Jinx

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Junior se laaste is Senior stuff

So sit ek en tob oor die toekoms en waar my volgende geldjie vandaan gaan kom ... al timmerend op die keyboard ... in die agtergrond speel DSTV se blues channel ... allerhande lekker blues speel ... oud en nuut ... alles heel luisterbaar ... maar toe speel daar iets wat ek nie sommer net in die agtergrond kan laat verbyglip nie. Om krag te spaar speel ek die kanaal deur die amp sonder om die tv aan te skakel, so ek weet nie wat speel (behalwe as ek dit herken) tensy ek die tv aanskakel nie. Daarvoor lê die remote handig, want sulke 'gems' duik op en dan wil mens dadelik weet wat dit is wat speel. Dis dan juis hoe ek JJ Grey & Mofro 'ontdek' het. Anyway ... aan mettie tv en daar sien ek toe ... dis Junior Wells mette song van sy album 'Come On In This House'. Ek maak dadelik my 'Wishlist.txt' file oop ... hy lê altyd gereed op my desktop vir sulke eventualities ... :) Die album word in die lysie ingedruk vir wanneer ek weer musiek soek. Later die dag voel ek effe down en besluit om terapie te kry ... dadelik is ek oppie web aanie soek en daar vind ek toe Junior Wells se 'Come On In This House'. Voor ek sommer die album aanskaf kyk ek eers rond vir meer inligting omtrent dit. Ek ken mos vir Junior Wells ... het hom saam met Buddy Guy ... sy ou buddy ... hehehe. Ek het hom ook op dvd waar hy sy manewales uithaal ... dit was juis sy ding ... hy kon operate ... soms het mens die musiek en musicianship gemis oor al die manewales ... hy was 'n showman. So sien ek toe dat hierdie album gereken word as dieselfde gehalte as sy hoog-aangeskrewe 'Hoodoo Man Blues' wat sy eerste album was (1965). Ek sien toe ook dat dit (tragies) sy laaste album was wat hy opgeneem het, alhoewel daar ander releases daarna was. Hy was, sover ek kon uitvind, onbewus van sy siekte terwyl hy die album opgeneem het. Binne jaar daarna is hy diagnoseer met kanker en kort daarna het hy 'n hartaanval gekry terwyl hy onder behandeling was. Dit het met hom in 'n koma geëindig waaruit hy nooit gekom het nie. Hy is oorlede op 15 Januarie 1998. Ek wil graag dink hy moes dalk 'n voorgevoel gehad het. Daarom dat hy meer erns getoon het met hierdie album en mette 'n juweel van 'n tradisionele blues album vorendag gekom het ... vir oulaas. Sy weapon of choice was die blues-harp. My vorige favourite 'go-to' blues album is ook deur 'n blues-harp blaser gemaak wat ook prematurely (meer nog as Junior) dood is, naamlik Paul Butterfield. Op Junior se laaste album word hy ondersteun deur 'n hele paar jong, maar top-klas musikante soos Derek Trucks, Corey Harris, Tab Benoit, Alvin Youngblood Hart ens. Die album wen ook die W.C. Handy toekenning vir Tradisionele Blues in 1997. Anyway ... na ek toe so bietjie meer oor die album lees, laat ek hom dadelik kom via die eter ... hy lyk of hy hier by my hoort besluit ek. En vanaand luister ek toe die eerste keer behoorlik na daai album ... en hier is ek nou besig om julle van hom te vertel. 'Cos why? 'Cos jy moet hom uitcheck as jy van goeie trad-blues hou. Dis bleddie mooi man ... sommer dyyyyyydelike blues hierdie! Luister mooi na die eerste track en hoor hoe ongelooflik mooi eenvoud kan klink. Die bass en dromme doen absoluut niks meer as die minimum nie ... hulle weier om flambojant te wees ... selfs die kitaar waag net nou en dan 'n noot wat jy as apart vannie groove kan hoor ... hulle trap mekaar amper dood in daai groove ... beautifully simple! Kry hom maar ... satisfaction guaranteed ... Junior se laaste album het hom vanne clown na 'n SENIOR blues-man promote in my boek ... Lees hier oor die album.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Jinx

oppisolo
'n deel daarvan is nog 'n bietjie hippie
'n deel daarvan het ek verloor in Mississippi
'n deel daarvan sukkel-sukkel met die grootword
'n deel daarvan gaan nog eendag alles uitsort
'n deel daarvan is half jammer oor alles
'n deel daarvan glo in dele van die Bybel
'n deel daarvan is 'n band oppisolo

Ek het so wyle gelede vir myself 'n "van Pa aan Pa" bestel.
Ja hier op die platteland bestel ons nog meeste van ons
"nice to haves". Gister toe ek gou vir moeder 'n persentjie
moes soek,  haal ek toe myne af:






























Een van die lekkerste shows wat ek ooit bygewoon het,
seker omdat ek half onseker was oor die kombinasie,
was Vuur en Vlam.

















