1900 Walter Page*
1917 Arbee Stidham*
1937 Johnny Heartsman*
1943 Pete Karnes*
1958 Bill Evans*
1962 Catfish Keith*
1977 Buddy Johnson+
1997 Jack Owens+
2013 Leopold von Knobelsdorff+
Happy Birthday
Walter Page *09.02.1900
Walter Sylvester Page (* 9. Februar 1900 in Gallatin, Missouri; † 20. Dezember 1957 in New York City, New York) war ein amerikanischer Jazzmusiker (Kontrabassist, Bandleader) des Swing.
Leben und Werk
Walter Page erhielt eine gründliche musikalische Ausbildung in Kansas City, er lernte zuerst Baritonhorn und Kontrabass, dann Saxophon, Geige, Klavier, Gesang und Stimmbildung, Komposition und das Arrangieren.[1] Zu Beginn seiner Karriere arbeitete er in der Band von Willie Lewis, den er als feinen Musiker bezeichnete. In den frühen 1920ern arbeitete er außerdem mit Bennie Moten und Dave Lewis.[1]
Die Blue Devils
1927 zerbrach die Band von Willie Lewis und nach einigen Engagements in kleinen Bands gründete Page die Blue Devils, die die unangefochtene Territory Band um Oklahoma wurde. Page und Bennie Moten, der damals in Kansas City die führende Bigband hatte, gingen in Kenntnis ihrer beiden Stärken und Schwächen einem cutting contest (battle) beider Bands aus dem Weg.
So ist er vor allem als Bandleader und als Gründer von Walter Page's Blue Devils bekannt geworden, einer Swingband der späten 1920er und frühen 1930er Jahre, die zunächst in der Gruppe von Bennie Moten und letztlich in der Big Band von Count Basie aufging. In die Jazzgeschichte ging Page vor allem als der Kontrabassist ein, auf dessen Pionierarbeit der heute klassische Begleitstil des Walking Bass zurückgeht. In den frühen Jahren seiner Laufbahn war er jedoch, wie in den damaligen Jazzbands des Mittleren Westens üblich, ein Multiinstrumentalist. Bis in die erste Hälfte der 1930er Jahre spielte Page, wie viele seiner Kollegen, die Bass-Stimmen vieler Arrangements auf der Tuba ein, gelegentlich auch auf den tiefen Saxophonen (Bariton und Bass). Auf all diesen Instrumenten trat er sporadisch auch als Solist hervor.
Die Band war teilweise so erfolgreich, dass sie sich vom ersten größeren Verdienst einen großen Tourenwagen für die ausgedehnten Touren leisteten konnte. Sie arbeitete als zehnköpfige Band im Umkreis von fünfzig Meilen um El Reno, Shawnee, Chickashay und die kleinen Städte. Ihr Territorium (deshalb die Bezeichnung territory bands) verteidigte sie gegen andere Bands in cutting contests und schlug so gelegentlich die Bands von Jesse Stone und George E. Lee.
1928 gehörte Bill „Count“ Basie der Band für einige Monate an und auch der Bluessänger Jimmy Rushing kam dazu. 1929 verließen nach und nach zuerst Basie und Eddie Durham und dann Jimmy Rushing die Band und gingen zu Bennie Moten, der ihnen bessere Gehälter bieten konnte.
1929 spielte die Band ihre einzigen beiden Aufnahmen mit Page ein: Squabblin und Blue Devils Blues. Squabblin, komponiert von Basie, bestätigt die beeindruckenden Soli und Ensemblepassagen, und Jimmy Rushing singt mit einer feineren Stimme als man es später bei Basie kennt. Der Blue Devil Blues ist in einem sehr entspannten half beat gehalten und ist halb so schnell wie die vergleichbaren stomps der Zeit bei Moten. Das ganze Stück ist mit Bläser-Riffs aufgebaut, bis auf eine Ensemblepassage am Schluss. Das Stück ist gleichzeitig die erste Aufnahme von Jimmy Rushing. Es beginnt als c-Moll-Blues und endet als Es-Dur-Blues.[2]
Gegen 1930 verließ noch Oran „Hot Lips“ Page, Starsolist und Halbbruder von Walter, die Band und wurde durch Harry Smith ersetzt. Lester Young gehörte auch kurzzeitig zur Band (und war auch später in der Nachfolgeband, den 13 Original Blue Devils).[3]
Page musste 1931 die Band verlassen. Gerade zu dieser Zeit hatte Page vor, sich in Richtung des wichtigen Zentrums New York vorzuarbeiten und die Band hatte gerade gute Engagements. Er hatte einem Pianisten eine Anstellung versprochen, konnte dies aber nicht einhalten, da sich ein Musiker seiner Band mit dem Pianisten nicht verstand und ihre Zusammenarbeit in der Band nur Dissens gebracht hätte. Daraufhin wurde er von der Musikergewerkschaft zu einer Strafe von 250 Dollar verurteilt. Mit dieser Strafe und seinen eigenen familiären Verpflichtungen konnte er die Gehälter der Bandmitglieder nicht mehr zahlen und überließ die Band James Simpson, damit die bereits gebuchten Konzerttermine wahrgenommen werden konnten. Danach spielte Page wieder mit kleinen Gruppen, schloss sich schließlich Bennie Moten an und spielte 1934 mit den Jeter-Pillars.
Die Blue Devils ohne Walter Page
Nachdem Page gegangen war, entschieden der Saxophonist Buster Smith und der Sänger Ernest Williams, die Band weiterzuführen. Als Leiter brachten sie Leroy „Snake“ White in die Band und nannten sich The 13 Original Blue Devils. Wieder spielte Lester Young mit. Sie spielten im Ritz Ballroom in Oklahoma City. Buster Smith bemerkte selbstbewusst: „Wir hatten eine starke Band. Wir waren ziemlich stark und sie (Bennie Moten) würden uns auch nicht kriegen. Fast jeder hing hier herum und versuchte mit uns eine battle of music zu bekommen. Wir machten uns aus keiner dieser Bands etwas, bis wir auf Andy Kirk stießen. Er hatte einen guten Blechbläsersatz; es war schwer und setzte uns zu.“
Die Band war eine sogenannte co-operative Band (auch Commonwealth Band), das heißt, sie stimmte über Bandangelegenheiten ab und teilte die Einnahmen entsprechend einer Abmachung mehr oder weniger gleichmäßig (der Bandleader bekam etwas mehr). Sie verpasste die Chance zu überregionaler Bekanntheit, als sie nach knapper Abstimmung ein Engagement mit Fats Waller in Cincinnati für eine anderthalbstündige Show ausschlug, weil die Bezahlung zu niedrig war. Stattdessen tourte die Band in der Gegend von Kentucky und West Virginia, wo sie noch unbekannt war, was in einem Fiasko endete. Als sie 1933 niedergeschlagen in einem Club spielten, stellte sich heraus, dass der Buchungsagent sie nur für die Eintrittsgelder spielen ließ, die mit etwa 30 Dollar pro Abend zu niedrig waren. Die Polizei pfändete daraufhin noch die Instrumente, die sie nur für die Nachtjobs ausgehändigt bekamen, da sie ihre Schulden gegenüber einem Taxiunternehmen nicht mehr zahlen konnten. Sie wurden aus ihrem Hotel geworfen und einige kehrten in der Art von Hobos auf einem Güterzug nach Kansas City zurück, die anderen als Anhalter. Das war das Ende der Blue Devils. Jap Jones (tb), Ted Ross, Buster Smith (as) und Lester Young schlossen sich Bennie Moten an.
