1938 Eddie King*
1944 Paul Geremia*
1946 Doug MacLeod*
1964 Georg Schroeter*
1969 Keri Leigh*
1970 Earl Hooker+
2003 Nina Simone+
1944 Paul Geremia*
1946 Doug MacLeod*
1964 Georg Schroeter*
1969 Keri Leigh*
1970 Earl Hooker+
2003 Nina Simone+
Happy Birthday
Doug MacLeod *21.04.1946
Doug MacLeod (* 1946 in New York City, USA) ist ein US-amerikanischer Bluessänger, Gitarrist und Songschreiber. Er lebt heute in Kalifornien.
MacLeod absolvierte die Berklee School of Music, spielte anschließend Jazz und die Bluesgitarre im Musical Grease. Auf Blues konzentrierte sich Doug MacLeod erst später. Inspiriert wurde er von dem Sänger und Bluesharpsieler Shakey Jake Harris (1921–1990). Ende der 1970er zog er in die Nähe von Los Angeles und begann seine Karriere als Bluesmusiker. Dort spielte er neben bekannten Bluesmusiker wie Pee Wee Crayton, Lowell Fulson, Big Mama Thornton, Eddie „Cleanhead“ Vinson und Big Joe Turner. In den 1980ern gründete er eine eigene Band, es erschienen die ersten Veröffentlichungen.
Im Jahre 1994 widmete er sich der akustischen Spielweise, wofür er mehrere Male für die W.C.Handy Awards nominiert wurde.
Auf seinen Touren tritt er auch in Europa auf. Dort gehört neben seiner Musik auch eine Passage mit kleinen Anekdoten und Alltagsweisheiten zum Programm, da er für die US-amerikanischen Blues Revue monatlich eine Geschichte als Geschichtenerzähler schreibt.
In den Jahren von 1992 bis 1994 war MacLeod Radiomoderator und moderierte die The Blues Highway-Radioshow, die auf EuroJazz ausgestrahlt wurde. Von 1999 bis 2004 war er Gastgeber von Nothin' But The Blues, einer Bluesshow im Wochenendprogramm von KLON-KKJZ in Los Angeles. Außerdem war Doug MacLeod die Stimme für The Blues Showcase von Continental Airlines.
Heute hat MacLeod zwölf Studioalben, Liveaufnahmen und zwei DVDs veröffentlicht, sowie rund 350 Kompositionen, die von verschiedenen Musikern gecovert wurden. Zudem schrieb er die Filmmusik zu In der Hitze der Nacht.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_MacLeod
Doug MacLeod (born April 21, 1946, New York City, United States) is an American storytelling bluesman. Although now associated with his home in Los Angeles, he has lived and worked in North Carolina, St. Louis, Port Washington, New York, and Norfolk, Virginia, where he was stationed in the United States Navy. He became acquainted with the blues in St Louis in his teens and started his career playing country blues on acoustic guitar, finding that singing eased a chronic stutter and helped him to eventually overcome it. Although predominantly associated with acoustic guitar, his skills were developed as a blues bass player, and honed by his subsequent journeys into jazz and electric blues.
Influences
MacLeod's formative blues instruction is attributed to a man he knew as Ernest Banks who also gave him the guiding principles of his music and performances:
“Never play a note you don't believe”
“Never write or sing about what you don't know about”
He also formed a strong friendship with George "Harmonica" Smith who not only became his mentor, but also the source or experience for many of his songs and stories in his live performances. Unable or unwilling to use his correct name, George always called him "Dubb", a name also adopted by his loyal followers, the DubbHeads.
Writing
MacLeod plays only his own compositions (of which he is credited with over 300), but his music has also been recorded by many other artists, including Dave Alvin, James Armstrong, Eva Cassidy, Albert Collins, Pee Wee Crayton, Papa John Creach, Albert King, Chris Thomas King, Coco Montoya, Billy Lee Riley, Son Seals, Tabby Thomas, and Joe Louis Walker.
He has also been a long-time contributor to Blues Revue magazine with his column "Doug's Back Porch".
Performance
MacLeod's live performances preserve the tradition of the blues as a story-telling medium, expressed by his soulful voice and powerfully rhythmic acoustic guitar style. He usually plays a National Delphi guitar (accompanied by his left foot), with stories or introductions between pieces. The tales come from his early performances when he felt that he did not have enough music to fill a show. He has appeared in blues and jazz festivals and his own shows around the world, but particularly in the US and Europe.
Other activities
As well as writing and performing, he also teaches guitar and has released his own instructional DVD, and has hosted blues radio shows Blues Highway and Nothin' but the Blues (1999 to 2004), and was the voice for the Blues Showcase of Continental Airlines.
Recognition
He has won two Blues Music Awards (formerly W.C. Handy) in 2014: Acoustic Artist of the Year and Acoustic Album Of The Year, He has been nominated for several consecutive years for: Best Song in 2006 ("Dubb's Talkin' Politician Blues") and in 2014 ("The Entitled Few"), Acoustic Artist of the Year: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013,[1] 2014 and 2015. Acoustic Album of the Year in 2012 (Brand New Eyes) and 2014 (There's a Time). His portrait is displayed in the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He received the Golden Note award for Best Original Recording (for his album You Can't Take My Blues). His songs have featured in Grammy Award-nominated albums: Albert King's I'm in a Phone Booth, Baby (1984) ("Your Bread Ain't Done"), and Albert Collins' Cold Snap (1986) ("Cash Talking, The Working Man’s Blues").
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_MacLeod_%28musician%29Influences
MacLeod's formative blues instruction is attributed to a man he knew as Ernest Banks who also gave him the guiding principles of his music and performances:
“Never play a note you don't believe”
“Never write or sing about what you don't know about”
He also formed a strong friendship with George "Harmonica" Smith who not only became his mentor, but also the source or experience for many of his songs and stories in his live performances. Unable or unwilling to use his correct name, George always called him "Dubb", a name also adopted by his loyal followers, the DubbHeads.
Writing
MacLeod plays only his own compositions (of which he is credited with over 300), but his music has also been recorded by many other artists, including Dave Alvin, James Armstrong, Eva Cassidy, Albert Collins, Pee Wee Crayton, Papa John Creach, Albert King, Chris Thomas King, Coco Montoya, Billy Lee Riley, Son Seals, Tabby Thomas, and Joe Louis Walker.
He has also been a long-time contributor to Blues Revue magazine with his column "Doug's Back Porch".
