Okay, my posting has been paltry in the past year or so. I have a good excuse as I went through breast cancer and major surgery and reconstruction. I say that not to elicit sympathy – please know I am cancer free and full of gratitude – but just to explain my spotty presence. And you know what? I got the right to sing the blues! Nonetheless, life goes on… I have many blog posts in mind for you roots music loving folks out there, and will be posting soon about a variety of real cool music.
Gonna toot my own horn for a minute here. Back in 2009, I posted on the Texas Blues and mentioned Gary Clark, Jr. as an amazing talent. I actually saw him live at the Continental Club in Austin, back around 2004 or 2005 and literally got the goosebumps. You know you’re hearing something special when you got the goosebumps. Anyhow, now he’s the business – appearing on the PBS White House Blues special (scroll down for his performance) with legends like BB King, Buddy Guy, Mick Jagger, etc. He’s appeared with Alicia Keys and she had some really fond words about him. And his new album, “The Bright Lights EP,” has generated quite a buzz. Remember folks you heard it here first at ROOTNOTEMUSIC!
Speaking of Buddy Guy, “Baby Please Don’t Leave Me”:
And just because, my favorite Bobby Blue Bland tune, “I Pity The Fool”:
This song really was the start of my love affair with the blues. The greatest. Muddy Waters “Still A Fool”…”I’ve been crazy, all of my life….”
And here’s Mr. Clark, Jr. Congrats to him on his success and I hope he continues to rise. Here he is singing “Catfish Blues” at the White House:
I don’t know much about this band. I just found out through a friend (shout out to Deb in New Orleans) about Alabama Shakes. This band, featuring the vocals of Brittany Howard, does the music that I love. It hits me in the heart, soul, and gut. This is where music belongs and I love that it breaks your heart open and lets it bleed a little.
Alabama Shakes:
Thanks for the inspiration. Man, I love this down-home, American-born-and-bred blues-rock. Nothin’ like it.
Scott Bomar, the musical mind behind the award-winning soundtrack of Hustle & Flow AND the producer of the band, The City Champs, has a really cool project going on in the style of Booker T & The MGs, called The Bo-Keys.
I love this short 12 minute documentary about the background of these guys – some serious history between them all! They’ve played with major soul and blues greats including Isaac Hayes, Bobby “Blue” Bland and others. I heard they’ll be playing the Ponderosa Stomp in New Orleans in September. Should be a good time!
Since September is traditionally back-to-school month, I thought I’d do a short history lesson on some of the most influential roots piano players. Whether barrelhouse, boogie woogie, boogaloo, or rumba, hard pounding rhythmic piano playing has found its home in the brothels and the concert halls, with styles traveling that swath of land and sea from the Caribbean up through the blues highway to Chicago.
Let’s start our journey at the barrellhouse, defined as both a 1) disreputable old-time saloon or bawdyhouse and 2) an early style of jazz characterized by boisterous piano playing, free group improvisation, and an accented two-beat rhythm.
Champion Jack Dupree was the epitome of New Orleans boogie woogie and barrelhouse blues piano. His birthdate disputed, but the year was between 1908 and 1910. He lived a long life, passing in 1992.
James Edward “Jimmy” Yancey was born in Chicago in 1898 and was a famous pianist by 1915 influencing the boogie woogie style of Meade Lux Lewis and Albert Ammon, who were the predecessors of many blues pianists. Despite his musical prowess, he kept his job as a groundskeeper for the Chicago White Sox his entire life.
We all know that New Orleans has birthed some of the greatest jazz and blues piano players including Professor Longhair, Allen Toussaint, Fats Domino, Dr. John, Harry Connick, Jr. and Henry Butler. Less well known outside of the Crescent City is one who left all those guys in awe, James Booker, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest geniuses of New Orleans piano. Often people unfamiliar with his playing will mistake his sound as two simultaneous piano players:
Up to Chicago by way of Mississippi, Otis Spann was a blues piano player most notably with Muddy Waters, but an artist in his own right. Here he is with “Jangleboogie:”
Born in Havana, Cuba in 1913 and considered “one of the greatest pianists in the history of Cuban music, Pedro “Peruchin” Justiz made his name in Havana’s descarga (jam session) craze of the ’50s; along with Ruben Gonzalez, Lili Martinez, and Bebo Valdes, he was instrumental in shifting the piano into a much more rhythmic role in Afro-Cuban music (source)”. Here is “Peruchin”:
Puerto Rican pianist Noro Morales, born in 1912, was an innovator of combining rhythm and melody, rising to the top of the mambo and rumba word. He played with some of the mambo and salsa greats including Tito Rodríguez, José Luis Moneró, Chano Pozo, Willie Rosario and Tito Puente.