Hätte die Band mit ihrem „schmissigerem“ Sound (Basie) und dem großen Einfluss, den sie auf viele Musiker hatte, in New York Erfolg gehabt, wäre die landesweite Entwicklung des Bigband-„Swing“ möglicherweise früher eingeleitet worden.[1]
Bei Basie und Rhythmusarbeit
Walter Pages musikalisches Interesse, sowohl als Leader wie als Sideman, galt vor allem der Entwicklung und Verfeinerung einer Stilistik für die vier Hauptinstrumente der Rhythmusgruppe (Piano, Gitarre, Bass und Schlagzeug), wie sie schließlich ab ungefähr 1936 in der sogenannten All American Rhythm Section des damaligen Count Basie Orchesters stilprägend verwirklicht wurde. Die drei übrigen dazugehörigen Musiker (Basie als Pianist, der Gitarrist Freddie Green und Jo Jones am Schlagzeug) hoben sämtlich die entscheidende Bedeutung von Pages rhythmischen Ideen für die Entstehung dieses Ensembleklangs hervor. Jo Jones, der die Blue Devils unter Page the greatest band I have ever heard in my life nannte und Page als musikalischen Vater von Basie, Rushing und Buster Smith[4], bezeichnet sich selbst als Schüler von Page, der ihn nebenher zwei Jahre lang in den Feinheiten des Schlagzeug-Spiels unterrichtete (how to phrase, how to turn on what the kids now call ‘dropping bombs’ ... and also a few moral responsibilities). Der swing dieser Spielart unterschied sich für die damaligen Hörer so deutlich von der Musik der übrigen Jazzmetropolen (New York, Chicago), dass man den Stil mit dem Toponym Kansas City Swing belegte − alle vier Musiker hatten in so genannten territory bands gearbeitet, die von dieser Stadt aus durch den Mittel- und Südwesten der USA tourten.
Page selbst verwahrte sich zeitlebens dagegen, als „Erfinder“ der Walking Bass-Technik bezeichnet zu werden, die er selbst auf Duke Ellingtons Bassisten Wellman Braud zurückführte.[5] Kein Zweifel besteht allerdings daran, dass in der Jazzwelt − unter Musikern und Hörern gleichermaßen − die Durchsetzung dieser Spielweise untrennbar mit Pages Namen verbunden ist. Dementsprechend spielte der Bassist neben seiner Arbeit im Basie-Orchester nicht nur mit vielen bedeutenden schwarzen Musikern der Swing-Ära, seine herausgehobene musikalische Position verschaffte ihm auch Engagements bei weißen Bands, zum Beispiel Benny Goodman und Eddie Condon, was durch die Rassentrennung in der damaligen amerikanischen Gesellschaft nicht unproblematisch war. Im Gegensatz zu seinem jüngeren Halbbruder, dem Trompeter Hot Lips Page, blieb Walter immer dem Swing-Stil verbunden und zeigte kein ausgeprägtes Interesse für den nach 1940 aufkommenden Modern Jazz.
Mary Lou Williams: "Ich habe die Basie-Band erlebt, als nur Page und die Bläser auf der Bühne waren. Page ließ die Leute auf seiner Basslinie swingen, als wäre es die einfachste Sache der Welt".[6]
Page war von dessen Anfängen in den Mittdreißigern bis 1942 bei Basie. Dann trennte er sich im Streit von Basie, spielte aber noch einmal von 1946 bis 1949 bei ihm, bis Basie die Band vorübergehend Anfang der 1950er Jahre auflöste. Auf dem Höhepunkt der Swing-Ära in den 1930er Jahren nahm er auch mit anderen Swing-Stars wie Benny Goodman, Harry James und Teddy Wilson auf und begleitete Billie Holiday. Nach seiner Zeit bei Basie spielte er 1952 bei Eddie Condon in New York, 1956 bei Big Joe Turner (Boss of the Blues) und 1957 mit Ruby Braff.[7]. Er ist in den Vierzigern und Fünfzigern auf Aufnahmen von Jay McShann, Buck Clayton, Sidney Bechet, Paul Quinichette, Big Joe Turner, Roy Eldridge, Jo Jones, Jimmy Rushing und Nat Pierce zu hören.[8]
Er starb 1957 an einer Lungenentzündung.
Walter Sylvester Page (February 9, 1900 – December 20, 1957) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist and bandleader, best known for his groundbreaking work as a double bass player with Walter Page's Blue Devils and the Count Basie Orchestra.[1]
Early life
Page was born in Gallatin, Missouri on February 9, 1900 to parents Edward and Blanche Page.[2] Page showed a love for music even as a child, perhaps due in part to the influence of his aunt Lillie, a music teacher. Page's mother, with whom he moved to Kansas City in 1910, exposed him to folksongs and spirituals, a critical foundation for developing his love of music. He gained his first musical experience as a bass drum and bass horn player in the brass bands of his neighborhood.[3] Under the direction of Major N. Clark Smith, a retired military bandleader who provided Page his first formal training in music, Page took up the string bass in his time at Lincoln High School.[2] In an interview in The Jazz Review, Page remembers Major Smith:
Major N. Clark Smith was my teacher in high school. He taught almost everybody in Kansas City. He was a chubby little cat, bald, one of the old military men. He wore glasses on his nose and came from Cuba around 1912 or 1914. He knew all the instruments and couldn’t play anything himself, but he could teach. ...[O]ne day he was looking for a bass player and no one was around, so he looked at me, and said, "Pagey, get the bass." I said, "But," and he repeated, "Get the bass." That's when I got started.[3]
In addition to the influence of Smith, Page also drew inspiration from bassist Wellman Braud, who Page had the opportunity to see when he came to town with a band under the direction of John Wycliffe. "I was sitting right in the front row of the high school auditorium", recalled Page, "and all I could hear was the oomp, oomp, oomp of that bass, and I said, that's for me." What attracted Page to Braud was Braud's intensity. "When Braud got ahold of that bass, he hit those tones like hammers and made them jump right out of the box."[3]
Career
After Page had completed high school, he went on to study to become a music teacher at the University of Kansas at Lawrence. At college, Page completed a three-year course in music in one year, in addition to taking a three-year course on gas engines.[3] Between the years 1918 and 1923, he moonlighted as a tuba, bass saxophone, and string bass player with the Bennie Moten Orchestra.[2] "Fridays and Sundays I played with Bennie Moten and Saturdays with Dave Lewis who was paying me $7.00 a night. Bennie was paying for my food and transportation, so when I'd be finished a weekend [sic] I'd made me $20.00 and had a ball."[3]
In 1923, Page left the Moten band and began an engagement with Billy King's Road Show, touring the Theater Owners' Booking Association (TOBA) circuit across the United States.[2][4] The band included Page's future Basie band mates Jimmy Rushing and Count Basie himself.[5]
The band soon fell apart, however, which led to the formation of Walter Page and the Blue Devils in 1925. The Blue Devils were a territory band based out of the Oklahoma City-Wichita, Kansas area.[6] Throughout various times in its six-year lifespan (1925-1931) the band featured such noteworthy figures as Basie, Rushing, Buster Smith, Lester Young, and Hot Lips Page.[7][8] In his autobiography, Basie recalls the first time he ever saw the Blue Devils Play:
The leader was the heavyset, pleasant-looking fellow playing the bass and doubling on the baritone. His name was Walter Page, and at that time the band was known as Walter Page and his Blue Devils. But you could also hear the musicians addressing him by his nickname, which was Big 'Un. You could also tell right away that they didn't just respect him because he was the boss; they really liked him and felt close to him because he was also one of them."[9]
Page wanted badly to have his band square off against Moten's band, which he states in an interview never happened.[3] Gunther Schuller gives a different account though, writing that "an encounter finally did take place in 1928, and on that occasion Page is reputed to have 'wiped out' the Moten band."[10] What is indisputable, however, is that Moten did seem to shy away from competition with the Blue Devils, opting to buy off individual members with higher salaries and absorb them into his own group rather than do battle directly.[11] Basie and Eddie Durham defected in 1929, followed shortly after by Rushing and Page.[12] Despite this seemingly underhanded tactic, Page still felt that "[Moten] had one of the biggest hearts I knew of."[3] Page attempted to keep his Blue Devils intact, but after the departure of such key members of his band, the difficulties mounted. Unable to find suitable replacements, facing booking problems, and dealing with a musicians' union conflict, Page eventually ceded control of the band to James Simpson.[11][13] He then proceeded to join Moten's band himself in 1931, staying on until 1934.[14] Count Basie describes the immediate effect Walter Page had upon joining the Moten Band: "Big 'Un in there on bass made things a lot different in the rhythm section, and naturally that changed the whole band and made it even more like the Blue Devils."[15]
In an interview published shortly before his death, Page recalls an encounter with Duke Ellington in 1934:
I remember Duke coming through on his way West that year. They were playing the Main Street Theatre and some of the boys in Duke's band wanted to go hear Basie. [Wellman] Braud was in the band and he acted biggety, didn't want to go, said, "What's he got?" We were playing at the Sunset Club and finally Duke and the rest crept around the scrim and started sitting in. I was playing right on top of Duke and he told Basie he was going to steal me out of the band. Basie told him I owed him $300.00 and that's how I didn't get to join Duke during all those good years he had. It was the smartest move Basie ever made.[3]
After his second stint with the Moten band, Page moved to St. Louis to play with the Jeter-Pillars band.[1] Following the death of Moten in 1935, however, Basie took over the former Moten Band, which Page rejoined.[3] Page stayed with the Count Basie Orchestra from 1935 to 1942, an integral part of what came to be called the "All-American Rhythm Section.[16] Together with drummer Jo Jones, guitarist Freddie Green, and pianist Basie, the rhythm section pioneered the "Basie Sound", a style in which Page, as bass player, clearly established the beat, allowing his band mates to compliment more freely. Until this point, the rhythm of a jazz band was traditionally felt in the pianist's left hand and the kick of the bass drum on all four beats.[2] In a sense, the classic Basie rhythm section were liberators.