Ek ondek vandag hierdie "Agter die Skerms" opname:

 




'n Man wat Kan



Ballade van die Dronkparty



Die aeroplane se vlerk




Monday, April 25, 2011

Griekse Juwele


Ek het 'n ou vriend wat nie by 'n begrafplaas of grafsteen langs die pad verby ry nie! Dan kom hy terug en vertel stories omtrent die graf die omgewing en sy mens.
Lekker stories, hartseer maar menswees stories.
Die graf hierbo lê in Heraklion op die eiland Kreta.
Die grafskrif lees so:

"Den elpizo tipota. Den fovumai tipota. Eimai eleftheros."
           I hope for nothing. I fear nothing. I am free.

Nikos Kazantzakis is seker die belangrikse Griekse skrywer van die 20e eeu.
Ek het sopas 'n wonderlike boek van hom "Report to Greco" gelees.
Kazantzakis het eers bekend geword en roem verwerf nadat die film "Zorba the Greek" van sy soortgenoemde boek gemaak was. Report to Greco gaan aan met die lewe van Zorba maar is ook gebaseer op sy eie lewe, gewaarwordinge en siening van die lewe.


Nog 'n paar Nikos waarhede: 

 A person needs a little madness,
or else they never dare cut the rope and be free.

Beauty is merciless.
You do not look at it, it looks at you and does not forgive.

There is only one woman in the world.
 One woman, with many faces.


 Since we cannot change reality,
 let us change the eyes which see reality.

"Salvatores Dei"
We come from a dark abyss,
we end in a dark abyss,
and we call the luminous interval life.


Hierdie video is 'n kort biografie met 'n paar aanhalings uit Report to Greco:





Eienaardig was die sangeres Nana Mouskouri ook nie baie bekroond en gewild in Griekeland nie. Sy moes ook soos Kazantzakis eers populêr word oorsee voordat sy daar erkenning gekry het.

Nana Mouskouri Live at Herod Atticus 1984
music Manos Hadjidakis verse: Nikos Gatsos

(Tora pou pas stin xenitia )
Now that you're going to a foreign country,
i'll be a bird of the south wind, to meet you soon,
so i can bring you the cross that you asked me to find for you,
and to bring you a ring.



 





Because

Al my mede melomaan vriende weet ek is byna obsessief 'n Leonard Cohen bewonderaar.
Ek het met die jare al die moontlike albums van die ou lewende legende aangeskaf. Daar was egter heelwat "Bests of en More Best off" versamelde werke wat ek maar vermy het omdat dit bloot net dupliseering van vorige werke was. Ek lees egter gister op een van die Leonard Cohen forums 'n debat oor 'n snit op die "More Best of Leonard Cohen " album.

Op hierdie 1997 versameling is daar as laaste snit 'n heel onbekende snit opgelaai: 13."The Great Event"

It's going to happen very soon.
The great event which will end the horror.
Which will end the sorrow.
Next Tuesday, when the sun goes down,
I will play the Moonlight Sonata backwards.
This will reverse the effects of the world's mad plunge into suffering,
for the last 200 million years.
What a lovely night that would be.
What a sigh of relief,
as the senile robins become bright red again,
and the retired nightingales, pick up their dusty tails,
and assert the majesty of creation!

Written by Leonard Cohen
Produced by Steve Lindsey
Vocals by Leonard Cohen and Victoria
Keyboard Instrumental Performed by: by Jim Cox
Programming and Editing: Iki Levi
Recorded and Mixed by Gabe Veltri

Die frase "I will play the Moonlight Sonata backwards" het my gedagtes geprikkel en het ek toe meer gaan oplees hieroor.
Hier is die snit:


Eers gaan luister ek toe weer na die Moonlight Sonata -
mense bykans 31 miljoen "views".
Daar is nog hoop vir die mensdom!