Performance
MacLeod's live performances preserve the tradition of the blues as a story-telling medium, expressed by his soulful voice and powerfully rhythmic acoustic guitar style. He usually plays a National Delphi guitar (accompanied by his left foot), with stories or introductions between pieces. The tales come from his early performances when he felt that he did not have enough music to fill a show. He has appeared in blues and jazz festivals and his own shows around the world, but particularly in the US and Europe.
Other activities
As well as writing and performing, he also teaches guitar and has released his own instructional DVD, and has hosted blues radio shows Blues Highway and Nothin' but the Blues (1999 to 2004), and was the voice for the Blues Showcase of Continental Airlines.
Recognition
He has won two Blues Music Awards (formerly W.C. Handy) in 2014: Acoustic Artist of the Year and Acoustic Album Of The Year, He has been nominated for several consecutive years for: Best Song in 2006 ("Dubb's Talkin' Politician Blues") and in 2014 ("The Entitled Few"), Acoustic Artist of the Year: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013,[1] 2014 and 2015. Acoustic Album of the Year in 2012 (Brand New Eyes) and 2014 (There's a Time). His portrait is displayed in the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He received the Golden Note award for Best Original Recording (for his album You Can't Take My Blues). His songs have featured in Grammy Award-nominated albums: Albert King's I'm in a Phone Booth, Baby (1984) ("Your Bread Ain't Done"), and Albert Collins' Cold Snap (1986) ("Cash Talking, The Working Man’s Blues").
Eddie King *21.04.1938
Eddie King ist ein Veteran der Bluesgeschichte Chicagos und dennoch gar nicht so bekannt geworden wie seine berühmten Namensvettern.
Dabei heißt der am 21.4.1938 in Alabama geborene Musiker eigentlich Edward Lewis Davis Milton. Nun denn, außer B. B. King , Albert King und Freddie King gibt es also noch einen King?
Beide Eltern waren Musiker und beeinflussten den Jungen schon früh, in die Clubs durfte er wegen seines Alters noch nicht, lauschte aber von außen. Frühe Aufnahmen entstanden zusammen mit Sonny Boy Williamson II, aber letztlich blieb es bei wenigen Plattenaufnahmen.
Eddie King (April 21, 1938 – March 14, 2012) was an American Chicago blues guitarist, singer and songwriter.[1] Living Blues once stated "King is a potent singer and player with a raw, gospel-tinged voice and an aggressive, thick-toned guitar sound".[2] He was noted as creating a "straightforward style, after Freddie King and Little Milton".
King was born Edward Lewis Davis Milton in Talladega, Alabama, United States. His parents were both musical, with his father playing guitar and his mother a gospel singer. King learned basic guitar riffs from watching from outside the window of local blues clubs, and was inspired by the playing of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Little Walter.[1] He grew up playing alongside Luther Allison, Magic Sam, Junior Wells, Eddie C. Campbell, and Freddie King.[2][4]
He relocated to Chicago, Illinois, in 1954, and his diminutive stature and the influence of B.B. King led to him being referred to as 'Little Eddie King'. Given a break by Little Mack Simmons,[4] he first recorded under the tutelage of Willie Dixon and, in 1960, played on several tracks recorded by Sonny Boy Williamson II.[1] He also recorded with Detroit Junior.[3] Also in 1960, King had a single released by J.O.B. Records, "Shakin' Inside" / "Love You Baby".[5] He then became the guitarist backing Koko Taylor, a role he undertook for two decades. Separately forming Eddie King & the Kingsmen in 1969, King moved to Peoria, Illinois, in the early 1980s. Since the early 1990s, King's backing ensemble were known as the Swamp Bees, and his output has incorporated Chicago blues, country blues, blues shouter, and soul.[1]
His debut album, The Blues Has Got Me (1987), was issued by the Netherlands based record label, Black Magic, and later re-released by Double Trouble. It featured one of his sisters, Mae Bee May, on vocals.
In 1997, King recorded Another Cow's Dead, which got a Blues Music Award for 'Best Comeback Blues Album'.[1][2] It was arranged by Lou Marini.
His songwriting credits include "Kitty Kat", described by one journalist as "hilarious".[1]
King died in Peoria, Illinois, in March 2012, at the age of 73. In October 2012, the Killer Blues Headstone Project, a nonprofit organization, placed a headstone on King's unmarked grave at the Lutheran Cemetery in Peoria.
Georg Schroeter *21.04.1964
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Georg Karl Schroeter (* 21. April 1964 in Koblenz) ist ein deutscher Bluesmusiker (Piano, Vocals).
Georg Schroeter verbrachte seine Kindheit zusammen mit vier Geschwistern auf Gut Panker in Schleswig-Holstein im Kreis Plön. Bereits mit vier Jahren bekam er klassischen Klavierunterricht. Nach seiner Schulzeit auf der Kooperativen Gesamtschule in Lütjenburg machte Georg Schroeter in Braunschweig eine Ausbildung als Klavierbauer bei der Fa. Schimmel (1980 bis 1984).
Ende der 1980er Jahre traf Georg Schroeter bei einem Konzert von Gottfried Böttger (ex Pianist von Udo Lindenbergs Panik Orchester, TV Pianist bei 3nach9) zum ersten Mal auf den jungen Mundharmonikaspieler Marc Breitfelder und den Kieler Blues Gitarristen und Sänger Daffy Deblitz. Beide spielten hin und wieder mit Gottfried zusammen, und gründeten das Blues Duo „Blues Manner“ aus dem später die „Blues Manner Band“ wurde. Peter Weise spielte Schlagzeug, Tommy Jahnke den Bass und Georg Schroeter übernahm später den Job von Buggie Braune an den Tasten und reiste mit der „Blues Manner Band“ bis nach Tallinn, Estland. Daffy war es auch, der Georg an die Southern Rock Band „White Lightnin’“ vermittelte. Auf einer Korg CX3 in Kombination mit einem Leslie und einem Roland RD 300 Digitalpiano erweiterte er seine Erfahrungen im Zusammenspiel mit einer Band, die sich darauf spezialisiert hatte, Songs u.a. von B.B. King, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top und den Allman Brothers zu spielen. Neben der "Blues Manner Band" und "White Lightnin’" spielte Georg auch oft mit Marc und Daffy als Trio unter dem Namen "Jambirds". Mit dem Sänger und Gitarristen Barni Söhnel aus Kiel entstand 1995 ebenfalls eine musikalische Zusammenarbeit. Barni wurde spontan zu Aufnahmesessions in das Überschall Tonstudio in Kiel eingeladen und so entstand die CD Movin' On [1]. Georg Schroeter entwickelte sich zu einem gefragten Session Musiker und spielte in vielen verschiedenen Formationen und Bands, meistens aber im Duo mit Marc Breitfelder. Im Jahr 1999 lernte Georg Schroeter den Beatles Entdecker Tony Sheridan kennen und es folgten mehrere gemeinsame Tourneen und Konzerte auch teilweise mit Marc Breitfelder an der Mundharmonika[2]. Musikalisch am meisten geprägt wurde Georg Schroeter von Abi Wallenstein mit dem er unter dem Namen "Spirit of the Blues" auch mit Martin Röttger und Marc Breitfelder auftritt. 2011 gewannen "Georg Schroeter & Marc Breitfelder" die "International Blues Challenge" in Memphis in der Kathegorie Solo/Duo.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Schroeter_%28Musiker%29
Am 5.2.2011 sprach Jay Sieleman (Blues Foundation) die magischen Worte:
The winner is – Baltic Blues Society, Georg Schroeter and Marc Breitfelder, representing Germany!
