove, with a deep southern blues vibe.

As can be seen in this soulful blues number, "Blues Beyond the Call of Duty", it heavily features his band taking up lead roles.

Duke kills it with his guitar on this one!

Video: 'I Am The Blues' / Ali Sleeq & Friends

This was taken at the Jam Kuwait event on Friday, 21st November.

This song was performed as a jam with some great and aspiring musicians (mentioned in video), never having played before together. Such is the spirit of the blues.

Video taken by Bachir Najjar.

Hope you enjoy it! And send me feedback goddammit!