Blues / Live Music Report — 1 comment
12
Jun 10

Rev. K.M. Williams

The Chicago Blues Festival is one of a number of free lakefront summer music events. The more well-known acts perform at the main stage, Petrillo Bandshell, while other groups perform at stages of various sizes. Because there are so many options, it’s a great way to discover musicians you’ve never heard of just by wandering from one stage to another.

I got to the Festival site early for a group that had been recommended, so I walked around. I saw a crowd at the small Roadhouse Stage. Rev. K.M. Williams, “The Texas Country Blues Preacher,” and the Amazing Trainreck (also known as Washboard Jackson) were playing. Williams played a First Act electric guitar that he said came from Wal-Mart. Trainreck played a washboard and a drum kit bare handed (he had thimbles or some kind of covering on his fingertips).

Rev. K.M. Williams at the Chicago Blues Festival, Saturday, June 12, 2010

Rev. K.M. Williams at the Chicago Blues Festival, Saturday, June 12, 2010

I just heard the end of their performance, perhaps three or four songs, but I enjoyed it a lot and the crowd was very enthusiastic. Williams played one-chord riffs while Trainreck tore up the drums. It was “primitive” but effective. Williams played one number on a cigar box guitar that looked like it had only two strings. He used a slide and got a lot of music out of it. I’d love to be able to do that. The performance was a highlight of the Festival for me.

Born in Clarksville, Texas on October 19, 1956 as Kelvin Mark Williams, he is an ordained minister, currently based in Dallas, Texas. He has recorded some 20 CDs.

Blues / Live Music Report / World Music — Leave a comment
10
Jun 10

Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba (6/10/10)

Malian musician Bassekou Kouyate and his band Ngoni Ba played at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park on Thursday, 10 June 2010. Their music was exhilarating and thrilling. It continues to amaze me that they can get so much music out of such “primitive”-looking instruments as the ngoni.

Ngoni

As someone who is still learning to play a six-string fretted guitar, It’s hard to imagine how one can play a four-stringed unfretted instrument with such apparent ease and precision. They played their hypnotic music for a little over an hour.

As an introduction to the Chicago Blues Festival that began the following night,  Barry Dollins came on stage and announced the Howlin’ Wolf tribute (yesterday was the 100th anniversary of his birth). Otis Taylor came out with Eddie Shaw and Hubert Sumlin. They played a few Wolf tunes (“Spoonful,” “Back Door Man,” “Shake It”) with the Kouyate group. Taylor played a white Fender Telecaster, Shaw played sax and sang, and Sumlin played his well-worn Strat. He had his oxygen tank with him and had to sit, but he seemed to be having a good time.

The jam was a chaotic mess. Taylor mostly just played a rhythm line. Sumlin’s guitar was hard to hear whenever he got a chance to solo. I imagine they never rehearsed, but I’m surprised that they didn’t do it so everyone got a chance to be heard. Fortunately, I’d heard Otis Taylor and Hubert Sumlin before so I knew what they were capable of, but it wasn’t a good introduction for new listeners.

 

Chicago Symphony Orchestra / Live Music Report — Leave a comment
02
Jun 10

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Nancy and I went to Symphony Center at 6:30 for a pre-concert performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s String Trio in D Major, Op. 9, No. 2 played by three members of the Orchestra, Qing Hou, violin, Lawrence Neuman, viola, and Brant Taylor, cello. I’m not a big fan of chamber music, but enjoyed this pretty well.

Ludwig van Beethoven

Joseph Karl Stieler (1781–1858): Portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven when composing the Missa Solemnis (1820)

After the trio, Lawrence Rapchak, music director of the Northbrook Symphony gave a presentation on the evening’s program. He spent the most time on Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 67, but also talked about the Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93 and the Overture to Fidelio. He went through the symphonies, talking about the musical elements and structure, playing themes on the piano or playing excerpts from orchestra performances. His delivery was quick, lively and very interesting. It was perhaps the best and most helpful talk I’ve ever heard about music, especially among the pre-concert talks. I would love to hear more by him.

Nancy and I enjoyed the program conducted by 81-year-old Bernard Haitink. I think my enjoyment and understanding were enhanced by the Rapchak presentation. I heard more and noticed more. It was a memorable evening.

Blues / Learning Music / Quotes — Leave a comment
29
Apr 10

4 Blues Rules

1. Have fun.

2. Play loose.

3. Play with feeling.

4. Don’t worry about mistakes.

—Kenny Sultan. Blues Guitar Legends (1996)

Blues / Learning Music — Leave a comment
13
Jan 10

Guitar practice

The cold weather has made practicing difficult. In particular, the second finger on my left hand and the first finger on my right hand are cracked and sore. I only practiced about half an hour last night. I worked on “Gambler’s Blues” from the Acoustic Blues book that my teacher, Jim Goelitz, gave me some time ago. I had forgotten about it,  but when we were talking about finger picking he recommended I work on that material.

I also started doing a musical analysis of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Commit a Crime,” which I really like. I believe it’s just a one-chord riff-based song in B, but I really like the riff. I’d never heard the song until I heard it on the three CD Chess Box set. When I Googled it last night, I discovered that it had been covered by a lot of musicians, including Stevie Ray Vaughan. I haven’t figured out the riff yet, but hope Jim will help me today.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra / Live Music Report — Leave a comment
12
Jan 10

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Eighty-five-year-old Pierre Boulez conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert tonight. You’d never guess he was that old by the way he walks on stage and conducts.