Damit haben die beiden als erste Europäer die International Blues Challenge in Memphis, USA, den weltweit größten Bluesmusiker-Wettbewerb, gewonnen und den Award erstmalig aus dem Mutterland des Blues nach Europa entführt.
The winner is – Baltic Blues Society, Georg Schroeter and Marc Breitfelder, representing Germany!
Damit haben die beiden als erste Europäer die International Blues Challenge in Memphis, USA, den weltweit größten Bluesmusiker-Wettbewerb, gewonnen und den Award erstmalig aus dem Mutterland des Blues nach Europa entführt.
Deutsches Duo schreibt internationale Musikgeschichte
Ist die Teilnahme deutscher Bluesmusiker am weltweit größten Bluescontest auf amerikanischem Boden schon überaus ungewöhnlich, so kann der Gewinn der 27. Internationalen Blues Challenge (IBC) 2011 in Memphis, TN, USA, gar nicht hoch genug eingeschätzt werden. Das Unglaubliche ist jedoch die Tatsache, dass die Kieler als erste europäische Musiker in der 27-jährigen Geschichte der IBC den begehrten Award aus den USA, dem Mutterland des Blues, nach Europa entführen konnten. Damit ist den Beiden ein ewiger Eintrag in die Historie der amerikanischen und der europäischen Musikgeschichte sicher.
Den ersten Anlauf zum Gewinn der IBC unternahm das Duo im Januar 2010, als mit dem Gewinn der German und der Baltic Blues Challenge 2009 in Eutin, die Voraussetzungen zur Nominierung für die IBC durch den Baltic Blues e.V. (Eutin) geschaffen wurden. Die Teilnahme endete mit einem vielbeachteten 2. Platz in den Semifinals. Durch den Gewinn der German Blues Awards 2010, ebenfalls vom Baltic Blues e.V. durchgeführt, wurde dem Duo in diesem Jahr die erneute Teilnahme ermöglicht.
Ausgestattet mit den Erfahrungen aus dem Vorjahr, marschierten Georg Schroeter und Marc Breitfelder mit breiter Brust durch 2 Quarterfinals und ein Semifinal, die in den Clubs der legendären Beale Street in
Memphis ausgetragen wurden, direkt ins Finale im alt-ehrwürdigen Orpheum Theatre. Vor knapp 2000 Besuchern präsentierten sich die Nordlichter in absolut bestechender Form und lieferten innerhalb der erlaubten 20 Minuten einen fulminanten Auftritt ab. Getragen und mitgerissen von einem immer wieder zwischen-applaudierenden Publikum, strebten die Beiden unaufhaltsam ihrem grandiosen Finale entgegen, dass das Publikum förmlich aus den Sitzen riss.
Kein Wunder, dass am Ende zwischen Jury und Publikum absolute Einigkeit über die Gewinner der Solo/Duo-Competition herrschte, als Jay Sieleman (Executive Director der Blues Foundation) die entscheidenden Sätze verkündete: „The winner is – Baltic Blues Society, Georg Schroeter und Marc Breitfelder, representing Germany!
Ist die Teilnahme deutscher Bluesmusiker am weltweit größten Bluescontest auf amerikanischem Boden schon überaus ungewöhnlich, so kann der Gewinn der 27. Internationalen Blues Challenge (IBC) 2011 in Memphis, TN, USA, gar nicht hoch genug eingeschätzt werden. Das Unglaubliche ist jedoch die Tatsache, dass die Kieler als erste europäische Musiker in der 27-jährigen Geschichte der IBC den begehrten Award aus den USA, dem Mutterland des Blues, nach Europa entführen konnten. Damit ist den Beiden ein ewiger Eintrag in die Historie der amerikanischen und der europäischen Musikgeschichte sicher.
Den ersten Anlauf zum Gewinn der IBC unternahm das Duo im Januar 2010, als mit dem Gewinn der German und der Baltic Blues Challenge 2009 in Eutin, die Voraussetzungen zur Nominierung für die IBC durch den Baltic Blues e.V. (Eutin) geschaffen wurden. Die Teilnahme endete mit einem vielbeachteten 2. Platz in den Semifinals. Durch den Gewinn der German Blues Awards 2010, ebenfalls vom Baltic Blues e.V. durchgeführt, wurde dem Duo in diesem Jahr die erneute Teilnahme ermöglicht.
Ausgestattet mit den Erfahrungen aus dem Vorjahr, marschierten Georg Schroeter und Marc Breitfelder mit breiter Brust durch 2 Quarterfinals und ein Semifinal, die in den Clubs der legendären Beale Street in
Memphis ausgetragen wurden, direkt ins Finale im alt-ehrwürdigen Orpheum Theatre. Vor knapp 2000 Besuchern präsentierten sich die Nordlichter in absolut bestechender Form und lieferten innerhalb der erlaubten 20 Minuten einen fulminanten Auftritt ab. Getragen und mitgerissen von einem immer wieder zwischen-applaudierenden Publikum, strebten die Beiden unaufhaltsam ihrem grandiosen Finale entgegen, dass das Publikum förmlich aus den Sitzen riss.
Kein Wunder, dass am Ende zwischen Jury und Publikum absolute Einigkeit über die Gewinner der Solo/Duo-Competition herrschte, als Jay Sieleman (Executive Director der Blues Foundation) die entscheidenden Sätze verkündete: „The winner is – Baltic Blues Society, Georg Schroeter und Marc Breitfelder, representing Germany!