Op 'n middag in 1969 tydens die atteljeeopnames van die album Abbey Road  sit Yoko Ono op die klavier en speel.
Onder andere speel sy toe ook die  Moonlight Sonata.
John Lennon, die musikale genie wat hy is, vra haar toe om asseblief weer 'n keer die sonate te speel - maar dié keer agteruit?
Dié klink toe min of meer so:


Lennon het daarop die lied "Because" geskryf, gebaseer op die akkoorde van Beethoven se Moonlight Sonate. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, en George Harrison harmoniseer saam:



Op die album Anthology 3 verskyn die lied weer maar die keer in 'n a capella vorm:



In hierdie video gebruik die samesteller beelde van Kazuo Ohno.



Hierdie legendariese Japanese dans guru en spesialis van die Japanese dansvorm "Butoh" is eers verlede jaar op 104 oorlede.

Kazuo se lewensverhaal kan hier gelees word.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Calvin Russell

Die Man


Sy Geskiedenis

Calvin Russell is the real deal, an authentic Texas-born cowboy whose face is a trail of hard-earned lines, proof of the rough mileage he's put on his body since his birth in 1948 in Austin. For someone who likes Texas and Russell's brand of country music, the act of researching his life and misadventures could be fun if it weren't for one thing: all the juicy stuff -- including Russell's stint in jail -- that's been printed about the singing American cowboy is in French. Sometimes it's in another European language. Far less often will you find any significant write-ups in the language of his birthplace, and that's because Russell found his greatest success, professionally and personally, far from home. He is a business owner; the proprietor of a Swiss nightclub. His wife is Swiss.
 A good percentage of his albums were recorded in Europe.

The singer/songwriter was one of nine children born to his working-class parents, Red and Daisy. The family lived on an unpaved road, not far from the town's wrecking yard. His mom was a waitress in the same little café where his dad did the cooking. Calvin Russell, their sixth child, spent his youth putting together hot-rod cars. Before he turned 13, he'd discovered the guitar. Within a year, Russell was playing with an outfit called the Cavemen. A wild time during his teens brought him to the attention of local authorities, who sent him to juvenile detention and, later, prison. At one point in the mid-'80s, he did time in a Mexican jail, where he spent his nights on a cold concrete floor. Upon his release, he headed back to his hometown, where his condition didn't improve much. He made his bed outdoors, in the small area beneath a house, in the dirt. Russell took to the open road on a motorcycle and began to write his songs in the Texas hill country.

By 1985, he had a single to his credit. Thanks to a chance meeting with record company executive Patrick Mathe four years later at Austin's Continental Club, Russell landed a contract with the French company that would release many of his albums, New Rose Records. Russell later went on to sign with Sony after New Rose Records folded. New Rose's release of Russell's A Crack in Time album in 1990 caused a stir for the artist, and he started picking up quite a bit of attention. He went on to play festivals in Europe alongside such artists as the Kinks and Little Village. Three more albums followed from New Rose. Le Voyageur is a recording of live shows performed by Russell in such French cities as Rennes and Paris. When the record company was sinking and its assets frozen in bankruptcy proceedings, Russell was very close to having his career tied up in the company's legal woes. Dick Rivers, who had a career decades earlier in pop, rescued Russell when he purchased the singer/songwriter's contract. Soon, Sony found Russell and stepped into the picture.


Sy Musiek






Kry hierdie album hier










Friday, November 5, 2010

Madrugada Triptiek

Madrugada = Dagbreek (die blou uur) in Portugees.

1.Madrugada- Melanie Safka


'n Fenomenale 1974 album met die volgende snitte op:
Love To Lose Again
Lover's Cross (Jim Croce)
Pretty Boy Floyd (Woody Guthrie)
Wild Horses (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards)
I Think It's Going To Rain Today (Randy Newman)
Will You Love Me Tomorrow (Gerry Goffin/Carole King)
Maybe Not For A Lifetime
Holding Out
The Actress
Pine and Feather

Sien ook blog: http://melo-mania.blogspot.com/2010/05/melanie-safka.html
Klein pasella clip: Leftover Wine
(Leftover wine................ is dit iets soos spoke of biltong ?)




 2.Madrugada (song)

'n Portugese inskrywing vir die 1975 Eurovision Song Contest gesing deur Duarte Mendes.
Madrugada: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToaRjX-pgYc&feature=related

3.Madrugada
(Die Band uit die Land van die Middernagson)


Madrugada se kitaarspeler en een van die stigterslede Robert Burås is in Julie 2007 in sy hotelkamer dood aangetref.
Die oorblywende lede het daarna besluit om die album waarmee hul besig was,
te voltooi en op te dra aan Robert.
Hierna het hul op 'n wêreld toer gegaan en hul finale vertoning in November 2008 gegee, waarna hul die groep ontbind het.

