The Only Shade You Need is Blue

Some folks need 50 shades to get their satisfaction.

With the blues, you have only one shade. And that one shade can give you all the emotions you need... from sadness and empathy to joy and hope.

The blues is more than a feeling, and it's not just about being sad. “Feeling blue” is expressed in songs whose verses lament injustice or express longing for a better life and lost loves, jobs, and money. But blues is also a raucous dance music that celebrates pleasure and success. Central to the idea of blues performance is the concept that, by performing or listening to the blues, one is able to overcome sadness and lose the blues.

If only Christian Grey said the words of Little Walter!

Hard-Bop Classic - 'Cool Struttin' / Sonny Clark

In 1958, Jazz pianist Sonny Clark released his hard-bop classic 'Cool Struttin' on Blue Note Records. The album features alto saxophonist Jackie McLean, trumpeter Art Farmer and two members of the (then) Miles Davis Quintet, drummer Philly Joe Jones and bassist Paul Chambers. 

 The album four tracks aside from 'Deep Night' are all rooted in the blues as harp-bop tends to sway, and remains one of the more hardcore jazz recordings of the era. 

 Here's the title track off the album:

And the The Blues Grammy Goes to Johnny Winter

I predicted that the late blues legend Johnny Winter would win the 57th Grammy Award. This is a great honor to the music and legacy of Winter, who passed away in July 2014.

His final album Step Back, which was released 2 months after his death, faced steep competition from Bobby Rush, Charlie Musselwhite, Dave & Phil Alvin, and Ruthie Foster.  However his album holds the most sentimental value, and more importantly, its kickass bluesy-rock-and-roll from start to finish, so it definitely earned the win.

A big salute to Johnny Winter and all the nominees this year. See you again in 2016!

Here's a track off the album, called 'Mojo Hand' (by Lightnin Hopkins):

'No More Lonely Nights' - Charlie Musselwhite

Charlie Musselwhite is a living blues legend who's still at it today. His debut album Stand Back! Here Come's Charley Musselwhite's South Side Band was released in 1966 and is considered a classic, seminal blues album.

Alongside The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Johnny Winter, he set a new era of blues music that came from white heritage, sparking a new trend that became acceptable for non-blacks to play traditional blues.

Here's a slow blues from his debut album called 'No More Lonely Nights': 

Animated Short of B.B. King Talking About the Blues

A pretty neat animated short by PBS and Blank on Blank has been released, of a cartoon of a 1986 interview with blues legend B.B. King.

It's amazing! Check it out below:

Blue Note's Iconic Jazz Cover Designs

In the 1950's and 60's, Blue Note Records was at the forefront of jazz music in the United States and the world. 

Besides their great musical power, they also were known for their iconic album cover designs. The designer Reid Miles was the one who pioneered modern jazz covers; known for the sharp fonts and minimal design, these album covers have become works of art on their own. 

His work with Blue Note ended in 1967 after more than 10 years of design work.

Here are a few of his major covers: 

Honky Tonkin' - Johnny Copeland

Johnny Copeland saw late success in the 1980's, and was a brilliant Texas bluesman and guitarist.

Here's 'Honky Tonkin' from his 1983 album Texas Twister:

Buddy Guy to Receive Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award

This is some big blues news! Current blues ambassador Buddy Guy is set to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the upcoming Grammy Awards. 

Buddy has been on a huge blues campaign in the last few years to bring it to the mainstream, with high profile concerts and a critically acclaimed album. Buddy has paid the cost with the blues, performing with everyone from Muddy Waters to Stevie Ray Vaughan, and has several Grammy awards under his belt; his contribution to the world of blues is immense.

Jeff Beck had the following to say about this occasion:

"I truly cannot think of another instrumental artist who has done so much after coming from such humble beginnings. Buddy's early experiences in the Chicago blues circles to his time at Chess Records sitting in with Muddy Waters all led him to the pinnacle of the blues 'n' rock genre."

For more Grammy information check out my previous blog post [here].

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':