After his first departure from the Count Basie Orchestra, Page worked with various small groups around Kansas City. He returned to the Basie Band in 1946 for three more years.[2][17] "Big 'Un just decided that he was ready to come back", recalled Basie.[18] After his second stint with Basie, Page worked primarily as a freelancer until his life was cut short in 1957. The artists he worked with in the later portion of his career included former band mate and trumpeter Page, Jimmy McPartland, Eddie Condon, Ruby Braff, Roy Eldridge, Vic Dickenson, Buck Clayton, Rushing, and others, including many Basie alumni.[2][17]
Death
The death of Walter Page on December 20, 1957 was very much a surprise, as the bassist had been playing gigs around New York City right up until his death. It is reported that Page contracted pneumonia on his way to a recording session in the midst of a snowstorm.[2] An obituary in Jet Magazine from January 9, 1958 under the “Died” column, reads: "Walter Page, 57, one of the greatest jazz bass players, who helped Count Basie lead an invasion of Kansas City jazz to New York in 1935; of kidney ailment and pneumonia; at Bellevue Hospital in New York."[19] It is speculated that Walter Page's early death may be a factor contributing to his relative obscurity in the history of jazz, despite his major influence and stylistic contributions.[16][20] In an interview published only a month before his death in The Jazz Review, Walter Page expressed how he never sought praise and that he just wanted to know that he was appreciated for his influence on music.[3]
Style and influence
More than any other jazz bass player in history, Page is credited with developing and popularizing the "walking bass" style of playing on all four beats, a transition from the older, two-beat style.[21] "He started that 'strolling' or 'walking' bass", recalls Harry "Sweets" Edison, "going way up and then coming right on down. He did it on four strings, but other bass players couldn't get that high so they started making a five-string bass."[22] Page himself acknowledged the influence of Wellman Braud, who may have been the first bassist to actually record the "walking bass" technique on Washington Wobble.[12] While it remains unclear who, exactly, was the true 'originator' of the walking bass style, Page is nonetheless accepted as one of, if not the primary, proponent of the style.
Page is seen as the "logical extension of [bassist] Pops Foster", an influential bassist known for his dependable timekeeping.[2][17] Page is also recognized as "one of the first bassists to play four beats to the bar", in contrast to the two-beat style of New Orleans jazz. Band mate Eddie Durham recalls how Page helped make the double bass a viable alternative to bass horns, such as the tuba: "Without amplification, a lot of guys weren't strong enough on bass fiddle. But Walter Page you could hear!"[23] Page's imposing stature led Durham to state that "he was like a house with a note."[24] Jazz critic Gunther Schuller notes describes some of Page's other stylistic contributions: "For the bass functions simultaneously on several levels: as a rhythm instrument; as a pitch instrument delineating the harmonic progression; and, since the days of Walter Page, as a melodic or contrapuntal instrument."[25] Page was also famous for his restraint, a lesson fellow bassist Gene Ramey recounts: "There's a whole lot [you] could do here... but what you must do is play a straight line, because that man out there's waiting for food from you. You could run chord changes on every chord that's going on. You've got time to do it. But if you do, you're interfering with that guy [the soloist]. So run a straight line."[24]
Although he was not well known as a soloist, Walter Page recorded one of the earliest jazz solos on the double bass on "Pagin' the Devil" with the Kansas City Six.[14] He did, however, contribute to the legitimacy of the double bass as a melodic instrument, "open[ing] the door for virtuosos like [Duke Ellington Orchestra bassist] Jimmy Blanton to garner more respect for the instrument", through improvisation. "Without Page setting the table", writes DiCaire, "the exploits of Blanton would never have happened."[2][17] "I'm not just a bass player", Page once said, "I'm a musician with a foundation."[3]
Page had a complex understanding of the roles of all the instruments in his bands, due in no small part to the fact that he was a multi-instrumentalist himself. In fact, on Blue Devil Blues, one of only two recordings of Walter Page's Blue Devils, Page begins on tuba before switching to string bass and finally baritone saxophone, playing all three "astoundingly well".[26] Drummer Jo Jones recalled an instance when "somebody was fooling around [in the band], Mr. Walter Page left his bass, went down quiet as a cat, got the baritone, played the sax parts, and went back to his place."[27]
Page is perhaps best known for his work with the Count Basie Orchestra from 1935 to 1942. Page, drummer Jo Jones, guitarist Freddie Green, and pianist Count Basie became known as the "All-American Rhythm Section" and set the standard for jazz rhythm sections that is still emulated and considered the gold-standard today.[16] Together, the four musicians "created the bedrock for the band to pile on a superstructure of exciting riffs" writes Shipton.[28] Page's playing was a great influence on Jo Jones, who "says that it was Page who really taught him to play in Kansas City: 'An even 4/4'."[29] Indeed, Berliner notes that "During the swing period, Walter Page's largely stepwise walking bass accompaniment in Count Basie's band epitomized the changing emphasis on the four-beat approach to meter described by Foster."[30] "As part of the pianist's outstanding rhythm section", says Richard Cook, "Page's rock-solid time and unflustered swing was a key part of the four-way conversation."[31] Jo Jones describes the dynamic of the rhythm section as a process and a group endeavor: "We worked at it, to build a rhythm section, every day, every night. We worked alone, not with the band all the time. I didn't care what happened—one of us would be up to par. If three were down, one would carry the three. Never four were out."[27] "At its best, the Basie rhythm section was nothing less than a Cadillac with the force of a Mack truck. They more or less gave you a push, or a ride, and they played no favorites, whether you were an E-flat or B-flat soloist."
Walter Page's Blue Devils - Blue Devil Blues (1929)
The Blue Devils were an early Kansas City Jazz band, several members of this band would go on to and play in Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra and the Count Basie Orchestra. The founder of the Blue Devils was Walter Page. The band started in Oklahoma City in 1925. The Blue Devils played in the Southwest and travelling by car played small clubs and dance halls. In 1928 Jimmy Rushing and Bill "Count" Basie joined the band, and would play with them until the following year when Bennie Moten lured Basie away from the band. Shortly after Basie's departure, Durham quit and later Rushing and Lips Page would also join Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra. The Blue Devils regrouped and hired Lester Young and Druie Bess, but Moten ended up absorbing most of the Blue Devils, even including Walter Page. After a series of misadventures in 1933, The Blue Devils found themselves stranded in Virginia, without instruments or money. They hopped a freight train back to St. Louis. Moten ended up hiring the remnants of the band, including Lester Young. After Moten's death in 1935, Count Basie took over the Kansas City Orchestra.
