William Zinsser, author of On Writing Well:
Short words are better than long words.
Little Richard:
I’m gonna rip it up . . .
Little Richard, “Rip It Up,” live (TV broadcast), c. 1956
This guy—one of my all-time musical heroes (someone I’ve been listening to for over 30 years)—makes you move. He makes you feel. He makes you think. What more could you ask for?
Henry Threadgill, alto saxophone
With His Very Very Circus, live, New York, 1995
*****
With his Society Situation Dance Band (featuring Craig Harris, trombone), live, Germany (Hamburg), 1988
Like a lot of live performances (especially ones where the musicians haven’t had many chances to play together [as no doubt was the case here]), this gets better as it goes along. At first, things are a bit tentative and raggedy. Then, at around 1:50, trombonist Craig Harris starts to find his way. By around 2:15, the horns and strings begin to sound more cohesive. By around 3:30, the drummers, having gotten more comfortable with the tempo and structure, start to push the groove harder. At around 8:00, with everything going full steam, Threadgill, feeling Harris feeling it, suddenly breaks things down, leaving just the ’bone and the electric guitar. And with that, the performance jumps out of its skin.
*****
With Judith Sanchez Ruiz (dancer), live, New York, 2008
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lagniappe
Music should go right through you, leave some of itself inside you, and take some of you with it when it leaves.—Henry Threadgill
Let’s head back to Kingston for more ska.
The Maytals (before becoming “Toots & . . .”), “Treat Me Bad,” “She Will Never Let You Down,” live, Jamaica (Kingston [Sombrero Club]), 1962
No matter what musical language he’s speaking, you’d swear it was his first.
Marc Ribot, guitar
With Los Cubanos Postizos, “Aurora en Pekin,” live, France, 2002
*****
With Ceramic Dog, “Caravan,” live, Berlin, 2008
*****
Solo, “Bouncing Around” (Django Reinhardt, c. 1937), live, New York, 2009
Sax player in a ska band—easiest job in music?
The Blues Busters, “I Don’t Know,” live, Jamaica (Kingston [Sombrero Club]), 1962
Who else sounds like Kate & Anna McGarrigle?
Who else makes such wonderfully eccentric career moves—like, for instance, putting out an album all in French?
Who else has not one but two children following in their musical footsteps (Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright)?
Kate McGarrigle (February 6, 1946-January 18, 2010)
Kate & Anna McGarrigle
“Ce Matin,” live, Chicago, 2004
*****
“Talk To Me of Mendocino,” live, Saratoga Springs, New York, 1990
*****
With Family & Friends (including Rufus and Martha Wainwright), live, Mariposa Folk Festival, Toronto, 1989
*****
“Complainte Pour Ste. Catherine,” live, 1981
*****
“Proserpina,” live, London, 12/9/09 (Kate’s last concert)
Watching late night TV, you drift in and out of sleep.
In the morning, you recall a commercial you saw—or dreamed.
And you say to yourself, “Buddhist Country Classics?”
Jimmie Dale Gilmore (with Bill Frisell, guitar; Jerry Douglas, Dobro; Viktor Krauss, bass), “Just a Wave, Not the Water,” live (TV broadcast), 1997
Chicago Blues Festival, part 4
Here, to wrap up this festival, is one of the best performances by Otis Rush I’ve ever heard (which makes it one of the best blues performances I’ve ever heard [which makes it, etc.]).
Otis Rush (with Fred Below, drums), “I Can’t Quit You Baby,” live, Germany, 1966
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lagniappe
I was staying with my sister and messing around with the guitar every day for my own amusement. Then she took me around and introduced me to Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, Little Walter, and the first time I saw that onstage, it inspired me to play. I thought that was the world.—Otis Rush
Chicago Blues Festival, part 3
Junior Wells
“Ships On The Ocean” (with Buddy Guy, guitar), live, Chicago (Theresa’s Lounge, 48th & Indiana), mid-1970s
*****
“Hoodoo Man Blues” (with Otis Rush, guitar; Fred Below, drums), live, Germany, 1966
**********
lagniappe
After Buddy [Guy] and Junior [Wells] did their show in Frankfurt [during a 1970 European tour opening for the Rolling Stones], Mick Jagger came into the dressing room and started to talk to Junior about a certain harmonica technique. First, Mick played for Junior, who listened carefully. Then, Junior pointed to his head and told Mick that the blues sound Mick was looking for was something he had to feel in his mind. It wasn’t just a matter of playing the instrument. He had to understand what the blues experience was all about and then bring it forth on his own.—Dick Waterman, Between Midnight And Day (2003).
Chicago Blues Festival, part 2
Howlin’ Wolf (with Hubert Sumlin, guitar), live, Chicago, 1966
“How Many More Years”
*****
“Meet Me In The Bottom”
**********
lagniappe
When I first heard him [Howlin’ Wolf], I said, ‘This is for me. This is where the soul of man never dies.’—Sam Phillips
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