Lees hier meer oor Madrugada:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madrugada_(band)

Luister na "Majesty" en "What's on Your Mind" hier :
http://www.myspace.com/wearemadrugada

Strange Color Blue


Sail Away

Hands Up, I Love You

Salt



Lift Me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0bihpuJXcQ&feature=related

Robert Burås  was ook lid van  My Midnight Creeps.
'n Band wie sê hul kry hul inspirasie uit Stones en Animal's se musiek.
Don´t let em bring you down


Tydens 'n musiekfees in Oslo na Robert Burås se afsterwe het sy ou orkeslede uit beide Madrugada en My Midnight Creeps  vir hom hierdie aangrypende tribute gelewer.
Tribute to Robert Burås



Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Meneer Melancholie.






























'n Onlangse debat oor Afrikaners wat nie lewende helde het nie en toe 'n uitnodiging deur die skrywer om 'n lys van 10 lewende Afrikaner helde neer te pen, het my aan die dink gesit. Ek besef toe dat ek nie tien name kan neerskryf nie en vlug toe liewers in my musiekwêreld in. Alhoewel ek al die speletjie van "watter tien albums/songs vat jy na jou eiland saam" tot vervelens toe gespeel het, vra ek toe aan myself, "Wie is my musiekheld?" My musieksmaak is egter so wyd as die here se genade en dis 'n bykans onmoontlike/onregverdige vraag om jouself mee te pooitjie. Die oplossing van die probleemvraag het ek toe gekry deur te gaan kyk na watter kunstenaar het die meeste albums/musiek in my versameling. Ek het sovêr my kennis strek , asook die van ander cohenphiles op die web, 'n volledige Leonard Cohen versameling. Leonard het meer byname as enige ander kunstenaar, Master Of Erotic Despair, Ladies’ Man, Prins van Pyn, Profeet, Pelgrim, Pessimis ens. ens. Vir my is hy die Meester van Melancholie.
In die vroë sestigers het Leonard gesukkel om 'n lewe te maak uit sy gedigte en skryfwerk en begin om liedere te skryf. Hy kon egter nie kitaar speel of sing nie en nader toe via 'n gemeenskaplike vriend vir Judy Collins en vra haar toe wat dink sy van "Suzanne" Haar antwoord was: 'I'm recording it tomorrow". Judy het vir Leonard onder haar vlerk geneem en ook hotelkamer toe.
Suzanne was dan sy eerste lied wat opgeneem was.
JUDY COLLINS & LEONARD COHEN - "Suzanne" 1976



JUDY COLLINS & LEONARD COHEN -
 "Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye" 1976

"Sang it all night"? Cohen, you sly dog!

Judy Collins is net so 'n merkwaardige ou dame.
Judy Collins, now 71, is still writing, performing, and nurturing fresh talent. She plays 80 to100 dates a year around the country. Judy Collins, a relentlessly creative spirit, is a modern day Renaissance woman who is also an accomplished painter, filmmaker, record label head, musical mentor, and an in-demand keynote speaker for mental health and suicide prevention.  She continues to create music of hope and healing that lights up the world and speaks to the heart. Hier is haar webwerf.
Hier gesels sy lekker oor hul kennismaking en heel beskeie oor haar rol om Leonard te laat begin sing het:


Leonard het verlede maand 76 jaar jonk geword en "Heck Of A Guy" het hierdie mooi tribute video gemaak:

Leonard Cohen's 76th Birthday - The Video


Vroër vanjaar is Leonard Cohen ingehuldig by die  Songwriters Hall Of Fame.
Weereens was Judy Collins by.

Tydens die seremonie is hierdie opname gemaak:
LEONARD COHEN GIVES MOVING HALLELUJAH FOR SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAME

Menige opinies van Cohen is dat hy donker en swartgallige musiek maak.
Longfellow antwoord hul so:
God sent his Singers upon earth
With songs of sadness and of mirth,
That they might touch the hearts of men,
And bring them back to heaven again.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Finale woord.
Tydens bogenoemde funksie het Lou Reed die bedankings gedoen en so afgesluit:
“We’re so lucky to be alive at the same time Leonard Cohen is”






Sunday, September 26, 2010

In Die Middel van ‘n Diep Donker Dam.


Midlake, 'n Jethro Tull geinspireerde groep, het sy ontstaan in 1999 in 'n Texas universiteit gehad. In 2006 het hulle my gemesmeraais met hul juweel "The Trials of Van Occupanther" wat die pragtige "Roscoe" opgelewer het. Hulle het egter sopas hul nuutste album "The Courage of Others " uitgebring.

