J. B Lenoir.

Here’s a real treat; J. B. Lenoir accompanied by Chess label stalwart Fred Below on drums.

This simple, cut-down performance had the little hairs on the back of my neck standing up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flJ8zUYAyrQ

Fred Below.

Jimmy Rogers.

The work of Jimmy Rogers came across my radar recently.

I had ‘Walking by Myself’ on a collection of Blues tracks and had instantly dismissed it. There was something about the jaunty swing of the number that I just couldn’t relate to; it was too damned….cheery, (despite the forlorn lyric theme).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhjDXXEcocg

But, listen to the harmonica backing.

 It hovers in the background, active and busy but subtly lurking underneath the main theme, and then when Rogers pauses for breath – in comes a harp solo that is breathtaking!

The story is that the regular sidesman was not available for the harp part and Big Walter Horton was parachuted in at the last moment. Horton is without a doubt one of the most accomplished, confident and coolly relaxed harp players on the Chicago scene, and here is Big Walter at his best.

Jimmy Rogers is probably better known for ‘That’s alright’.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU0rBtYCIHg

Paul Butterfield on quiz show.

Who would have thought that Chicago blues harmonica player would have ever appeared on a quiz show? Yet here he is as a seemingly anonymous contestant placed in front of a panel of regular pundits whose job is to identify the real Paul Butterfield.

‘Will the real Paul Butterfield please stand up’!

 Butterfield is then invited to strut his stuff – well worth seeing through to the end. Butterfield performs 'Born in Chicago'. Not sure that the band they give him are fully aware of what he's doing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw7lbGqc4x8

Practice Methods and Storage.

I am always looking for new ways to practice and improve my harp playing. I guess all musicians have their own methods of how to get the best out of their time. Mine is to play in twenty minute intervals as an absolute minimum. Sometimes, in a day I will have three or four of these micro practice sessions.

I also have various focus areas. Occasionally I will go back to some of the old tutor books I used when I first started playing; not the very basic ones, but the ones that still give me a bit of a challenge. Most of my current practice is to play along with some classic tracks; Sonny Boy Williamson, Little Walter, Howlin’ Wolf, Big Walter Horton,  Slim Harpo, etc.  But it’s how I organise my resources I want to comment on here.

All of the music I work from is digital downloads. I’ll either work from CDs played through a laptop or from downloaded tracks on a Kindle Fire HD. It’s the Kindle I find most useful as I have organised it so that there are a series of playlists all in the different keys (D harp tracks, C harp tracks, etc.). The playlists play through on shuffle which keeps me on my toes. The Kindle has a punchy little speaker and is very compact. Overall it is ideal for storage and keeping information together.

Adam Gussow book.

A little while back I read the autobiography of blues supremo Adam Gussow, titled ‘Mister Satan’s Apprentice, a Blues Memoir’.

Gussow earned his spurs on the streets of New York City under his mentors Nat Riddles and Sterling Magee.

This book fascinated me on many fronts. I enjoyed the honesty of Gussow and the boldness of his confessional approach. The descriptions of the music and the development of the young musician learning his craft were also fascinating. Although I would have loved to have heard more about his experiences as a street musician in Europe, he skimmed over that part too lightly. Maybe there was too much info on his experiences as part of the musical ‘Big River’, I found that part a real drag.

I thoroughly recommend this book.