Georg (Piano, Gesang)
Seine Finger gleiten scheinbar wie von allein über die Tasten des Pianos, während er gleichzeitig mit einer einzigartigen Blues-Stimme zu faszinieren versteht. Kraftvoll, sanft, ekstatisch oder einfach nur schön – Stimme und Piano bilden eine perfekte Einheit die das Publikum in seinen Bann zieht … und wenn dann noch seine Augen strahlen und blitzen ist alles gut – für ihn, Marc und die Zuhörer!
Seine Finger gleiten scheinbar wie von allein über die Tasten des Pianos, während er gleichzeitig mit einer einzigartigen Blues-Stimme zu faszinieren versteht. Kraftvoll, sanft, ekstatisch oder einfach nur schön – Stimme und Piano bilden eine perfekte Einheit die das Publikum in seinen Bann zieht … und wenn dann noch seine Augen strahlen und blitzen ist alles gut – für ihn, Marc und die Zuhörer!
On May 2nd, 2011, Jay Sieleman (Blues Foundation) spoke the magic words:
The winner is – Baltic Blues Society, Georg Schroeter and Marc Breitfelder, representing Germany!
That means the two are the first European musicians ever to win the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN, USA, the world's most prestigious award for Blues musicians, and run away with it from the USA, the home of the blues.
The winner is – Baltic Blues Society, Georg Schroeter and Marc Breitfelder, representing Germany!
That means the two are the first European musicians ever to win the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN, USA, the world's most prestigious award for Blues musicians, and run away with it from the USA, the home of the blues.
German Blues Duo makes international music history
The participation of German blues musicians in the world's largest blues competition on American ground itself is extremely unusual – but Georg Schroeter (piano, vocals) and Marc Breitfelder (harp) winning the 27th International Blues Challenge 2011 in Memphis, TN, USA, cannot be overestimated. Fact is that the two musicians from Kiel (Northern Germany) are the first European musicians in the IBC's 27 years' history to run away with this prestigious award from the USA, the home of the blues – that's just unbelievable! By doing so those two guys will go down in Europe's music history.
The duo took its first try to win the IBC in January 2010. By gaining the German and Baltic Blues Challenges 2009 in Eutin, Germany, they met the requirements to get nominated for the IBC 2010 by the Baltic Blues Society Eutin. Last year blues lovers in Memphis already paid attention as they came in second place at the IBC's semi finals. By winning the German Blues Award 2010 – also sponsored by the Baltic Blues Society Eutin, Germany – they were entitled to participate in this year's IBC again.
Well experienced and self-assured from last year's competition Georg Schroeter and Marc Breitfelder went straight through two quarter finals and the semi final in the clubs on Memphis' legendary Beale Street to the final competition at the
time-honored Orpheum Theatre. In front of an audience of nearly 2000 the two Northerners (the German term translated word by word would be “Northern lights”) showed their excellent skills and delivered a brilliant set during their 20 minutes' performance. Carried and pushed by the overwhelmed and often spontaneously applauding audience Georg and Marc brought their show to a thundering climax which swept the audience off their feet.
So it really did not come as a surprise that jury and audience unisonously agreed, when Jay Sieleman, Executive Director of the Blues Foundation, USA, at the end of the solo/duo competition spoke those crucial words: “The winner is … Baltic Blues Society, Georg Schroeter and Marc Breitfelder, representing Germany!”
The participation of German blues musicians in the world's largest blues competition on American ground itself is extremely unusual – but Georg Schroeter (piano, vocals) and Marc Breitfelder (harp) winning the 27th International Blues Challenge 2011 in Memphis, TN, USA, cannot be overestimated. Fact is that the two musicians from Kiel (Northern Germany) are the first European musicians in the IBC's 27 years' history to run away with this prestigious award from the USA, the home of the blues – that's just unbelievable! By doing so those two guys will go down in Europe's music history.
The duo took its first try to win the IBC in January 2010. By gaining the German and Baltic Blues Challenges 2009 in Eutin, Germany, they met the requirements to get nominated for the IBC 2010 by the Baltic Blues Society Eutin. Last year blues lovers in Memphis already paid attention as they came in second place at the IBC's semi finals. By winning the German Blues Award 2010 – also sponsored by the Baltic Blues Society Eutin, Germany – they were entitled to participate in this year's IBC again.
Well experienced and self-assured from last year's competition Georg Schroeter and Marc Breitfelder went straight through two quarter finals and the semi final in the clubs on Memphis' legendary Beale Street to the final competition at the
time-honored Orpheum Theatre. In front of an audience of nearly 2000 the two Northerners (the German term translated word by word would be “Northern lights”) showed their excellent skills and delivered a brilliant set during their 20 minutes' performance. Carried and pushed by the overwhelmed and often spontaneously applauding audience Georg and Marc brought their show to a thundering climax which swept the audience off their feet.
So it really did not come as a surprise that jury and audience unisonously agreed, when Jay Sieleman, Executive Director of the Blues Foundation, USA, at the end of the solo/duo competition spoke those crucial words: “The winner is … Baltic Blues Society, Georg Schroeter and Marc Breitfelder, representing Germany!”
Georg (piano, vocals)
His fingers seem to slide over the keyboard of the piano by themselves while he manages to fascinate you with a unique Blues voice. Powerful, gentle, ecstatic or just plain beautiful – vocals and piano are a perfect match putting a spell on any audience … and if his eyes shine and sparkle, everything is just fine – for him, Marc and the audience!
His fingers seem to slide over the keyboard of the piano by themselves while he manages to fascinate you with a unique Blues voice. Powerful, gentle, ecstatic or just plain beautiful – vocals and piano are a perfect match putting a spell on any audience … and if his eyes shine and sparkle, everything is just fine – for him, Marc and the audience!
Keri Leigh *21.04.1969
Vocalist, songwriter, record producer, journalist, and author Keri Leigh is one of these multi-talented, accomplished individuals who the blues music world can't seem to get enough of. And the fact that she's barely 30 years old ensures that she'll be around, pursuing her number one passion -- singing the blues -- for a long time.
Her latest album, Arrival, (1995), for the Jackson, Mississippi-based Malaco Records label, isn't with her usual backing band, the Blue Devils, but it was recorded at Muscle Shoals Studios (which Malaco owns), and Leigh and her husband acted as co-producers of the record.
Leigh moved to Austin from her native Oklahoma with her guitarist/husband Mark Lyon in 1990. Fortunately, they were welcomed (for the most part) with open arms by the Austin blues community, and certainly by Clifford Antone, owner of Antone's blues nightclub, who booked them into his place every week for about a year. Within a year of so of her moving to Austin, she began work on her first book, Stevie Ray: Soul to Soul, (Taylor Books, Dallas), a passionate account of the ups and downs of the late guitarist's all-too-short life. Leigh first met Vaughan when she interviewed him in 1986, and after several interviews, they became friends. In May 1990, they began work on what was to be his autobiography, but in August of that year, Vaughan was killed in a helicopter accident in Wisconsin.