Alvin Borroughs Drums
Walter Page Tuba
Hot Lips Page Tumpet
Reuben Lynch Guitar
Ted Manning Alto Saxophone
Dan Minor Trombone
Reuben Roddy Tenor Saxophone
Jimmy Rushing Vocals
James Simpson Tumpet
Buster Smith Clarinet, Alto Saxophone
Charlie Washington Piano
The Blue Devils were an early Kansas City Jazz band, several members of this band would go on to and play in Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra and the Count Basie Orchestra. The founder of the Blue Devils was Walter Page. The band started in Oklahoma City in 1925. The Blue Devils played in the Southwest and travelling by car played small clubs and dance halls. In 1928 Jimmy Rushing and Bill "Count" Basie joined the band, and would play with them until the following year when Bennie Moten lured Basie away from the band. Shortly after Basie's departure, Durham quit and later Rushing and Lips Page would also join Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra. The Blue Devils regrouped and hired Lester Young and Druie Bess, but Moten ended up absorbing most of the Blue Devils, even including Walter Page. After a series of misadventures in 1933, The Blue Devils found themselves stranded in Virginia, without instruments or money. They hopped a freight train back to St. Louis. Moten ended up hiring the remnants of the band, including Lester Young. After Moten's death in 1935, Count Basie took over the Kansas City Orchestra.
Alvin Borroughs Drums
Walter Page Tuba
Hot Lips Page Tumpet
Reuben Lynch Guitar
Ted Manning Alto Saxophone
Dan Minor Trombone
Reuben Roddy Tenor Saxophone
Jimmy Rushing Vocals
James Simpson Tumpet
Buster Smith Clarinet, Alto Saxophone
Charlie Washington Piano
Pete Karnes *09.02.1943
Lightning Slim, Carey Bell und Big Walter Horten förderten ihn. Er spielte mit B.B. King, Big Walter Horton, Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker, Robert Lockwood, J.B. Hutto, Lightning Slim und Charlie Musselwhite sowie vielen anderen Bluesgrößen. Mitte der achtziger Jahre beendete er seine Musikerkarriere um sich der Familie zu widmen. Ende der Neunziger erkrankte er ernsthaft, ist aber seit 2006 wieder aktiv.
Pete Karnes benötigt keine zwanzig Harps, ich nehme an, daß er die Stücke überwiegend mit einem Instrument gespielt hat. Da gibt es keine Demonstration elektronischen Overkills – ein Musiker, seine Harp, ein Mikrophon und seine Stimme müssen genügen – und das tun sie auch voll und ganz. Seine warme, sonore Stimme paßt hervorragend zu den Songs.
One of the true joys of being “the Blues Stalker” is rediscovering some of the great blues artists that played with some of the late great blues masters from the 60’s and 70’s and listening to the stories they can share of those experiences. Such is the case recently when I had the opportunity to sit down with Pete Karnes, one of the most talented harp masters around. Pete slipped under the radar for the past two decades dealing with personal tragedies but is back with a vengeance and wants to share his love of the music. Pete was born in Piggett, Arkansas but grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan when his family moved there for his dad to work in the growing automobile industry in Detroit. Musical talent was abundant in his family as his five brothers and one sister all played instruments and he loved blues, his mother’s music.
At age 15, he rode to Detroit and began to hang out there and listen to all of the blues cats. Pete claimed it was safe because of the numbers rackets present; no one wanted any trouble with the police. As he tells it: ”I was playing with my own band and started doing parties and things like that in the late 60’s, not even thinking of playing for a living. Then Guitar Johnny called me and said he was supposed to play with Lightnin’ Slim but he had a chance to record with Big Walter Horton and wanted me to cover it for him. It was at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor, Michigan (the same folks that started Blind Pig Records) so I took the gig and that really was the start of my professional career. After that I did a few more gigs with Slim. Slim had a few hit songs on the chitlin’ radio shows with a song called “G.I. Blues” and a few more—he was the kingpin of the Detroit area at that time. After playing with Slim, it opened doors for us and my band started playing in the good clubs. We backed up guys like Boogie Woogie Red and other local blues cats and this was when I met the late Carey Bell. Any time he was in town he would stay at Guitar Johnny’s house or mine. He taught me third position and he learned it from Big Walter. A lot of players can’t hear that position but I could always hear it. I never had any trouble. Carey opened for Big Walter and turned me onto him. Well, Big Walter came to town and I met him and we became lifelong friends, we played together and traveled together.
Then in the mid-70’s myself and two guitar players moved to Portland, Oregon. That is where things really started to roll for us. We started playing five to seven nights a week in the Northwest. We became one of the biggest draw bands on the west coast. In the late 70’s my band backed up John Lee Hooker up in Portland and it went so good that we backed John many times. In 1975 I recorded my first LP ”Shot and a Back” and in 1978 I recorded “Dark of the Woods” on a London label, P.B.R. Records and it sold well in Europe. In 1979 I recorded a double live LP with John Lee Hooker called “the Cream” which was nominated for a Grammy.” John Lee called Pete “one of the best harmonica players I have heard in a long time. The way he boogies reminds me of Al Wilson.”
Pete then started bringing friends out west from Chicago –J.B. Hutto (5 times), Robert Lockwood, Jr., Johnny Shines, Big Walter.” I booked west coast tours. At one of these tours George Thorogood came to see J.B. and introduced himself, later we did two shows with him. We did a west coast tour with Electric Flag, and Mike Bloomfield and I became good friends. We did a west coast tour with B.B. King and Canned Heat. About this time I started bringing up Charlie Musselwhite from the Bay area. That is when I was asked to appear in the first battle of the harmonicas in San Francisco put on by Tom Mazzolini. It was Rod Piazza and Charlie Musselwhite and me and my band. We opened a lot more shows. I just can’t remember it all. I got drinking and doing drugs in the mid-80’s and my wife told me it was the music or my family so I quit playing.”
In 1999 Pete’s wife of over thirty years was diagnosed with brain cancer and was told by West Coast doctors at age 54 to just go home, there was no hope. A close friend knew of a doctor at Shands (U of Fla teaching hospital) in Gainesville who specialized in this type of brain tumor. In 1999, they moved to Bell, Florida, where his aunt and uncle resided in order to be near the hospital. The tumor was removed but sadly, reappeared in other organs two years later and he buried the love of his life and remained in Florida living the blues. To attempt to escape his grief, in 2004 Pete took up long haul trucking and after trying to beg out of a haul due to not feeling well but due to circumstances at the time, he relented and ended up in St. Paul in a very bad accident. “I was dead for 9 minutes, in a coma for 5 weeks, and in a hospital for 5 months.” He advised never to sign an organ donor card because they didn’t expect him to live when he flat-lined, so they just shoved everything in and put mesh to hold it together until harvest time. Consequently, just recently ten hernias from the accident had to be repaired.
With a desire still to play, “in 2006, I started sitting in at area blues jams and started my own band again. In 2010 my guitar player, Phil Coultas, flew out to Portland, Oregon for a Pete Karnes Blues Reunion and it was great. My lead guitar player, Rick Randlett and I have done some gigs as a two piece. I just wanted to play in a band so here we are together. I have had two good offers to go back on the road but I just want to do it for the music that I love.” You have to love an artist who once when traveling with the late Willie Dixon and was dealing with a club owner that didn’t want to pay after the gig, saying after all ‘you got good exposure and that should be enough.’ Whereby, Pete promptly unzipped his pants and said, ”you want exposure, I’ll show you exposure” and Willie fell down, he laughed so hard. Oh the stories… Get to know this guy and his talent… there is a reason that he came back from the dead to continue to play the blues.