'n Paar snitte hierop kan op hul webwerf  http://midlake.net/ na geluister word.
Die album is 'n eerbetoon aan die 1966 Russiese film "Andrei Rublev" deur Andrei Tarkovsky.
Luister en kyk bietjie na hierdie twee voorbeelde:
Midlake - Rulers, ruling all things


Midlake - Acts of Man


Toe SA Musiek die "Albums van die Dekade"  lys op 13 Januarie 2010  uitgereik het, was "The Trials of Van Occupanther" op album no. 52. 
 "The Courage of Others " sal gewis in die top tien van die volgende dekade eindig!



Friday, September 24, 2010

The Power of Music

Ek gaan nie probeer slim woorde hierby sit nie.



Lili Marlene




Lili Marleen
Vor der Kaserne
Vor dem großen Tor
Stand eine Laterne
Und steht sie noch davor
So woll'n wir uns da wieder seh'n
Bei der Laterne wollen wir steh'n
Wie einst Lili Marlene.
Wie einst Lili Marlene.

Unsere beide Schatten
Sah'n wie einer aus
Daß wir so lieb uns hatten
Das sah man gleich daraus
Und alle Leute soll'n es seh'n
Wenn wir bei der Laterne steh'n
Wie einst Lili Marlene.
Wie einst Lili Marlene.

Deine Schritte kennt sie,
Deinen schönen Gang
Alle Abend brennt sie,
Doch mich vergaß sie lang
Und sollte mir ein Leids gescheh'n
Wer wird bei der Laterne stehen
Mit dir Lili Marlene?
Mit dir Lili Marlene?

Aus dem stillen Raume,
Aus der Erde Grund
Hebt mich wie im Traume
Dein verliebter Mund
Wenn sich die späten Nebel drehn
Werd' ich bei der Laterne steh'n
Mit dir Lili Marlene.
Mit dir Lili Marlene.

Lili Marlene
In front of the barracks,
In front of the main gate,
Stood a lamppost,
It still stands out front,
We want to see each other there again,
We want to stand by the lamppost,
As before, Lili Marleen,
As before, Lili Marleen.

Our two shadows
Looked like one,
That we held each other so fondly
Someone would think we were one.
And everybody will see it
If we stand by the lamppost,
As before, Lili Marleen,
As before, Lili Marleen.

Already the guard was crying,
“They’re blowing taps.
That could cost you three days.”
“Comrade, I’m coming right away.”
There we said farewell,
But I would rather have gone with you,
With you, Lili Marleen,
With you, Lili Marleen.

She knows your footsteps,
Your special stride.
Every evening she is burning,
Though she forgot me long ago.
And if a mishap should befall me,
Who would stand by the lamppost,
With you, Lili Marleen,
With you, Lili Marleen?

From out of silent space,
From out the lands of Earth,
Your beloved lips uplift me
As if in a dream.
When the nocturnal mists swirl,
I will be standing by the lamppost,
As before, Lili Marleen,
As before, Lili Marleen.



Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Blind Willie McTell (5 Mei, 1898 – 19 Augustus, 1959)


Blind Willie was een van my eerste posts op my blog en het sederdien soos sokkies in die was verdwyn?
Die laaste paar dae, sedert die Willie Joe Duncan post het 'n paar mense navraag gedoen oor Blind Willie.
Ek het hom nou maar gaan soek en afgestof.
My vriend Paul  stuur op 'n keer vir my 'n skakel na die volgende webwerf 78rpm records and cylinder recordings Archive  Een aand laat ontdek ek toe hier 'n song  Statesboro Blues wat  meer as 27,000 keer al afgelaai was. My aand is toe daarmee heen, want tot in die vroë oggendure het Blind Willie my met sy verhaal en musiek gefassineer.

Blind Willie was gebore in Thomson, Georgia en het naby Statesboro grootgeword. Blindgebore, alhoewel hy in sy kinderdae effens uit een oog kon sien, het hy vroeg begin mondfluitjie speel en later kitaar.
Sy ouers het albei kitaar gespeel en sy oom was die legendariese Tom Dorsey. In sy tienerjare het Willie oorgeskakel na 'n 12 snaar kitaar. Willie se 12 snaar tegniek was egter uniek en anders as die ander bluesman het Willie die resonansies van 'n 12 snaar geignoreer en met sy elegante,  unieke druk en fingerwerk tegniek, die 12 snaar laat klink soos twee kitare wat speel. Willie het by verskillende blinde skole in Georgia skool gegaan, later in New York en Michigan en was 'n bedrewe braile leser.
 Mooi voorbeelde van sy musiek kan hier na geluister en bekom word.