Leigh's recordings all have a Joplin-esque quality to them, and one way to describe her singing style is as a Janis Joplin for the '90s; in fact, some critics have described her as the greatest voice to come out of Texas since Joplin. Leigh has used her background as a radio and newspaper journalist to get publicity for the Blue Devils, and a glance at her overflowing press-clips folder shows what a hustler she is. But Leigh and her band work as hard as any of the other touring blues musicians around the U.S., and they spend upwards of 150 nights a year on the road. Leigh's husband Lyon is one of the most naturally gifted slide guitarists you'll ever hear, and the ease with which he handles the instrument makes it look deceptively simple. In fact, good blues guitar is very difficult to play, but Lyon has all the moves down pat.
Leigh and her Blue Devils have two releases out on Amazing Records (a now-defunct label), No Beginner (1993) and Blue Devil Blues, their debut (1991), in addition to their latest Malaco album. Arrival, consisting of one-half originals and one-half cover tunes, is certainly the most accessible of her recordings. Leigh and her group have many more good years ahead of them; wherever they go, their affable ways earn them new friends and fans in the blues world. They also have a knack for making new blues converts out of rock & rollers.
Her latest album, Arrival, (1995), for the Jackson, Mississippi-based Malaco Records label, isn't with her usual backing band, the Blue Devils, but it was recorded at Muscle Shoals Studios (which Malaco owns), and Leigh and her husband acted as co-producers of the record.
Leigh moved to Austin from her native Oklahoma with her guitarist/husband Mark Lyon in 1990. Fortunately, they were welcomed (for the most part) with open arms by the Austin blues community, and certainly by Clifford Antone, owner of Antone's blues nightclub, who booked them into his place every week for about a year. Within a year of so of her moving to Austin, she began work on her first book, Stevie Ray: Soul to Soul, (Taylor Books, Dallas), a passionate account of the ups and downs of the late guitarist's all-too-short life. Leigh first met Vaughan when she interviewed him in 1986, and after several interviews, they became friends. In May 1990, they began work on what was to be his autobiography, but in August of that year, Vaughan was killed in a helicopter accident in Wisconsin.
Leigh's recordings all have a Joplin-esque quality to them, and one way to describe her singing style is as a Janis Joplin for the '90s; in fact, some critics have described her as the greatest voice to come out of Texas since Joplin. Leigh has used her background as a radio and newspaper journalist to get publicity for the Blue Devils, and a glance at her overflowing press-clips folder shows what a hustler she is. But Leigh and her band work as hard as any of the other touring blues musicians around the U.S., and they spend upwards of 150 nights a year on the road. Leigh's husband Lyon is one of the most naturally gifted slide guitarists you'll ever hear, and the ease with which he handles the instrument makes it look deceptively simple. In fact, good blues guitar is very difficult to play, but Lyon has all the moves down pat.
Leigh and her Blue Devils have two releases out on Amazing Records (a now-defunct label), No Beginner (1993) and Blue Devil Blues, their debut (1991), in addition to their latest Malaco album. Arrival, consisting of one-half originals and one-half cover tunes, is certainly the most accessible of her recordings. Leigh and her group have many more good years ahead of them; wherever they go, their affable ways earn them new friends and fans in the blues world. They also have a knack for making new blues converts out of rock & rollers.
Paul Geremia *21.04.1944
Paul Geremia (born April 21, 1944, Providence, Rhode Island) is an American blues singer and acoustic guitarist.
Geremia recorded his first album in 1968, having been significantly influenced by both the rural blues tradition and the folk music revival of the 1960s.[1] Geremia has never recorded with electric guitar, hewing steadfastly to a traditional ethic with his acoustic playing.
Geremia recorded his first album in 1968, having been significantly influenced by both the rural blues tradition and the folk music revival of the 1960s.[1] Geremia has never recorded with electric guitar, hewing steadfastly to a traditional ethic with his acoustic playing.
R.I.P.
Earl Hooker +21.4.1970
Earl Hooker (* 15. Januar 1929 oder 1930 in Clarksdale, Mississippi; † 21. April 1970 in Chicago, Illinois), mit vollem Namen Earl Zebedee Hooker, war ein US-amerikanischer Bluesmusiker und ein Cousin der Blues-Legende John Lee Hooker.[1]Mit 10 begann er Gitarre zu spielen und ging 1941 in Chicago in die Lyon and Healy School of Music. Mitte der 40er nahm er bei Robert Nighthawk Gitarrenunterricht. Im Oktober 1969 kam er im Rahmen einer Tour mit dem American Folk Blues Festival nach Europa. Jedoch schien diese Tournee ihn körperlich überanstrengt zu haben, da Hooker nach einigen Auftritten im November und Dezember 1969 in Chicago ins Krankenhaus eingeliefert wurde, wo er dann aufgrund von Komplikationen seiner Tuberkuloseerkrankung verstarb.[2] Er ist in Chicago begraben.
Earl Hooker (January 15, 1929 – April 21, 1970) was an American Chicago blues guitarist, perhaps best known for his slide guitar playing. Considered a "musician's musician",[1] Hooker performed with blues artists such as Sonny Boy Williamson II, Junior Wells, and John Lee Hooker (a cousin) as well as fronting his own bands. An early player of the electric guitar, Hooker was influenced by the modern urban styles of T-Bone Walker and Robert Nighthawk. As a band leader, he recorded several singles and albums, in addition to recording with well-known artists. His "Blue Guitar", a popular Chicago area slide-guitar instrumental single, was later overdubbed with vocals by Muddy Waters and became the popular "You Shook Me".
In the late 1960s, Hooker began performing on the college and concert circuit and had several recording contracts. Just as his career was on an upswing, Earl Hooker died in 1970 at age 41 after a lifelong struggle with tuberculosis. His guitar playing has been acknowledged by many of his peers, including B.B. King, who commented: "to me he is the best of modern guitarists. Period. With the slide he was the best. It was nobody else like him, he was just one of a kind".[2]
Early life
Earl Zebedee Hooker was born in 1929 in rural Quitman County, Mississippi, outside of Clarksdale. In 1930, when he was one year old, his parents moved the family to Chicago as part of the Great Migration of the early 20th century of blacks out of the rural South.
