Robert J Posted September 14, 2005 Report Share Posted September 14, 2005 (edited) Hello all. A little late with this, but I have no digital camera so I had to wait to develop and scan. Also, as I did not trust myself with my 35mm camera that night, I ended up picking up a $7.99 disposable at Walgreen's (it also came with a flashlight!) I gave the camera to some front row college students and these 2 were the only ones that came out somewhat OK. So I got my dream of playing blues piano in Chicago on my recent family vacation! The legendary blues jam was hosted by guitarist Jimmy Burns and I signed up at the entrance - this also excluded me from the $10 cover charge. It was packed around 10:30 when I got there and I hung out at the bar. Another blessing: a pitcher of Goose Island was $6! I got to hear guitarist Lindsey Alexander (who I heard last year at Kingston Mines) and Magic Slim’s second guitarist John McDonald – a monster player who I’ve seen several times with Slim. A great soulful singer came up (I’ve forgotten his name now – a Bluebird recording artist) and others. Eventually I got the “call” at 12:00am to join the jam. I was introduced as being from Toronto. I felt right at home and got down to business. It lasted for 3 tunes (keys of A, Bb and E) and I was very happy, naturally. Burns is a great guy and I got to talk with his wife and band mates as well. The drummer - a Zappa look-alike - was a decent guy (he took the pic of me and Mr. Burns). In keeping with the niceness of Chicago’s people, the harmonica player, Paul, gave me a lift to my hotel at 2am. Here's a group pic, came out not great. Had to crop one of the college guy's head out. The female singer came up for one of the tunes. She was OK in a rocking way. Gorgeous to look at she had this way of keeping the beat with her hips - hence I needed not to follow the drummer. That's Paul on the harp. There's 2 guitarists on the left that are not visible. Edited September 14, 2005 by Robert J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert J Posted September 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2005 A great solo in the style of Pinetop Perkins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert J Posted September 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2005 (edited) Jimmy Burns and myself after the gig, c. 1:30am. A real gentleman. Edited September 14, 2005 by Robert J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted September 14, 2005 Report Share Posted September 14, 2005 The female singer came up for one of the tunes. She was OK in a rocking way. Gorgeous to look at she had this way of keeping the beat with her hips - hence I needed not to follow the drummer. ← And there you are, following the beat with no help from the drummer. Seriously though, congrats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottb Posted September 14, 2005 Report Share Posted September 14, 2005 And there you are, following the beat with no help from the drummer. Doesn't look like ANYBODY is following the drummer! I hope she can keep time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted September 14, 2005 Report Share Posted September 14, 2005 And there you are, following the beat with no help from the drummer. Doesn't look like ANYBODY is following the drummer! I hope she can keep time. ← Well, you can see the guitarist ain't lookin in the right direction. But don't let the closed eyes fool you, the harp guy knows where its at! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted September 14, 2005 Report Share Posted September 14, 2005 A great solo in the style of Pinetop Perkins ← BTW, Robert, I finally checked out your sound clip, you get a big . Ever check out Gene Harris for a supremely bluesy approach to jazz? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulstation1 Posted September 14, 2005 Report Share Posted September 14, 2005 how easy was it to add those pics here? my computers skillzzz are not the best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert J Posted September 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2005 A great solo in the style of Pinetop Perkins ← BTW, Robert, I finally checked out your sound clip, you get a big . Ever check out Gene Harris for a supremely bluesy approach to jazz? ← Thanks Dan. Oh yeah Gene Harris! In fact as we were driving through Michigan on the way to Chicago I was playing a newly bought CD - "Bam Bam Bam" I also have a Little Piece of Heaven. I'd rather listen to Gene - than our Oscar Peterson - for inspiration. In fact I was just this morning thinking about how I fell into blues-based improv and whether or not I'll ever be an "out" kind of guy. Ah well. I am going to Barry Harris' workshop in Toronto in November so maybe I can correct my bebop deficiencies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert J Posted September 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2005 how easy was it to add those pics here? my computers skillzzz are not the best ← First time too. Quickly discovered that you can only do about 1 at a time (ie 1 per post). You first have to upload, then add them to the post. It's not like just adding a link to a pic. Took a little editing. I wish for the process I had better quality pics but for $7.99 and a shaky college hand holding it (he too must have been feeling the beat of the hips) I can't complain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulstation1 Posted September 14, 2005 Report Share Posted September 14, 2005 were you able to do it with a scanner and software that came with it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert J Posted September 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2005 were you able to do it with a scanner and software that came with it? ← Yeah. I have a Dell at home. I discovered that I have a 60 day copy of paint Shop Pro on it, so I used that. It has a 1 click correction feature which was helpful. Then some tweaks. I am no cuow though. The toughest part was trying to lighten that really dark group shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted September 14, 2005 Report Share Posted September 14, 2005 A great solo in the style of Pinetop Perkins ← BTW, Robert, I finally checked out your sound clip, you get a big . Ever check out Gene Harris for a supremely bluesy approach to jazz? ← Thanks Dan. Oh yeah Gene Harris! In fact as we were driving through Michigan on the way to Chicago I was playing a newly bought CD - "Bam Bam Bam" I also have a Little Piece of Heaven. I'd rather listen to Gene - than our Oscar Peterson - for inspiration. In fact I was just this morning thinking about how I fell into blues-based improv and whether or not I'll ever be an "out" kind of guy. Ah well. I am going to Barry Harris' workshop in Toronto in November so maybe I can correct my bebop deficiencies. ← You've got two of the best of the Concords there. I love "Summertime" from Bam Bam Bam and just about all of the Little Piece of Heaven. Here's the one I always recommend: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Hawkins Posted September 14, 2005 Report Share Posted September 14, 2005 Most days, I feel like the be all and end all of blues on the piano is Meade Lux Lewis. The days I don't, it's usually because I'm listening to Jimmy Yancey! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kh1958 Posted September 14, 2005 Report Share Posted September 14, 2005 Every day I feel like it's Otis Spann. Most days, I feel like the be all and end all of blues on the piano is Meade Lux Lewis. The days I don't, it's usually because I'm listening to Jimmy Yancey! ← Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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