Arbee Stidham (February 9, 1917[1] – April 26, 1988) was an American blues singer and multi-instrumentalist, most successful in the late 1940s and 1950s.
He was born in De Valls Bluff, Arkansas, United States, to a musical family - his father, Luddie Stidham played with Jimmie Lunceford and his uncle with the Memphis Jug Band. Arbie Stidham learned to play harmonica, clarinet and saxophone as a child.[1] Before his teens he had formed his own band, the Southern Syncopators, which backed Bessie Smith on tour in 1930-31, and played on radio and in clubs in Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee.
In the mid-1940s he moved to Chicago and met Lester Melrose, who signed him to RCA Victor in 1947.[1] His biggest hit, "My Heart Belongs to You", was recorded at his first session, and reached # 1 on the US Billboard R&B chart in June 1948.[2] He spent the rest of his career trying to emulate its success, recording for Checker, States, and other independent record labels as a jazz-influenced blues vocalist. After a car accident made it impossible to play the saxophone, he took up the guitar in the 1950s under the tutelage of Big Bill Broonzy, and played it on his early 1960s recordings for Folkways.
Stidham continued to record occasionally up to the early 1970s, and also made many music festival and club appearances nationwide and internationally. He lectured on the blues at Cleveland State University in the 1970s, and appeared in the film The Bluesman in 1973.[1]
He died April 26, 1988 in Cook County, Illinois, aged 71.
Arbee Stidham - Misery Blues
Johnny Heartsman *09.02.1937
Johnny Heartsman, geboren am 09. Februar 1937 in San Fernando, California,, gestorben am 27. Dezember 1996 in Sacramento, war ein amerikanischer Bluesmusiker, der dem elektrischen Blues und Soul-Blues zuzuordnen ist.
Heartsman zeigte musikalische Vielfalt, spielte er doch eine Reihe von Musikinstrumenten, darunter die elektronische Orgel unddie Flöte. Sein markantes Gitarren Spiel erschien auf diversen Platten der San Francisco Bay Area. Er spielte bis zu seinem Tod sehr erfolgreich. Seine bekannteste Aufnahme, "Johnny House Party", war ein R & B Hit im Jahr 1957. Ursprünglich wurde Heartsman von Lafayette Thomas beeinflußt. Seine ersten Erfahrungen sammelte er als Sessionmusiker für lojale Plattenproduzenten u.a. Bob Geddins. Sein 1. festes Engagement war bei der Aufnahme "Tin Pan Alley" von Jimmy Wilson. In den 60er Jahren war Heartsman auch als Songwriter für diverse Bluesgrößen tätig.Er sselbst war als Musiker für fast alle Größen des Blues tätig.Hervorzuheben ist auch die gemeinsame Arbeit mit der Osnabrücker Blues Company.
Er setzte seine Karriere unbeirrt fort, bis er im Jahre 1996, mit 59 Jahren am Herzinfarkt starb.
Johnny Heartsman (February 9, 1937 – December 27, 1996)[2] was an American electric blues and soul blues musician and songwriter.[1] Heartsman showed musical diversity, playing a number of musical instruments, including the electric organ and flute. His distinctive guitar playing appeared on a number of 1950s and 1960s San Francisco Bay Area recordings, and he was still playing up to the time of his death.[1]
His best known recording, "Johnny's House Party", was a R&B hit in 1957.[3] His other better known tracks were "Paint My Mailbox Blue" and "Heartburn". He variously worked with Jimmy McCracklin, Sugar Pie DeSanto, Big Mama Thornton, Ray Agee, Jimmy Wilson, Johnny Fuller, Al King, Tiny Powell and Joe Simon.[2][4]He is not to be confused with the American jazz singer, Johnny Hartman.
Heartsman was born in San Fernando, California, United States.[1] Originally influenced by Lafayette Thomas,[4] in his teenage years Heartsman started operating as a session musician, in the studio with local record producer, Bob Geddins. One of his earliest involvements was playing the bass guitar for the 1953 recording of "Tin Pan Alley" by Jimmy Wilson.[1] His own efforts yielded the instrumental track, "Johnny's House Party (Parts 1 & 2)" on the Music City label, which reached number 13 on the US Billboard R&B chart in June 1957. The record billed the act as 'John Heartsman, the Rhythm Rocker and the Gaylarks'.[3]
His session work continued into the early 1960s, and he played on Tiny Powell's "My Time After Awhile", and Al King's cover version of "Reconsider Baby". Heartman's guitar playing technique involved imaginative use of the guitar's volume control, producing "an eerie moan".[1] Heartsman's later work included playing in show bands, appearing in concert in cocktail lounge settings, and as the touring organist for Joe Simon. He spent 1970-1973 in Midland, Texas, as the houseband leader at The Chateau Club. It was here that he hired young blues guitarist and singer/songwriter Jay Boy Adams. Adams credits Heartsman as one of his musical mentors. By the late 1980s, Heartsman had reverted to playing the blues, and he released his debut album, Sacramento, in 1987.[1] It was described by one reviewer as "a great success".[4] He had previously appeared at the San Francisco Blues Festival in 1985. The record producer, Dick Shurman, oversaw Heartsman's The Touch, released by Alligator Records in 1991.[1]
Over the years, Heartsman's songwriting ability saw him pen tracks for Jesse James ("Are You Gonna Leave Me"), Roy Buchanan ("Goose Grease"), John Hammond, Jr. (Got to Find My Baby"), Amos Garrett ("Move On Down The Line"), and several more for Joe Simon.[5]
He continued his varied career before succumbing to the effects of a stroke in Sacramento, California, in December 1996, at the age of 59.
Bill Evans *09.02.1958
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Bill Evans (William D. Evans) (* 9. Februar 1958 in Clarendon Hills, Illinois) ist ein US-amerikanischer Jazz- und Pop-Saxophonist.Evans hatte Klavierunterricht bei seinem Vater, lernte ab 11 Jahren Klarinette und studierte an der North Texas State University und am William Paterson College in New Jersey, wobei er gleichzeitig bei David Liebman in New York Stunden nahm und mit Musikern wie Thad Jones, Liebman, Joanne Brackeen und Art Blakey jammte. Anfang der 1980er Jahre spielte er mit Mark Egan und Danny Gottlieb bei Elements.
Seine Instrumente sind vor allem Tenor- und Sopransaxophon. Er erreichte große Bekanntheit als Sideman bei Miles Davis (1980 bis 1984) und spielt u. a. mit Randy Brecker, John Scofield, Les McCann, Lee Ritenour, Vinnie Colaiuta, Herbie Hancock, David Sanborn, Ron Carter, Mick Jagger, Victor Bailey, Dennis Chambers, Dino Betti van der Noot und Victor Wooten. Ab 1981 spielte er öfter mit der Band von Gil Evans. Ab 1984 war er Mitglied in John McLaughlins neu aufgelegtem Mahavishnu Orchestra.
William D. "Bill" Evans (born February 9, 1958 in Clarendon Hills, Illinois) is an American jazz saxophonist.[2] His father was a classical piano prodigy and until junior high school Evans studied classical clarinet. Early in his studies he was able to hear such artists as Sonny Stitt and Stan Getz live at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago. He attended Hinsdale Central High School and studied with tenor saxophonist Vince Micko. His stylistic influences are wide ranging and include players such as Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson, John Coltrane, Stan Getz, Steve Grossman, and Dave Liebman. He has stated that although he never transcribed solos, he was able to get a very deep intuitive feel and understanding of each of these players' styles.
