[Harp-L] Blues transcends race

["John F. Potts" <hvyj@xxxxxxx>]

A musician's ability to play blues with inspiration and feeling is  
independent of race.  Not all caucasian players "sound white."  Some  
do, but that just means they don't know or haven't learned the  
nuances of the blues idiom.  Being white is not an impediment to  
playing deep blues.  I'm a white guy.  When the musicians I play with  
say a certain player "sounds white" it's not a compliment--it means  
that player can't, or hasn't learned, to play with the feel and  
nuances one expects when blues or R&B is played as it should be  
played.  Over the years I've played quite often with all black blues  
bands and still do, but I've never heard a black musician use that  
phrase to describe a player.  From the point of view of the many  
black blues players I've been around, a musician either can play, or  
can't play right. Color doesn't have anything to with it.

Not all musicians have the aptitude to play in the style necessary to  
play blues or R&B and have it sound right.  Not all musicians have  
the aptitude to play classical music properly, either.  But it is not  
because of their race.  African Americans invented blues. Europeans  
invented classical music.  But no one has a monopoly on any music.   
It's a matter of technique and style. Artistic expression doesn't  
have artificial boundaries.

Everyone gets the blues, but not everyone can play the blues.  As a  
dearly departed authentic blues player/band leader who was originally  
from the deep U.S. South once told me: Sometimes a person can have  
the blues and not know it.

And, btw, it simply cannot be said with any credibility that Paul  
Butterfield's harp playing "sounds white."

JP