AllenLowe

John mentioned PAT HARE a few posts back. Almost forgot about him - one of the real pioneers of electric guitar - if you can, find the Rounder CD with Junior Parker and James Cotton. Hare was one of the best (until he killed his girlfriend and the cop who came to help her).

thanks, would love to hear that stuff.

well, the only reason I knew he was still alive was because Spottswood's a friend. I love the old recordings from that whole family.

when threads get this long, reading the individual posts out of context (if there is a context) becomes like listening to Professor Irwin Corey. but I like it.

Dick Spottswood's book on Mainer is excellent and highly recommended.

that would say 1961, as these were in the public domain already -

one thing that would call for further research, re: Moms and Larry - I have a hunch, based on some accounts I've read, that the first use of the vocal/instrumental obligatto/call and response was in early (1830s-1840s) minstrelsy - there are some accounts that seem to imply this, and if true it is quite significant for both blues and jazz. Some day when I have time, I hope to get some sense of how accurate this is (lately I've been reading every text on minstrelsy I can find for a new musical project).

that I'd like to hear - looks like it's an LP, and not available anywhere.

hmmm...can someone clarify - is it accurate to say that this will only start with 1963?

so much to say here, where to start? 1) I love Estes, but the blues literature is so full, that it's pointless to try to name favorites - but I would not isolate the vocal from the instrumental as a more "natural" aspect of the blues - listen to BL Jefferson accompany self and basically create the entire modern school of blues guitar, followed by Lonnie Johnson in the '20s doing same; listen to Leecan and Cooksey, on the cusp of early jazz AND blues; listen to Lightning Hopkins pay guitar figures that are virtually impossible to transcribe, so rhythmically complex as they are (as a matter of fact I once heard him play a line that sounded like Sonny Rollins). Listen to Al Bernard, extraordinary blues/mintrel man of the 1910s-20s. Completely idiomatic, a white man from the stage and medicine show world. Listen to Bird play any little phrase. Or Lightning Slim; or Junior Bernard who, on 1945 transcriptions with Bob Wills is playing heavy and distorted guitar - or Cal Smith, the first to play any real guitar solos (with Clifford Hayes). 2) the two masters of blues guitar from the post-60s scene are Bloomfield and Peter Green. For Green, you have to listen pre-nervous breakdown (I suggest the Fleetwood Mac BBC sessions, which have some astounding blues playing). As for Bloomfield, I am a fanatic - and one has to hear a lot of the bootlegs to get a deep taste, not to mention one cut on a private tape of AMAZING Merle Travis guitar (Al Kooper told me that Columbia/Sony has a ton of this stuff in the vaults, but has continually delayed a reissue project). Listen to Bloodwyn Pig, also, to hear a great British Blues band, Chocolate Watch Band to hear a great American one. And as BB King said, "Clapton is great, but Peter Green scares me." 3) Butterfield - everything is good from Elektra, but check out his later bands which are incredible syntheses of soul/blues/rhythm and blues/60s rock. For a time he had Buzzy Feiten, who was amazing on guitar, and he had Phil Wilson (when I saw him), Gene Dinwiddle, David Sanborn (when he was not so slick). And he was a harmonica player only a cut below Little Walter. and I say all this as one who has listened to virtually all the Delta/Chicago/Detroit players and singers. I was lucky enough to hear Bloomfield, Butterfield, and Muddy Waters in person (in separate bands) and can say that each was equally powerful.

I've always done everything DIY - good reviews, no sales. I agree that liner notes are important (and too much fun to let somebody else do).

that guy is a very good writer, we spoke briefly when he was working on the project. Weatherford was an early influence on Hines, and there are some early, poorly recorded but interesting solos (I think I've got on on Devilin Tune). The '30s solos are interesting but a little out of date.

well, as Lenny Bruce - we have to all get together, black and white, Jew and Gentile, young and old - and beat up the Greeks.

that's a typical kind of thing they do; I can't afford one these days. anyway, but I think that, with a little work, you can put together your own mailing list, especially with everybody on Facebook. Though apparently you get less respect if you do it on your own. That's why I've created a "shell organizations" page on my web site.