Biography
He plays primarily tenor and soprano saxophones. Evans attended University of North Texas and William Paterson University, where he studied with Dave Liebman, a Miles Davis alumnus. Moving to NYC in 1979 he spent countless hours in lofts playing jazz standards and perfecting his improvisational style. At the age of 22 he joined Miles Davis and was part of his musical comeback in the early to mid-1980s.[2] Notable albums recorded with Miles include The Man With The Horn, We Want Miles, Star People, and Decoy. In addition he has played, toured and recorded with artists such as Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin,[2] Michael Franks, Willie Nelson, Mick Jagger, Les McCann, Mark Egan, Danny Gottlieb, Ian Anderson, Randy Brecker, The Allman Brothers Band, and Medeski, Martin, and Wood among others. He is featured on the Petite Blonde album[2] with Victor Bailey, Dennis Chambers, Mitch Forman, and Chuck Loeb. Two of his most recent albums Soul Insider and Soulgrass were nominated for Grammy awards. Soulgrass was a ground breaking bluegrass/jazz fusion concept involving such musicians as Bela Fleck, Sam Bush, Bruce Hornsby, and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta.
During the 1980s and 1990s he was a member of the group Elements.[2]
Beginning in 1990 Evans has been touring with his own band playing close to 90 concerts a year worldwide. He has recorded over 17 solo CD's and received 2 Grammy Award nominations. He recorded an award-winning CD called Bill Evans - Vans Joint with the WDR Orchestra in 2009. He has played a wide variety of music with his solo projects including bluegrass influenced jazz to funk to contemporary groove and is considered a renaissance man in many circles, stating "I like to use the instruments used in Americana like the banjo, fiddle, mandolin and steel guitar. I just write my music using those instruments."
Biography
He plays primarily tenor and soprano saxophones. Evans attended University of North Texas and William Paterson University, where he studied with Dave Liebman, a Miles Davis alumnus. Moving to NYC in 1979 he spent countless hours in lofts playing jazz standards and perfecting his improvisational style. At the age of 22 he joined Miles Davis and was part of his musical comeback in the early to mid-1980s.[2] Notable albums recorded with Miles include The Man With The Horn, We Want Miles, Star People, and Decoy. In addition he has played, toured and recorded with artists such as Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin,[2] Michael Franks, Willie Nelson, Mick Jagger, Les McCann, Mark Egan, Danny Gottlieb, Ian Anderson, Randy Brecker, The Allman Brothers Band, and Medeski, Martin, and Wood among others. He is featured on the Petite Blonde album[2] with Victor Bailey, Dennis Chambers, Mitch Forman, and Chuck Loeb. Two of his most recent albums Soul Insider and Soulgrass were nominated for Grammy awards. Soulgrass was a ground breaking bluegrass/jazz fusion concept involving such musicians as Bela Fleck, Sam Bush, Bruce Hornsby, and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta.
During the 1980s and 1990s he was a member of the group Elements.[2]
Beginning in 1990 Evans has been touring with his own band playing close to 90 concerts a year worldwide. He has recorded over 17 solo CD's and received 2 Grammy Award nominations. He recorded an award-winning CD called Bill Evans - Vans Joint with the WDR Orchestra in 2009. He has played a wide variety of music with his solo projects including bluegrass influenced jazz to funk to contemporary groove and is considered a renaissance man in many circles, stating "I like to use the instruments used in Americana like the banjo, fiddle, mandolin and steel guitar. I just write my music using those instruments."
Bill Evans & his Soulgrass band @ Moody jazz cafè - "Kings & Queens"
Robben Ford & Bill Evans: "Soulgrass Meets Blues" - Jazz San Javier 2010
Catfish Keith *09.02.1962
http://www.catfishkeith.com/catfish4.jpg
Catfish Keith (born February 9, 1962)[1] is an American acoustic blues singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as an exponent of the resonator guitar. He has released several solo albums, including 2001's A Fist Full of Riffs.[3]
The Guardian described him as "a solo revelation" who was "breaking new ground for blues.[2] Twice a Blues Music Award nominee for 'Best Acoustic Blues Album', he has had ten number one independent radio chart hit albums.[4]
Early life and career
Catfish Keith was born Keith Daniel Kozacik in East Chicago, Indiana, and was first inspired by blues music he heard on the radio. These included songs by Buddy Guy, Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters, although by the time he owned a guitar in his teenage years, he listened mostly to Son House. He attended high school in Davenport, Iowa, before setting out across the United States and beyond learning to sing and play his brand of the blues. He traveled to the Caribbean, where his musical education benefited from hearing Joseph Spence.[2]
His stage name originated from a diving partner in the Virgin Islands who, having seen his efforts at swimming, nicknamed him "Catfish-Swimmin'-Around," and "Catfish-Steel-Guitar-Man."[5] Catfish Keith had his debut album, Catfish Blues (1984), released by Kicking Mule Records. He continued to tour constantly and picked up playing tips from watching Jessie Mae Hemphill, Henry Townsend, Johnny Shines and David "Honeyboy" Edwards.[2]
Keith married in 1988 and founded his own record label, Fish Tail Records. 1991's Pepper in My Shoe sparked global interest in his work, and he toured both Europe and the United States. He appeared on the cover pages of the publications Blues Life, Blueprint, Block and The Guardian, and his follow-up effort, Jitterbug Swing was nominated for a Blues Music Award. Further acclaim was afforded by the British magazine, Blues Connection, who named him "the new slide king of the National steel guitar."[2]
Cherry Ball (1993) saw Dirty Linen's James Jensen state "Catfish will give you goose bumps and leave you howling for more!" A further Blues Music Award nomination was generated by the release of Fresh Catfish in 1995.[2]
After Twist It Babe!, his next release was Pony Run (1999).[2] Sweet Pea (2005) was praised by Living Blues who opined "the guitar playing is surely the main attraction here, and "Blotted Out My Mind" alone earns Catfish comparison to Frank Hovington, Elizabeth Cotten, and other virtuoso six-stringers."[6]
In 2008, Keith was inducted into the Iowa Blues Hall of Fame.[7][8]
He is an endorser of National Reso-Phonic Guitars.[7] Catfish Keith has issued an instructional DVD entitled Dynamic Country Blues Guitar.
The Guardian described him as "a solo revelation" who was "breaking new ground for blues.[2] Twice a Blues Music Award nominee for 'Best Acoustic Blues Album', he has had ten number one independent radio chart hit albums.[4]
Early life and career
Catfish Keith was born Keith Daniel Kozacik in East Chicago, Indiana, and was first inspired by blues music he heard on the radio. These included songs by Buddy Guy, Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters, although by the time he owned a guitar in his teenage years, he listened mostly to Son House. He attended high school in Davenport, Iowa, before setting out across the United States and beyond learning to sing and play his brand of the blues. He traveled to the Caribbean, where his musical education benefited from hearing Joseph Spence.[2]
His stage name originated from a diving partner in the Virgin Islands who, having seen his efforts at swimming, nicknamed him "Catfish-Swimmin'-Around," and "Catfish-Steel-Guitar-Man."[5] Catfish Keith had his debut album, Catfish Blues (1984), released by Kicking Mule Records. He continued to tour constantly and picked up playing tips from watching Jessie Mae Hemphill, Henry Townsend, Johnny Shines and David "Honeyboy" Edwards.[2]
Keith married in 1988 and founded his own record label, Fish Tail Records. 1991's Pepper in My Shoe sparked global interest in his work, and he toured both Europe and the United States. He appeared on the cover pages of the publications Blues Life, Blueprint, Block and The Guardian, and his follow-up effort, Jitterbug Swing was nominated for a Blues Music Award. Further acclaim was afforded by the British magazine, Blues Connection, who named him "the new slide king of the National steel guitar."[2]
Cherry Ball (1993) saw Dirty Linen's James Jensen state "Catfish will give you goose bumps and leave you howling for more!" A further Blues Music Award nomination was generated by the release of Fresh Catfish in 1995.[2]
After Twist It Babe!, his next release was Pony Run (1999).[2] Sweet Pea (2005) was praised by Living Blues who opined "the guitar playing is surely the main attraction here, and "Blotted Out My Mind" alone earns Catfish comparison to Frank Hovington, Elizabeth Cotten, and other virtuoso six-stringers."[6]
In 2008, Keith was inducted into the Iowa Blues Hall of Fame.[7][8]
He is an endorser of National Reso-Phonic Guitars.[7] Catfish Keith has issued an instructional DVD entitled Dynamic Country Blues Guitar.