We heard Maurice Ravel’s Le tombeau de Couperin, Suite for Orchestra Marc-André Dalbavie’s Flute Concerto (2006) and Béla Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle, Opera in One Act (1918). The Ravel was familiar, but the other two were new to me. I enjoyed the program.

Béla Bartók (1927)

Béla Bartók (1927)

The Bartók was a bit long, but I thought it was interesting both as music and as a portrayal of male and female psychology. I was struck by the familiar pattern of the woman trying to find out about the man she loves, to get him to reveal his secrets to her, to open up the doors to his (well-defended) castle. The man resists, but gradually gives in hoping that the woman he loves will be able to save him from himself—from the monster he is or feels he is or was without her love.

Blues / Documentary / Movie Review — Leave a comment
11
Jan 10

The Howlin’ Wolf Story (2003) [DVD]

I really enjoyed Don McGlynn’s The Howlin’ Wolf Story (2003), which I saw on DVD. I think it’s one of the best blues documentaries I’ve seen. It’s a typical mix of archival footage and photos with contemporary talking heads interviews. It gives an overview of Wolf’s life and music. One of its strengths is that several songs are heard in entirety. Some are recordings behind a montage of images. The best segments are from a 1966 performance of Wolf with Hubert Sumlin, his lead guitarist, and others. There are also some clips of drummer Sam Lay’s home movies of Wolf and the band at Silvio’s Lounge in Chicago (now a vacant lot). One really gets a sense of what he might have been like as a performer. I would give almost anything to have seen him perform before his death in 1976.

Howlin’ Wolf is one of my blues heroes and mentors. While he’s not as well known, perhaps, as Muddy Waters, he’s of equal stature in his importance to the blues and his influence on later music, including rock ‘n’ roll.

Documentary / DVD — Leave a comment
23
Dec 09

Albert Collins and the Icebreakers: In Concert: Ohne Filter (1985) [DVD]

I finished watching Albert Collins and the Icebreakers: In Concert: Ohne Filter (1985) on DVD. It was the first of two 60-minute concerts Collins did for the German TV series Ohne Filter. It was good musically, but it wasn’t well shot, especially for anyone interested in Collins’ guitar playing. The use of red lighting wasn’t well suited to the TV cameras and the shot selection was often not what I would have liked. They often focused on someone other than the player who was soloing and didn’t show enough of Collins when he was playing or showed him from an angle that obscured his hands on the guitar. The 2003 Ohne Filter concert has similar problems, but was more successful.

Among the songs Collins played were “Listen Here,” “If Trouble Was Money,” “Skatin’,” “The Highway Is Like a Woman,” and “That Thing I Used to Do.” Southside Johnny joins the band on some numbers. I admire Albert Collins enormously and am a huge fan of his tone, so I’m glad I saw the DVD, but I don’t need to own it.

Electric Guitar / Learning Music — Leave a comment
08
Nov 09

New guitar strings

I’m enjoying using the new ten-gauge strings that my teacher Jim Goelitz installed on my guitar. I don’t find that they make bends harder, but they seem to require more pressure to do barre chords correctly (without buzzing strings). I need to practice those a lot more. I’ve gotten out of shape lately.

My Fender Squier Strat originally came with nine-gauge strings, the lightest and easiest to play gauge. The first time they were replaced, Jim recommended D’Addario strings and installed D’Addario EXL120 Nickel Super Light strings. Strings are referred to by the gauge of the lightest string (.009, .011, .016, .024, .032 and .042).

Jim has told me that heavier strings produce a better tone, but they are also not as easy to play. He uses “tens” on his Strat and suggested I try them. On October 30, 2009, he installed a set of D’Addario EXL110 Nickel Regular Light strings (.010, .013, 017, .026, .036, and .046).

On Friday (11/6), I tried the first couple of riffs in Chris Hunt’s Blues by the Bar, a book and CD on how to solo. It seemed too intimidating when I first got it on March 16, 2009. I hope it will help me develop some more interesting patterns.

Blues / Electric Guitar / Learning Music — Leave a comment
05
Sep 09

Music Listening Analysis

My guitar teacher, Jim Goelitz, suggested that I listen to songs I’m interested in learning and do a music analysis of them. He said this would be good ear training and would help me learn to pay attention to more elements of the music. Based on his input, I developed a form that I use to record my analysis. The elements include the name of the song, the composer, the performer or band, the instrumentation, the time signature, the tempo, whether it’s “swing” or “straight” rhythm, the form of the song (e.g., 12-bar blues), the key of the song, the chords in the song, and the tuning. I also add the source album, release date, record label and length of the song.

On early recordings such as those of Howlin’ Wolf on Chess Records, it can be a challenge to hear all the instruments. It can also be difficult, especially in the beginning, to hear the chord changes and work out the progression. It’s much easier on recent recordings where instruments are on separate microphones. To determine the key, I work my way up the neck of the guitar until I find something that seems to fit. I missed a few at first, but have gotten better at it. It’s a very useful “exercise,” but requires having a good teacher.

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