re: what constitutes blues.

[alciere@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

Mike's point about micro tuning with blues is very important. It's one of 
the reasons the harp is such a good blues instrument. It's not so much 
feeling versus technique. It's more the old concept of cool, laying back, 
leaving space. There may not be much flash but the the groove is in the 
pocket, it's swinging. The band members are listening to each other, 
watching each other, building off each other. In short, the musicians are 
extrodinary but usually they let the singer do the strutting. 

That sense of timing, rhythmn, pace,taste, structure is so important to any 
musican playing any type of music. Some of the early rock band attempts to 
play blues were awful, not because the kids were white, but because the kids 
were beginner musicians. It doesn't take much to bang out three chords and 
blow over it, but that doesn't necessarily make it music. 

To me the Blues form is like a sonnet. A simple form that's capable of 
intense expression. 

Rainbow Jimmy
http://www.spaceanimals.com
http://www.mp3.com/spaceanimals