Bruce Eder- skryf soos volg oor Willie
Blind Willie McTell was one of the giants of the blues, as a guitarist and as a singer and recording artist. Hardly any of his work as passed down to us on record is less than first rate, and this makes most any collection of his music worthwhile. A studious and highly skilled musician whose skills transcended the blues, he was equally adept at ragtime, spirituals, story-songs, hillbilly numbers, and popular tunes, excelling in all of these genres. He could read and write music in braille, which gave him an edge on many of his sighted contemporaries, and was also a brilliant improvisor on the guitar, as is evident from his records. Willie always gave an excellent account of himself, even in his final years of performing and recording.

Searching The Desert For The Blues

You may search the ocean, you might go 'cross the deep blue sea
But Mama, you'll never find another hot shot like me
I followed my baby from the station to the train
And the blues came down like night and showered me
I left her at the station wringing her hands and crying
I told her she had a home, just as long as I had mine
I've got two women, and you can't tell them apart
I've got one in my bossom, and one I got in my heart
The one in my bossom, she's in Tennessee
And the one in my heart, don't even give a darn for me
I used to say a married woman was the sweetest thing that ever been born
But I've changed that thing, you better leave married women alone
Take my advice: let these married women be
'Cause their husbands'll grab you, beat you ragged as a cedar tree
When a woman say she love you 'bout good as she do herself,
I don't pay her no attention, tell that same line to somebody else
I really don't believe no woman in the whole round world do right,
act like an angel in the daytime, mess by the ditch at night
I'm going, pretty mama, please don't break this rule;
that's why I'm searching these deserts for the blues
I'm going, pretty mama, searching these deserts now
That's why I'm walking my baby home anyhow
Lord, oh Lord
Lordy, Lordy, Lord
Oh Lordy Lord
Lord, Lord, Lord
When a woman say she love you 'bout good as she do herself,
I don't pay her no attention, tell that same line to somebody else
Lord, Lord
Lord, Lord, Lord


McTell worked under a variety of names, and with a multitude of partners, including his one time wife Ruthy Kate Williams (who recorded with him under the name Ruby Glaze), and also Buddy Moss and Curley Weaver. McTell cut some of his best songs more than once in his career. Like many bluesmen, he recorded under different names simultaneously, and was even signed to Columbia and Okeh Records, two companies that ended up merged at the end of the 1930s, at the same time under two names. His recording career never gave Willie quite as much success as he had hoped, partly due to the fact that some of his best work appeared during the depths of the Depression. He was uniquely popular in Atlanta, where he continued to live and work throughout most of his career, and, in fact, was the only blues guitarist of any note from the city to remain active in the city until well after World War II.
Willie was well known enough that Library of Congress archivist John Lomax felt compelled to record him in 1940, although during the war, like many other acoustic country bluesmen, his recording career came to a halt. Luckily for Willie and generations of listeners after him, however, there was a brief revival of interest in acoustic country blues after World War II that brought him back into the studio. Amazingly enough, the newly founded Atlantic Records — which was more noted for its recordings of jazz and R&B — took an interest in Willie and cut 15 songs with him in Atlanta during 1949. The one single released from these sessions, however, didn't sell, and most of those recordings remained unheard for more than 20 years after they were made. A year later, however, he was back in the studio, this time with his longtime partner Curley Weaver, cutting songs for the Regal label. None of these records sold especially well, however, and while Willie kept playing to anyone who would listen, the bitter realities of life had finally overtaken him, and he began drinking on a regular basis. He was rediscovered in 1956, just in time to get one more historic session down on tape.
It's your time to worry

In 1956 het 'n  Atlanta platewinkel bestuurder , Edward Rhodes, ontdek McTell speel op die straathoek vir pennies en hy lok hom toe in sy winkel in met 'n bottel whiskey  Hier neem hy toe Willie se finale optrede op met 'n weggesteekte bandopnemer . Dit was na Willie se dood vrygestel op die Prestige/Bluesville Records Label as Blind Willie McTell se laaste sessie. Bob Dylan het 'n pragtige lied Blind Willie Mctell oor Blind Willie geskryf en dit word mooi hier opgevoer deur The Highlights, 'n Bob Dylan Tribute Band.