His family was musically inclined (John Lee Hooker was a cousin), and Earl heard music played at home at a very early age. About age ten, he started playing guitar. Hooker was self-taught and picked up what he could from those around him. Although Hooker was gaining proficiency on guitar, he did not show an interest in singing. He had a speech impediment, i.e., pronounced stuttering, which afflicted him all his life.[3] Hooker contracted tuberculosis when he was young. Although his condition did not become critical until the mid-1950s, it required periodic hospital visits beginning at an early age.
By 1942, when he was 13, Hooker was performing on Chicago street corners with childhood friends including Bo Diddley. From the beginning, the blues were Hooker's favorites. In this period, the more country-influenced blues were giving way to swing-influenced and jump-blues styles, which often featured the electric guitar. T-Bone Walker was popular and in 1942 began a three-month club stint at the Rhumboogie Club in Chicago. He had a considerable impact on Hooker, with both his playing and showmanship.[4] Walker's swing-influenced blues guitar, including "the jazzy way he would sometimes run the blues scales"[3] and intricate chord work, appealed to Hooker. Walker's stage dynamics, which included playing the guitar behind his neck and with his teeth, influenced Hooker's own later stage act.
Also around this time, he developed a friendship with Robert Nighthawk, one of the first guitarists in Chicago to switch to electric guitar. Nighthawk taught Hooker slide-guitar techniques, including various tunings and his highly articulated approach; Nighthawk had a lasting influence on Hooker's playing. Junior Wells, another important figure in Hooker's career, entered his life at this time. The two were frequent street performers and sometimes to avoid foul weather (or truancy officers), they played in streetcars, riding one line to another across Chicago.
Early career and recordings
Around 1946, Earl Hooker traveled to Helena, Arkansas where he performed with Robert Nighthawk. While not booked with Nighthawk, Hooker performed with Sonny Boy Williamson II, including on his popular Helena KFFA radio program King Biscuit Time.[5] Hooker then toured the South as a member of Nighthawk's band for the next couple of years. This was his introduction to life as an itinerant blues musician (although he had earlier run away from home and spent time in the Mississippi Delta). In 1949, Hooker tried to establish himself in the Memphis, Tennessee music scene, but was soon back on the road fronting his own band. By the early 1950s he returned to Chicago and performed regularly in the local clubs. This set the pattern that he repeated for most of his life: extensive touring with various musicians interspersed with establishing himself in various cities before returning to the Chicago club scene.[5] During this time, he formed a band with blues drummer and vocalist, Kansas City Red.[6]
In 1952, Earl Hooker began recording for several independent record companies. His early singles were often credited to the vocalist he recorded with, although some instrumentals (and his occasional vocal) were issued in Hooker's name. Songs by Hooker and with blues and R&B artists, including Johnny O'Neal, Little Sam Davis, Boyd Gilmore, Pinetop Perkins, The Dells, Arbee Stidham, Lorenzo Smith, and Harold Tidwell were recorded by such labels as King, Rockin', Sun, Argo, Veejay, States, United, and C.J. (several of these recordings, including all of the Sun material, were unissued at the time). The harmonica player, Little Arthur Duncan, often accompanied Hooker over this period.[7]
Among these early singles was Hooker's first recorded vocal performance on an interpretation of the blues classic "Black Angel Blues". Although his vocals were more than adequate, they lacked the power usually associated with blues singers.[8] Hooker's "Sweet Angel" (1953 Rockin' 513) was based on Robert Nighthawk's 1949 "Black Angel Blues" and showed that "Hooker had by now transcended his teacher".[9] (B.B. King later had a hit in 1956 with his interpretation, "Sweet Little Angel".) One of Hooker's most successful singles during this period was "Frog Hop", recorded in 1956 (Argo 5265). The song, an upbeat instrumental, showed some of his T-Bone Walker swing-blues and chording influences, as well as his own style.[10]
Chief/Profile/Age recordings
Despite a major tuberculosis attack in 1956 that required hospitalization, Earl Hooker returned to performing in Chicago clubs and touring the South. By late 1959, Junior Wells brought Hooker to the Chief/Profile/Age group of labels, where he began one of the most fruitful periods of his recording career. Their first recording together, "Little by Little" (Profile 4011), was a hit the following year when it reached number 23 in the Billboard Hot R&B Sides chart.[11] With this success and his rapport with Chief owner and producer Mel London, Hooker became Chief's house guitarist. From 1959 to 1963, he appeared on about forty Chief recordings, including singles for Wells, Lillian Offitt, Magic Sam, A.C. Reed, Ricky Allen, Reggie "Guitar" Boyd, Johnny "Big Moose" Walker, and Jackie Brenston, as well as Hooker being the featured artist. He appeared on nearly all of Wells' releases, including "Come on in This House", "Messin' with the Kid", and "It Hurts Me Too", which remained in Wells' repertoire throughout his career. Hooker regularly performed with Wells for the rest of 1960 and most of 1961.
For the Chief labels, Hooker released several instrumentals, including the slow blues "Calling All Blues" (1960 Chief 7020) which featured Hooker's slide guitar and "Blues in D Natural" (1960 Chief 7016), where he switched between fretted and slide guitar. However, it was a chance taping before a recording session that captured perhaps Hooker's best known song (although by a different title). During the warm-up that preceded a May 1961 scheduled session, Hooker and his band played an impromptu slow blues which featured Hooker's slide guitar. The song was played once and Hooker was apparently not aware that it was being recorded.[12] Producer Mel London saved the tape and when looking for material to release the following spring, issued it as "Blue Guitar" (Age 29106). "Earl's song sold unusually well for an instrumental blues side"[13] and Chicago-area bluesmen were including it in their sets.
Sensing greater commercial potential for Hooker's "Blue Guitar", Leonard Chess approached Mel London about using it for Muddy Waters' next record. An agreement was reached and in July 1962, Waters overdubbed a vocal (with lyrics by Willie Dixon) on Hooker's single and it was renamed "You Shook Me". The song was successful and Chess hired Hooker to record three more instrumentals for Muddy Waters to overdub. One of the songs, again with Dixon-supplied lyrics, titled "You Need Love", was also a success and "sold better than Muddy's early sixties recordings".[14] Later, rock bands such as Led Zeppelin would achieve greater success with their adaptations of Earl Hooker's and Muddy Waters' "You Shook Me" and "You Need Love".