Cutting-edge blues singer, songwriter and bottleneck slide guitarist Catfish Keith has established himself as one of the most exciting country blues performers of our time. Catfish's innovative style of foot-stomping, deep delta blues and American roots music has spellbound audiences the world over. He has reinvented the guitar with great power and artistry, and brings a rare beauty and vitality to his music. Handing down the tradition, Catfish continues his lifelong journey as one of the brightest lights in acoustic blues and roots music.
A two-time W. C. Handy Blues Award nominee for BEST ACOUSTIC BLUES ALBUM, and 2008 inductee into the BLUES HALL OF FAME, Catfish has fourteen NUMBER ONE independent radio chart-topping albums to his credit, and packs houses all over the world with his dynamic stage show. The 30-year veteran has toured the USA, UK and Europe dozens of times to wide acclaim, headlining major music festivals, and appearing with legends John Lee Hooker, Ray Charles, Robert Cray, Koko Taylor, Taj Mahal , Leo Kottke, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Johnny Shines and many, many others.
Catfish Keith was born in East Chicago, Indiana on February 9th, 1962. He first heard blues as a child while living in "The Harbor," a working-class, steel mill town. When he picked up the guitar as a teenager, he was inspired to pursue the deep delta blues after being converted by Son House. Following high school in Davenport, Iowa, Catfish hit the road, embarking on a lifelong quest as a solo performer of American roots music.
His travels took him to the Caribbean, where in the Virgin Islands he crewed briefly on a sailboat, soaking up a wealth of island sounds. Rhythms of Jazz, Calypso, Reggae and the music of Joseph Spence gave Catfish inspiration to reach new musical heights. Though he grew up on the Mississippi River, Catfish earned his monicker from a West Indian lobster diving partner who, after seeing him swim, dubbed him "Catfish-Swimmin'-Around," and "Catfish-Steel-Guitar-Man."
In 1984, at age 22, Catfish recorded his first album (on Kicking Mule), Catfish Blues. The all-solo debut established him as a new force in acoustic blues, reaching Number One on independent worldwide radio charts. This enabled Catfish to play and tour continually, learning directly from legends such as Johnny Shines, David Honeyboy Edwards, Jesse Mae Hemphill and Henry Townsend.
Since then, Catfish has made a fourteen solo albums, including his latest, Put on a Buzz (on Fish Tail). He constantly tours the world, is a major endorser for National Reso-Phonic Guitars, and his music plays on top-rated TV shows in the USA and abroad. He’s also become a respected educator as well as performer, doing guitar workshops, master classes and blues in the schools throughout the the world.
"Known to work his audiences to the bone, Catfish Keith is the real acoustic blues king!"
-Rock 'n' Reel
"Pulling Blues Out of The Sky, Catfish lays down a foot-stomping groove. One of the most exciting guitarists of any genre."
-Acoustic Guitar
"One of the finest acoustic bluesmen in America. Every fan of acoustic blues should have all of his discs in their collection. Every record label in America should be engaged in a bidding war. This man is flat-out spectacular!"
-Big City Blues
"Catfish bends entire chords as well as the neck and body of his guitar to wrench emotion from his songs. Knock yourself out!”
-Guitar Player
“For Catfish Keith, a resonator guitar is an organic extension of his body, an instrument he plays intuitively and with absolute authority. Manhandling Delta vamps, artfully finger picking rag-influenced Piedmont patterns and languidly chording ballads, Catfish is one of the premier pre-war style guitarists recording today.” - Living Blues
A two-time W. C. Handy Blues Award nominee for BEST ACOUSTIC BLUES ALBUM, and 2008 inductee into the BLUES HALL OF FAME, Catfish has fourteen NUMBER ONE independent radio chart-topping albums to his credit, and packs houses all over the world with his dynamic stage show. The 30-year veteran has toured the USA, UK and Europe dozens of times to wide acclaim, headlining major music festivals, and appearing with legends John Lee Hooker, Ray Charles, Robert Cray, Koko Taylor, Taj Mahal , Leo Kottke, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Johnny Shines and many, many others.
Catfish Keith was born in East Chicago, Indiana on February 9th, 1962. He first heard blues as a child while living in "The Harbor," a working-class, steel mill town. When he picked up the guitar as a teenager, he was inspired to pursue the deep delta blues after being converted by Son House. Following high school in Davenport, Iowa, Catfish hit the road, embarking on a lifelong quest as a solo performer of American roots music.
His travels took him to the Caribbean, where in the Virgin Islands he crewed briefly on a sailboat, soaking up a wealth of island sounds. Rhythms of Jazz, Calypso, Reggae and the music of Joseph Spence gave Catfish inspiration to reach new musical heights. Though he grew up on the Mississippi River, Catfish earned his monicker from a West Indian lobster diving partner who, after seeing him swim, dubbed him "Catfish-Swimmin'-Around," and "Catfish-Steel-Guitar-Man."
In 1984, at age 22, Catfish recorded his first album (on Kicking Mule), Catfish Blues. The all-solo debut established him as a new force in acoustic blues, reaching Number One on independent worldwide radio charts. This enabled Catfish to play and tour continually, learning directly from legends such as Johnny Shines, David Honeyboy Edwards, Jesse Mae Hemphill and Henry Townsend.
Since then, Catfish has made a fourteen solo albums, including his latest, Put on a Buzz (on Fish Tail). He constantly tours the world, is a major endorser for National Reso-Phonic Guitars, and his music plays on top-rated TV shows in the USA and abroad. He’s also become a respected educator as well as performer, doing guitar workshops, master classes and blues in the schools throughout the the world.
"Known to work his audiences to the bone, Catfish Keith is the real acoustic blues king!"
-Rock 'n' Reel
"Pulling Blues Out of The Sky, Catfish lays down a foot-stomping groove. One of the most exciting guitarists of any genre."
-Acoustic Guitar
"One of the finest acoustic bluesmen in America. Every fan of acoustic blues should have all of his discs in their collection. Every record label in America should be engaged in a bidding war. This man is flat-out spectacular!"
-Big City Blues
"Catfish bends entire chords as well as the neck and body of his guitar to wrench emotion from his songs. Knock yourself out!”
-Guitar Player
“For Catfish Keith, a resonator guitar is an organic extension of his body, an instrument he plays intuitively and with absolute authority. Manhandling Delta vamps, artfully finger picking rag-influenced Piedmont patterns and languidly chording ballads, Catfish is one of the premier pre-war style guitarists recording today.” - Living Blues
Catfish Keith-Poor Boy Long Way From Home
Catfish Keith - Blind Willie Johnson Medley
R.I.P.
Buddy Johnson +09.02.1977
Woodrow Wilson „Buddy“ Johnson (* 10. Januar 1915 in Darlington, South Carolina; † 9. Februar 1977 in New York City) war ein US-amerikanischer Jazz- und Rhythm and Blues-Pianist und Bandleader.
Buddy Johnson besuchte 1937 Paris als Pianist der Cotton Club Revue-Tramp-Band, gründete 1939 ein eigenes Ensemble, mit dem er in Nachtclubs auftrat und das er 1944 zu einer 14-Mann-Band erweiterte; sie spielte hauptsächlich im Savoy Ballroom in Harlem und unternahm Tourneen in die Südstaaten. Zu den bekanntesten Einspielungen seines Orchesters, dessen ständige Sängerin seine Schwester Ella Johnson war, gehören die Titel „Please Mr. Johnson“ 1940, „One of them Good Ones“ 1944, „When My Man Comes Come“ (1944, sein erster Hit in den Charts), „Li’ Dog“ 1947 und „Shufflin’ and Rollin’ “ 1952. Im Jahr 1960 wirkte er an Clark Terrys Album Colour Changes auf dem Candid-Label mit.