Rest in Peace



Monday, June 21, 2010

Willie Joe Duncan


Rockmusiek waarmee ek groot geword het sy oorsprong in die Blues van die 50's.
Onlangs loop ek by 'n pandjieswinkel in Oudshoorn in en loop ure later uit met omtrent 24 stokou vinals. Onder andere Big Boss Man van Jimmy Reed. In my oplees van Jimmy kom ek af op 'n "collaboration" tussen Jimmy Reed en Willie Joe Duncan. Willie was eksentriek en in die jare voor Chet Atkins die Gretsc help populêr maak het, het Willie vir homself 'n eensnaar unitar gebou en "ge-electrify".
Hiermee het hy in Chicago in Maxwell Street saam met Jimmy Reed begin speel.





Jimmy beskryf hom in 'n (Living Blues #1, June 1975) onderhoud so:
"...he was doin this old crazy thing, with this one strand of wire, he wasn't lettin' me lose him nowhere; now, how he was catchin' me on that one strand of broom wire I don't know! But he was doing it all right. He could play that string of wire with a bottle, if he didn't do it with his finger he'd do it with a little old piece of leather on his finger or something he'd pick it with. But on that one strand of wire on that board he could find whatever I was playin' on that guitar. Now that was somethin' I sure hated to lose. Yeah, I hated to lose Jody because it just was a crazy old thing".


Cherokee Dance  is een van die mooiste stukkies blues in my versameling.


Sam Wilson is nog 'n man wat in daai jare sy dollar met 'n unitar verdien het.





Friday, May 21, 2010

Table Top Joe aka Michel Petrucciani

'n Wyle terug het ek  'n post geplaas oor Tom Waits se Poor Edward uit die Alice album.
Een van die ander snitte op Alice was Table Top Joe soos van die amptelike 2002 album.
Daar was ook 'n 1992 bootleg opname, Alice Demos,  hierop klinkTable Top Joe so!
Die snit se woorde gaan so:
"Well my mama didn't want me
on the day i was born
i was born without a body
i got nothing but scorn
but i always loved music
all i had was my hands
i'd dreamed i'd be famous
and I'd work at the sands"

en verder...

"I had trouble with the pedals
but i had a strong left hand
and i could play stravinsky
on a baby grand"

en verder....

"and the man without a body
proved everyone wrong
i was rich and i was famous
i was where i belonged, yeah"



Hierdie is die 2002 weergawe:


Ek het nou al jare lank prentjies en beelde in my verbeelding gemaak van hoe die skepsel van Tom Waits, wie se ma hom nie wou hê, wat sirkus toe was en klavier begin speel het, maar nie by die voetpedale kon bykom nie, nou eintlik moes lyk. Nou het ek met 'n ompad by my eintlike onderwep uitgekom :  Michel Petrucciani .

Ek is oortuig êrens moes die twee kunstenaars se paaie gekruis het vir Tom om dié lied te kon skryf. Michel Petrucciani was 'n frans/italiaanse pianis wat in 1962 in Orange, Frankryk uit 'n musikale familie gebore was. Michel was gebore met  osteogenesis imperfecta, 'n genetiese siekte wat bros beenstruktuur teweeg bring en in baie gevalle ook 'n kort postuur. In die beginjare van sy loopbaan het sy pa en broer hom ingedra na sy vertonings en later ook sy bestuurder. Om geld te spaar het dié baie aande hom hotelkamer toe gesmokkel binne in 'n tas.
'n Pragtige dokumentêr van Michel Petrucciani  kan hier gekyk word.

Op 20 jarige ouderdom het hy na die VSA verhuis. Hier het hy die legendariese Charles Loyd gaan soek en opgespoor. Charles, 'n veteraan saxophone speler wat op sy tyd in groepe van B. B. King, Howlin' Wolf, Bobby "Blue" Bland,The Doors en jare saam met die Beach Boys getoer en opgetree het, was afgetree en het 'n kluisenaars bestaan gevoer. Hulle het begin saam speel en op 22Februarie, 1985 toe dra Charles vir Petrucciani in sy arms op die verhoog van die New York se Stadsaal, sit hom op die klavierstoel neer en die res is geskiedenis. Die aand word die bekroonde "One Night with Blue Note" verfilm.



Michel Petrucciani "born without a body" met 'n 'strong left hand' hy het verseker 'proofed everyone wrong' . Michel is op 6 Januarie, 1999 oorlede en is in die Père Lachaise begrafplaas naas Chopin begrawe.