I couldn’t leave out Nuyorican Charlie Palmieri. Less well known than his brother Eddie Palmieri, Charlie gave us really solid boogaloo from the 60s to the 70s. He played with Mongo Santamaria among others. If you have the chance to pick up his album, Either You Have It Or You Don’t, do it!
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention country great Floyd Cramer, who did his own rolling country style piano playing, supporting everyone from Patsy Cline, Chet Atkins to Elvis Presley. Here he is with Chet Atkins:
I am in love with the Los Angeles band, La Santa Cecilia, named after the patron saint of music. They play an eclectic fusion of everything soulful – from boleros to rancheros, cumbias to klezmer, folk and jazz/jam to their own unique take on the Beatles. Lead singer La Marisoul is absolutely adorable and on stage is simply fierce – simmering with sultry vocals. Guitar player Gloria Estrada is a complete bad-ass; laid back as cool as any blues cat out there. The guys in the band, all 100% on point: percussionist Miguel Ramirez, drummer Hugo Vargas, Alex Bendana on upright bass, and Jose Carlos on Requinto and accordion. This band is tight – solid and all smooth as can be, each member with their own unique style and coolness.
They are coming up strong this year with songs appearing on shows including Weeds and Entourage, playing SXSW, the Hollywood Bowl, and the GRAMMY block party. They are generating quite a buzz, with veterans of the music biz being blown away by their sound. La Santa Cecilia…I guarantee we will be hearing a lot more of them and thank goodness for that because they are the real deal.
One of my favorite musicians/bands is North Florida’s JJ Grey & Mofro. They were first MOFRO and now they go by JJ Grey & Mofro, but regardless I’ve been following since their first album, Blackwater. My sister played them for me and I fell deeply in love at first sound. I listened to that album on repeat for days and then went out bought my own copy and have bought every album since. I love the band’s vibe, mixing up Southern rock, straight up funk, and a raw groove. It’s just plain sexy.
JJ Grey is more than a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and soulful vocalist. He is a storyteller, a folk philosopher, and a cultural historian. He sings with such passion about the beauty of the simple things in life and his homeland, the country in Northern Florida, on the outskirts of Jacksonsville. If you are a fan of great music, go see them live – you will thank me later.
The title song from their second album, Lochloosa:
Many of JJ’s songs have a mystical quality, interweaving mysterious stories about relationships and people’s lives while connecting with the magic of the natural world. This is “Dewdrops,” from Orange Blossoms:
This past weekend was full of musical and cultural inspiration as I journeyed through the land of my birth, Los Angeles. First up was DJ Moonbaby’s set at the Natural History Museum’s First Friday event near downtown Los Angeles. The DJ booth was set up in front of a replica of giant African elephants across the hall from the giant T-Rex. Moonbaby played her own eclectic mix of electronic groove a la Portishead and then some old school hip hop and funk. One of my favorites (you know I love that funk) was Rick James’ “Give It To Me Baby,” a classic late 70s/early 80s funk dance hit complete with the horns. Here’s a performance from the 1982 Grammy Awards show:
After that my friend and I headed west, meandering through downtown LA, Echo Park (the area I spent the first few years of my life), through memories in Hollywood to enjoy a late dinner at Canter’s Deli on Fairfax. This was the spot for grabbing a late night meal after a hard night of dancing or seeing a music show when I was a wild teenager. Their bar, the Kibitz Room, has its own place in the LA music history as many great musicians have jammed there after hours. Guns N Roses were just an unknown band playing there back in the 80s. After all these years, I finally took a closer look at the mural outside of Canter’s depicting the history of the Jewish community in Los Angeles. I happen to be a huge fan of LA murals and this one was quite moving. Here’s one of the scenes:
As we left Canter’s, my friend popped in Chavez Ravine by Ry Cooder, an album that tells a story of one segment of the Chicano community in Los Angeles by chronicling the history of a barrio that was destroyed to make way for Dodger’s Stadium. On this album, Cooder brings together many Mexican-American musicians including some of the guys from Los Lobos and the legendary Chicano musician and activist Lalo Guerrero. Here is one of my favorite tunes by Lalo from this album, “Chuchos Suaves”:
Here is Lalo doing his ode to the blues, “Muy Sabroso Blues”:
My mom and I went out to Malibu on Saturday to spend some time at the beach for mother’s day and we saw pro surfer, Laird Hamilton, when we were having lunch. He is a big wave surfing legend, known for doing what no human does, surfing these mega monster big waves:
Later on that same day, walking through the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, a cacophony of sounds greeted me as dozens of street performers lined the street. A band that really drew me in was a horn ensemble, playing haunting minor chord infused Eastern European folk tunes, the Petrovic Blasting Company:
Los Angeles has much more to offer than my tiny slice of life and I hope to bring you more future posts on the cultural and musical diversity and history of this mega-tropolis. Happy traveling…
Photo by Melanie Martinez (c) 2009 in Austin, Texas.
ROOTNOTEMUSIC BLOG 