During his time with Chief, Hooker also recorded singles as a sideman for Bobby Saxton and Betty Everett as well as in his own name for the Bea & Baby, C.J., and Checker record labels. By 1964, the last of the Chief labels went out of business and ended his longest association with a record label; for some, his recordings for Chief/Profile/Age represent Hooker's best work.[15]
Cuca and Arhoolie recordings
Hooker continued touring and began recording for Cuca Records, Jim-Ko, C.J., Duplex, and Globe. Several songs recorded for Cuca between 1964 and 1967 were released on his first album The Genius of Earl Hooker. The album was composed of instrumentals, including the slow blues "The End of the Blues" and some songs which incorporated recent popular music trends, such as the early funk-influenced "Two Bugs in a Rug" (an allusion to his tuberculosis or "TB"). Hooker experienced a major tuberculosis attack in late summer 1967 and was hospitalized for nearly a year.
When Hooker was released from the hospital in 1968, he assembled a new band and began performing in the Chicago clubs and touring, against his doctor's advice. The band, with pianist Pinetop Perkins, harmonica player Carey Bell, bassist Geno Skaggs, vocalist Andrew Odom, and steel-guitar player Freddie Roulette, was "widely acclaimed" and "considered [as] one of the best Earl had ever carried with him".[16] Based on a recommendation by Buddy Guy, Arhoolie Records recorded an album by Hooker and his new band.[1] Two Bugs and a Roach was released in spring 1969 and included a mix of instrumentals and vocals by Odom, Bell, and Hooker. For one of his vocals, Hooker chose "Anna Lee", a song based on Robert Nighthawk's 1949 "Annie Lee Blues". As he had done earlier with "Sweet Angel", Hooker acknowledged his mentor's influence, but extended beyond Nighthawk's version to create his own interpretation. The "brilliant bebop[-influenced]" instrumental "Off the Hook" showed his jazzier leanings.[17] Two Bugs and a Roach was "extremely well-received by critics and the public"[1] and "stands today as [part of] Hooker's finest musical legacy."[18]
Blue Thumb and Bluesway recordings
The year 1969 was an important one in Earl Hooker's career. He again teamed up with Junior Wells and they performed at higher-paying college dates and concerts, including Chicago's Kinetic Playground. This pairing did not last long and in May 1969, and after assembling new players, Hooker recorded material that was later released as Funk. Last of the Late Great Earl Hooker. Also in May, after being recommended by Ike Turner (with whom he first toured in 1952), he went to Los Angeles to record the album Sweet Black Angel for Blue Thumb Records with arrangements and piano by Turner.[19] It included Hooker's interpretations of several blues standards, such as "Sweet Home Chicago" (with Hooker on vocal), "Drivin' Wheel", "Cross Cut Saw", "Catfish Blues", and the title track. While in Los Angeles, Hooker visited the clubs and sat in with Albert Collins at the Ash Grove several times and jammed with others, including Jimi Hendrix.[20]
After the Blue Thumb recording session, Earl Hooker and his band backed his cousin John Lee Hooker on a series of club dates in California; afterwards John Lee used them for his Bluesway Records recording session. The resulting album, John Lee Hooker Featuring Earl Hooker – If You Miss 'Im ... I Got 'Im, was Earl Hooker's introduction to the Bluesway label, an ABC subsidiary and home to B.B. King. This led to recording six more Earl Hooker-involved albums for Bluesway in 1969: Earl Hooker's Don't Have to Worry and albums by Andrew Odom, Johnny "Big Moose" Walker, Charles Brown, Jimmy Witherspoon, and Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry.[19]
Hooker's Don't Have to Worry included vocal performances by Walker, Odom, and Hooker as well as instrumental selections. The session had a "coherence and consistency" that help make the album another part of Hooker's "finest musical legacy".[18] Touring with his band in California took Hooker to the San Francisco Bay area in July 1969, where he played club and college dates as well as rock venues, such as The Matrix and the Fillmore West. In Berkeley, he and his band, billed as "Earl Hooker and His Chicago Blues Band", performed at Mandrake's, a local club, for two weeks as he recorded a second album for Arhoolie. Titled Hooker and Steve, the album was recorded with Louis Myers on harmonica, blues keyboard player Steve Miller, Geno Skaggs on bass, and Bobby Robinson on drums. Hooker shared the vocals with Miller and Skaggs.[21]
Last performances
After his California sojourn, Hooker returned to Chicago and performed regularly around the city, including the first Chicago Blues Festival on August 30, 1969, which attracted about 10,000 people. In October 1969, Hooker toured Europe as part of the American Folk Blues Festival, where he played twenty concerts in twenty-three days in nine countries. There his sets were well received and garnered favorable reviews.[22][23] "The journey overseas was a sort of apotheosis for Hooker, who regarded it, along with his recording trips to California, as the climax of his career."[24] The tour exhausted him and "his friends noticed a severe deterioration of his health upon his return."[24] Hooker played a few dates around Chicago (including some with Junior Wells) from November to early December 1969, whereafter he was hospitalized. On April 21, 1970 at age 41, he died from complications due to tuberculosis. He is interred in the Restvale Cemetery in the Chicago suburb of Alsip.[25]
Playing style and recognition
Unlike his contemporaries Elmore James and Muddy Waters, Earl Hooker used standard tuning on his guitar for slide playing. He also used a short steel slide. This allowed him to switch between slide and fretted playing during a song with greater ease. Part of his slide sound has been attributed to his light touch, a technique he learned from Robert Nighthawk. "Instead of using full-chord glissando effects, he preferred the more subtle single-note runs inherited from others who played slide in standard tuning, [such as] Tampa Red, Houston Stackhouse, and his mentor Robert Nighthawk."[26] In addition to his mastery of slide guitar, Hooker was also a highly developed standard-guitar soloist and rhythm player.[27] At a time when many blues guitarists were emulating B.B. King, Hooker maintained his own course.[28] Although he was a bluesman at heart, Hooker was adept at several musical styles, which he incorporated into his playing as it suited him. Depending on his mood and audience reaction, a Hooker performance could include blues, boogie-woogie, R&B/soul, be-bop, pop, and even a country & western favorite.[29]
Earl Hooker was a flamboyant showman in the style of T-Bone Walker and predated Guitar Slim and Johnny "Guitar" Watson. He wore flashy clothes and would pick the guitar with his teeth or his feet or play it behind his neck or between his legs.[30] He also played a double neck guitar, at first a six-string guitar and four-string bass combination and later a twelve- and six-string guitar combination. After his 1967 tuberculosis attack left him weakened, he sometimes played while seated and using a lighter single-neck guitar. In a genre that typically shunned gadgetry, Earl Hooker was an exception. He experimented with amplification and used echo and tape delay, including "double-tracking his playing during a song, [so] he could pick simultaneously two solos in harmony".[31] In 1968, he began using a wah-wah pedal to add a vocal-like quality to some of his solos.[16]
Although Hooker did not receive the public recognition to the extent as some of his contemporaries, he was highly regarded by his fellow musicians. Many consider Earl Hooker to be one of the greatest modern blues guitarists, including:[19][32] Wayne Bennett, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Albert Collins, Willie Dixon, Ronnie Earl, Tinsley Ellis, Guitar Shorty, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, Albert King, B.B. King, Little Milton, Louis Myers, Lucky Peterson, Otis Rush, Joe Louis Walker, and Junior Wells. In 2013, Hooker was inducted to the Blues Hall of Fame, which noted that "Earl Hooker was the 'blues guitarists' guitarist,' the most respected six-string wizard in Chicago blues musicians' circles during the 1950s and '60s."