Tone omkrul lekker!
(Dankie John)

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Bill Fay


Hierdie Groen Ghoen van ons het vele versteekte musiekjuwele.
Bill Fay is 'n Engelse sanger, skrywer en pianis. In 1976 bring hy 'n Solus Sewe plaat uit "Some Good Advice"/"Screams in my Ears"
Hierdie plaatjie is tans op Ebay te koop en die bidding trek al by $1050 !
Uncut beskryf hom as die missing link tussen Bob Dylan, Ray Davies en Nick Drake. Wilco het al een van sy komposisies "Be Not So Fearful" opgeneem. Die 1970 album net getiteld John Fay is 'n meesterstuk.
Iemand het destyds lelik opgeslip met die album se bemarking.



Kan iemand verduidelik hoekom hierdie song nooit 'n hit was nie ?  









“Screams In The Ears”
Offer your sherry to somebody else
I’ve got nothing to say
‘Cept my wife’s in the bedroom with everyone else
But I don’t want to play

Will you stop asking me who I am?
Go and find someone else
To tell your jokes to
What a great party this is

Monday, May 3, 2010

Melanie Safka


Woodstock 40 jaar gelede en 80,000,000 miljoen plateverkope later met sangers soos Cher, Dolly Parton, Macy Gray, Ray Charles, New Seekers, Vicky Leandros, Alison Mojet, Will Olham, Nina Simone ensovoorts wat jou liedjies opneem . Die eerste Pop/Rock kunstenaar wat in Carnegie Hall, die Metropolitan Opera House, die Sydney Opera House, en in die Verenigde Nasie se Algemene Vergadering staande ovasies ontvang het. Unicef se verteenwoordiger, tuisteskepper en ma, Emmy wenner, restaurant entrepeneur en musiekblyspel skrywer wat sedert Woodstock bykans elke jaar tot 2007 'n album die lig laat sien het....soos Keth Moon haar op die verhoog tydens die Isle of Wright Festifval in 1970 voorgestel het......dames en here.....the penultimate flower-child....Melanie Safka !
Jare later tydens die 20e verjaarsdagviering van Woodstock het Jimi Hendrix se pa vir haar weer onder groot toejuiging op die verhoog verwelkom.
Minder as 'n handvol vroulike sangers was op Woodstock, en van hulle het twee liedjies oor die konsert neergepen. Joni Mitchell het te laat vir haar eie Woodstock optrede opgedaag nadat sy ure lank in die verkeersknoop vasgesit het, het die lied "Woodstck"geskryf.
Melanie se optrede by die fees het in gietende reën begin en toe dit opklaar het die masiewe skare haar toegejuig en kerse aangesteek. Hieroor het sy toe Lay Down (Candles in the Rain) geskryf.



Candles in the Rain was'n passievolle intense opname wat na aan die rigeleuse grens asof Melanie tydens die konsert 'n geestelike belewing ondergaan het en uit hierdie ervaring juis die inspirasie vir die lied put.  Die solo sewe het op die rugkant dieselfde lied, maar voorgedra deur Melanie.
In die video hierbo het sy die twee kante saamgebruik.
Little sisters of the sun
Lit candles in the rain
Fed the world on oats and raisins
Candles in the rain
To be there was to remember
So lay it down again
Men can live as brothers
Candles in the rain


Seker Melanie se bekenste treffer!



Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Joni Mitchell, Marianne Faithfull en Melanie Safka word vandag erken as dié vroulike rock ikone.
Melanie Safka is steeds aktief, reis die wêreld vol , kom pas van 'n Europese toer terug,  is besig met 'n Hippie Festival en tree maandeinde weer in Holland op. Melanie het drie kinders, almal musikante, en haar seun Beau-Jarred is 'n kitaarspeler en tree saam met haar op.  Met uitsondering van een,  het haar man Peter Schekeryk, al haar plate geproduce.


Lay down lay down, let it all down
Let your white birds smile up at the
Ones who stand and frown
Lay down lay down, let it all down
Let your white birds smile up at the
Ones who stand and frown*
We were so close, there was no room
We bled inside each others wounds
We all had caught the same disease
And we all sang the songs of peace
Chorus

So raise the candles high cause if you
Don't we could stay black against the night
Oh raise them higher again and if you
Do we could stay dry against the rain
Chrous

We were so close there was no room
We bled inside each others wounds
We all had caught the same disease
And we all sang the songs of peace
Some came to sing, some came to pray
Some came to keep the dark away
So raise the candles high
Cause if you don't we could stay
Black against the sky
Oh oh raise them higher again

And if you do we could stay dry against the rain
Chorus