Carlo Bohländer bezeichnet Johnson mit seinem Schlagzeuger Cliff James als einen Pionier des Rhythm and Blues, in dessen Stil er ab 1939 spielte. Buddy Johnson ist nicht zu verwechseln mit dem gleichnamigen Posaunisten der Excelsior Brass Band (ca. 1870–1927) und dem Tenorsaxophonisten Budd Johnson.
Buddy Johnson (January 10, 1915 – February 9, 1977)[1] was an American jazz and New York blues pianist and bandleader, active from the 1930s through the 1960s. His songs were often performed by his sister Ella Johnson, most notably "Since I Fell for You" which later became a jazz standard.
Life and career
Born Woodrow Wilson Johnson in Darlington, South Carolina,[1] Johnson took piano lessons as a child, and classical music remained one of his passions.[2] In 1938 he moved to New York,[3] and the following year toured Europe with the Cotton Club Revue, being expelled from Nazi Germany. Later in 1939 he first recorded for Decca Records with his band, soon afterwards being joined by his sister Ella as vocalist.
By 1941 he had assembled a nine-piece orchestra,[2] and soon began a series of R&B and pop chart hits. These included "Let's Beat Out Some Love" (#2 R&B, 1943, with Johnson on vocals), "Baby Don't You Cry" (#3 R&B, 1943, with Warren Evans on vocals), his biggest hit "When My Man Comes Home" (#1 R&B, No. 18 pop, 1944, with Ella Johnson on vocals), and "They All Say I'm The Biggest Fool" (#5 R&B, 1946, with Arthur Prysock on vocals). Ella Johnson recorded her version of "Since I Fell for You" in 1945, but it did not become a major hit until recorded by Lenny Welch in the early 1960s.
In 1946 Johnson composed a Blues Concerto, which he performed at Carnegie Hall in 1948. His orchestra remained a major touring attraction through the late 1940s and early 1950s, and continued to record in the jump blues style with some success on record on the Mercury label like "Hittin' on Me" and "I'm Just Your Fool".[2] His song Bring It Home To Me appears on the 1996 Rocket Sixty-Nine release Jump Shot!.
Johnson died, at the age of 62, from a brain tumor and sickle cell anemia, in 1977 in New York.
Jack Owens +09.02.1997
Jack Owens (November 17, 1904[1] – February 9, 1997)[2] was an American Delta blues singer and guitarist,[3] from Bentonia, Mississippi, United States.
Born L. F. Nelson, Jack Owens' mother was Celia Owens, but his father, who bore the Owens surname, abandoned his family when Jack was 5–6 years old. After that time, he was raised by the Owens family with his maternal grandfather the patriarch of 8 children according to the 1910 Census, and of them, two other children officially shared the Nelson name. (This does not account for two more children born after the census.) While very young, Owens learned some chords on the guitar from his father, and an uncle, and learned to play the fife, the fiddle, and piano while still a child, but his chosen instrument remained the guitar.[4]
As he matured, Owens did not seek to become a professional recording artist, but he farmed, bootlegged and ran a weekend juke joint in Bentonia for most of his life. His peer, Skip James, had left home and traveled until he found a talent agent and a record label to sign him, but Owens had preferred to remain at home, selling potliquor and performing only on his front porch. He was not recorded until the blues revival of the 1960s, being rediscovered by a musicologist, David Evans, in 1966, who had been taken to meet Owens by either Skip James or Cornelius Bright. Evans noted that while James and Owens had many elements in common, and a sound peculiar to that region, referred to as "Bentonia School", there were also strong differences in Owens' delivery. Both James, Owens, and others from the area, (including Bukka White), shared a particular guitar style and repertoire utilizing open D-minor tuning (DADFAD).[4] Owens, though, had experimented with several other tunings which appear to be Owens' own. He played guitar and sang, utilizing the stomp of his boots for rhythm in the manner of some other players in the Mississippi delta, such as John Lee Hooker. James employed the use of falsetto, and, by this time, was accustomed to singing quietly for recording sessions, while Owens still sang roughly in his usual singing voice loudly enough for people at a party to hear while dancing. Evans, excited to find a piece of history in Jack Owens, made recordings of him singing, which eventually showed up on Owen's first record album Goin' Up the Country that same year and It Must Have Been the Devil (with Bud Spires) in 1970. He made other recordings (some by Alan Lomax) in the 1960s and 1970s.[4]
Owens travelled the music festival circuit in the United States and Europe throughout the final decades of his life, often accompanied on harmonica by his friend Bud Spires, until his death in 1997. He was frequently billed in the company of other noteworthy blues musicians that maintained a higher profile than Owens, who nonetheless were longtime associates. One such performance was with Spires in an All-star Chess Records tribute in 1994 at the Long Beach Blues Festival, alongside acts that included Jeff Healey, Hubert Sumlin, Buddy Guy, the Staple Singers and Robert Cray's band, among many others, in Long Beach, California.
Jack Owens died, at the age of 92 in Yazoo City, Mississippi, in 1997.
Leopold von Knobelsdorff +09.02.2013
Leopold von Knobelsdorff war bis 2013 Deutschlands dienstältester Boogie Woogie Pianist. Er war u.a. lange Jahre Pianist der Boogie Woogie Company Cologne, die er 1964 gründete und die heute noch besteht.
Im Oktober 2011 wurde der Altmeister des Boogie Woogie in die Hall of Fame des deutschen Boogie Woogie aufgenommen - bei der Preisverleihung der Geman Boogie Woogie Awards "Pinetop" in Bremen nahm von Knobelsdorff den Preis selbst in Empfang und ließ es sich natürlich nicht nehmen, selbst in die Tasten zu greifen.
Leopold von Knobelsdorff verstarb im Februar 2013 nach kurzer schwerer Krankheit.
Nachruf auf eine Boogie Woogie Legende
Er war der Stammvater aller Boogie Woogie Interpreten in Deutschland. Seit den frühen sechziger Jahren setzte er sich für diesen einzigartigen Pianostil ein und entwickelte ihn weiter. Damals war der Boogie Woogie selbst in den USA so gut wie ausgestorben. In Kontakt mit dieser Musik kam der 1932 geborene Tontechniker des WDR Ende der vierziger Jahre über den amerikanischen Soldatensender AFN. Zusammen mit Manfred Roth spielte er nach Kriegsende zusammen, beide waren sie damals Amateure. 1964 gründete er zusammen mit dem Gitarristen Ali Claudi und dem Schlagzeuger Kalle Hoffmeister die Boogie Woogie Company Cologne, die bis heute erfolgreich tourt und begeistert.
Leo von Knobelsdorff verliess die Band 1989 aus Altersgründen, inzwischen spielen ausser den beiden anderen Gründungsmitgliedern der Pianist Christoph Oeser und der Bassist Paul G. Ulrich. Bis heute hat die Gruppe weit über 2'500 Konzerte gegeben. 2011 wurde er in die Hall of Fame des German Boogie Award Pinetop aufgenommen. Der 2009 ins Leben gerufene Preis wird jährlich verliehen und ist nach dem Pianisten und Sänger Clarence «Pinetop» Smith benannt.
Leopold von Knobelsdorff war ohne Zweifel einer der Pioniere der schwarzen Musik nicht nur in Deutschland. Alle deutschen Boogie Woogie Pianisten wurden von ihm inspiriert und schätzten ihn. Er stammte aus einem Adelsgeschlecht im heutigen Sachsen, das bereits im dreizehnten Jahrhundert erwähnt wird und in erster Linie Offiziere hervor gebracht hat. Er starb am 9. Februar 2013 nach einer Krankheit.
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