Nina Simone +21.04.2003
Nina Simone war das sechste von acht Kindern einer Methodistenpredigerin und eines Handwerkers. Bereits im Alter von vier Jahren begann sie mit dem Klavierspielen. Nach einem Studium an der renommierten Juilliard School in New York City wollte sie ihre Ausbildung in Philadelphia am Curtis Institute of Music abschließen, wurde jedoch aus vermutlich rassistischen Gründen nicht zugelassen. Über einen Job als Klavierlehrerin kam Nina Simone zum Gesang, wobei sie von Anfang an eigene Stücke improvisierte. Ihr Gesangs- und Klavierstil war von Nellie Lutcher beeinflusst, deren Karriere ungefähr zu der Zeit endete, als Nina Simone bekannt wurde.[1]
1957 veröffentlichte sie in New York ihr erstes Album auf Bethlehem Records, ein Konzert 1959 in der New York City Town Hall machte sie in den USA und in Europa bekannt. Von ihren Fans wurde sie ehrfürchtig als „Hohepriesterin des Soul“ bezeichnet. In den 1960er Jahren engagierte sie sich in der US-amerikanischen Bürgerrechtsbewegung, mit Liedern wie Mississippi Goddam und To Be Young, Gifted, and Black (Liedtext von Weldon Irvine) wurde sie eine ihrer musikalischen Leitfiguren.
Ihr eigenes, privates Leben zerbrach aber Stück um Stück: Sie floh aus ihren Ehen, hatte eine Affäre mit dem Premierminister von Barbados (Errol Barrow), suchte aufgrund einer Empfehlung von Miriam Makeba ihre Bestimmung in Afrika, unternahm Europatourneen, die sie ihrem politischen Kampf in den USA entfremdeten und galt in der Plattenindustrie zunehmend als schwierig. Ihr Album Baltimore (1978) wurde von der Kritik gelobt, verkaufte sich aber zunächst schlecht. In den 1980ern trat sie regelmäßig im Jazzclub von Ronnie Scott in London auf (und nahm dort auch ein Album auf). Ihre Autobiografie I Put a Spell on You erschien 1992, ihr letztes reguläres Album 1993. Im gleichen Jahr zog sie nach Südfrankreich, wo sie zehn Jahre lebte und 2003 nach langem Krebsleiden starb.
Der Titel Ain't Got No / I Got Life von ihrem 1968er Album ’Nuff Said! ist ein Medley aus zwei Songs aus dem Musical Hair. Einem größeren Publikum bekannt wurde sie vor allem durch ihren Song My Baby Just Cares for Me – dank eines Chanel-Werbespots wurde er 1987, 30 Jahre nach der Aufnahme des Stücks, ein Welthit. An den Verkaufserlösen war sie nur minimal beteiligt. 1993 kam der Film Codename: Nina mit Bridget Fonda in der Hauptrolle in die Kinos – mit einem Soundtrack, der teilweise aus Musik von Nina Simone bestand. In dem 1999er Remake von Thomas Crown ist nicht zu fassen mit Pierce Brosnan und Rene Russo taucht das Intro ihrer Version des Gospels Sinnerman immer wieder auf, um schließlich den Höhepunkt des Films mit ihrem unverwechselbaren Gesang zu unterlegen. [2] 2009 nutzte Pandemic Studios Simones Version des Lieds Feeling Good sowie eine Remix-Version als musikalische Untermalung des im Paris des Zweiten Weltkriegs spielenden Computerspiels Saboteur.
Nina Simone /ˈniːnə sɨˈmoʊn/ (born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist. She worked in a broad range of musical styles including classical, jazz, blues, folk, R&B, gospel, and pop.
The sixth child of a preacher's family in North Carolina, Simone aspired to be a concert pianist.[1] Her musical path changed direction after she was denied a scholarship to the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, despite a well-received audition. Simone said she later found out from an insider at Curtis that she was denied entry because she was black.[2] So as to fund her continuing musical education and become a classical pianist, she began playing in a small club in Philadelphia where she was also required to sing. She was approached for a recording by Bethlehem Records, and her rendering of "I Loves You, Porgy" was a hit in the United States in 1958.[1] Over the length of her career Simone recorded more than 40 albums, mostly between 1958, when she made her debut with Little Girl Blue, and 1974.
Her musical style arose from a fusion of gospel and pop songs with classical music, in particular with influences from her first inspiration, Johann Sebastian Bach,[3] and accompanied with her expressive jazz-like singing in her characteristic contralto voice. She injected as much of her classical background into her music as possible to give it more depth and quality, as she felt that pop music was inferior to classical.[4] Her intuitive grasp on the audience–performer relationship was gained from a unique background of playing piano accompaniment for church revivals and sermons regularly from the early age of six years old.
The sixth child of a preacher's family in North Carolina, Simone aspired to be a concert pianist.[1] Her musical path changed direction after she was denied a scholarship to the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, despite a well-received audition. Simone said she later found out from an insider at Curtis that she was denied entry because she was black.[2] So as to fund her continuing musical education and become a classical pianist, she began playing in a small club in Philadelphia where she was also required to sing. She was approached for a recording by Bethlehem Records, and her rendering of "I Loves You, Porgy" was a hit in the United States in 1958.[1] Over the length of her career Simone recorded more than 40 albums, mostly between 1958, when she made her debut with Little Girl Blue, and 1974.
Her musical style arose from a fusion of gospel and pop songs with classical music, in particular with influences from her first inspiration, Johann Sebastian Bach,[3] and accompanied with her expressive jazz-like singing in her characteristic contralto voice. She injected as much of her classical background into her music as possible to give it more depth and quality, as she felt that pop music was inferior to classical.[4] Her intuitive grasp on the audience–performer relationship was gained from a unique background of playing piano accompaniment for church revivals and sermons regularly from the early age of six years old.
read more:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Simone
Nina Simone- I Put Spell On You
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