new review: JAZZ TIMES 09/11/11 • Albums • By Scott Albin Blues and the Empirical Truth-- Allen Lowe [Music & Arts CD-1251] Allen Lowe's Blues and the Empirical Truth is one of the most ambitious and fulfilling projects to come out of the jazz world in recent years, a dazzling array of 52 blues and blues-based tracks covering three CDs and about 223 minutes in total. All composed and arranged by Lowe, it took at least seven recording sessions--from 2009 to early 2011--to complete. The end result is compulsive and mesmerizing. Blues and the Empirical Truth can be seen as a logical milestone in the eclectic, wide-ranging career of Lowe, whose prior recordings included music inspired by the likes of Louis Armstrong and Astor Piazzolla, among others. Lowe's 1994 release, Dark Was the Night--Cold Was the Ground was a direct precursor that like this new one featured trombonist extraordinaire Roswell Rudd. In addition, Lowe is the compiler and annotator of comprehensive anthologies such as the 9-CD American Pop: An Audio History--From Minstrel to Mojo: On Record 1893-1946; the 36-CD That Devilin' Tune: A Jazz History 1895-1950; and the ongoing Really the Blues? A Blues History 1893-1959, which will eventually span yet another 36 CDs! How does Blues and the Empirical Truth compare to Oliver Nelson's 1961 Blues and the Abstract Truth? Lowe's presentation is more specific, while Nelson's was more generic. Blues and the Empirical Truth places the blues in various contexts, exploring its societal and cultural derivations and instigations, enhanced by what has sprung from Lowe's personal tastes, influences, and inspirations. There are tributes to numerous diverse individuals, such as swing band vocalist/movie star Doris Day, obscure bebop altoist Dave Schildkraut, famous 19th century black pianist and composer Blind Tom Bethune, and civil rights activists Pauli Murray and Ella Mae Wiggins. Other pieces reference Bud Powell, Elvis Presley, Duke Ellington, Lennie Tristano, the Velvet Underground, Albert Ayler, Dave Brubeck, Pete Brown, and Jelly Roll Morton. As one can see, the reach is mind-boggling. The first three selections alone on CD 1 recall consecutively the work of Ornette Coleman, Charles Mingus, and Julius Hemphill. Besides Lowe's proficiency and passion on saxophones and guitar (not to mention his included fascinating written annotations), the project's overwhelming success is largely due to Rudd's always distinctive trombone, Matthew Shipp and Lewis Porter's personalized and versatile keyboards, the luminosity of guitarists Marc Ribot and Ray Suhy, the impactful Tom Waits-like vocals of Todd Hutchisen, and the receptive and responsive bass and electronic drums of Jessie Hautala and Jake Millet. As Lowe asks, "Is blues a matter of feeling or form(at)?," or as he otherwise puts it, "form and feeling as vessels of stylistic transport." It's a constant joy to be on board for the extended and winding ride. Blues and the Empirical Truth should make quite a few Top 10 lists for 2011.

thanks, guys. I'm a little dizzy with work these days, so I'm not focusing well. I appreciate the help. And yes, Snag It is definitely a Victor - I was looking at an old LP reissue and read the label wrong - don't ask me how.

I love jazz, and have for over 40 years - but I don't feel obligated to "help" the music, if by helping we mean a narrow focus on only "positive" things - or at least things that some people think is positive. On the other hand I think intense and exhaustive criticism is better for jazz than cheerleading. Otherwise we end up with what passes for the Jazz press.

there are versions I have heard of Bunk's recordings of Snag It and Franklin Street Blues. It was my impression that there is a Snag it that came out as a Decca (I may be wrong); the discographies I have seen on line are confusing because, though they indicate more than one release, they do not indicate if they are separate versions/sessions. does anyone know how many versions there are of those 2 tunes, and if there are more than one, can you match them with contemporary CD availability? thanks

Bertrand - did you say something about my Mama?

Cream had some extremely good songs; the first Bluesbreaker recording was extremely influential; the early Yardbirds had a huge impact on the emerging rock/blues scene, and I listen to and like a lot of that; personally I feel that whole movement was a very positive thing in that it helped refresh the whole blues scene, which was growing stale. Though the work of Bloomfield with Butterfield, and of both Butterfield and Bloomfield afterwards. was pretty damned brilliant in its own right; and a lot of guitarists went past Clapton's work, from Hendrix to James Williamson and on. At least that's the way I hear it.

"If someone is disrespecting my mom I'm going after them; very simple" This is a bad attitude and the sign of a dangerously short fuse. Shooting first and asking questions later is a good way to get people killed for nothing. My momma could defend herself, anyway,

just listened - very Bud Powell-ish solo.

I will say, listening back to Cream and older Clapton, that his guitar playing has not held up well - he was/is rhythmically stiff, and cannot compare to Bloomfield, Peter Green, Hendrix, even Jimmy Page when he wasn't stuffing a fish up some poor girl's winky-dink.

anyone notice that Wynton keeps shadowing me? Back in the 90's he did a Louis Armstrong tribute after I had recorded one at the Knitting Factory - and now he does a blues program,

I actually watched some of it (there was a tv show of some of the Lincoln Center stuff) - strange thing was that Wynton, trying to play funky, comes across as a self-parody (or maybe not so strange). He does some mute/plunger thing and sounds like Clyde McCoy,