Re: [Harp-L] Is the blues a microscopic part of global culture?

[Joel Fritz <jfritz666@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

A lot of the jazz players who were prominent in the 60s came up in jump 
blues and R&B bands because that's where the work was.  There were a lot 
of jazz players  up through the 70s and beyond that had a blues focus, 
e.g. Ramsey Lewis, Jimmy Smith, Les McCann.... A lot of the original bop 
players started in bands that played a lot of blues, e.g. Charlie Parker 
with Jay McShann. Before bebop the distinction between jazz and blues 
wasn't as clear as it is now, partly because nobody thought it was 
terribly important to separate them.   A lot of the Bluebird blues 
records out of Chicago in the 30s and 40s had horn players on them, some 
not so good and others who were.  Gutbucket trombone player Ike Rodgers 
played on a lot of St. Louis based blues records.  Phineas (Jr.) and 
Calvin Newborn were sidemen on early recordings by B. B. King and Walter 
Horton as well as other Memphis based blues players at the time. Hot 
Lips Page was one of the best blues singers ever to record. 

Like Hash says, these days a lot of jazz players just aren't at home 
with the blues.  Much of jazz today has a different direction from the 
music that came before.  It's not bad, it's just different. 

HASHBB@xxxxxxx wrote:
> In a message dated 7/22/06 11:35:11 AM, winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx writes:
>
> <<  Jazz musicians can play blues but blues musicians are seldom able
>
> to play jazz.  >>
>
> This in itself is too sweeping of a statement. There is today a large number 
> of Jazz
> musicians who can 'play at' blues, but the notion that they have a clear 
> understanding of playing blues is all together a different thing. The presumption 
> that a jazz musician can play a pentatonic scale and the changes necessary to 
> play blues does not mean that the blues will sound  proficient in their hands. 
> I believe today that there is a growing number of Jazz musicians that can't 
> play blues very well, not what it was like pre 1970's when just about any 
> proficient jazz musician could cut it on either side. As for blues musicians seldom 
> being able to play jazz, that may be a truer statement. It all depends on 
> what your definitions of 'blues musician' and 'blues music' are. The lines we're 
> more blurred in the past as far as jazz or blues musician. Case in point, F
> enton Robinson and Roy Gaines. Do you classify them as Jazz or blues? probably 
> both. Also modern blues guitarists Duke Robillard, and Charley Baty. On the 
> harmonica side of things, both Jerry Portnoy and Gary Primich have delved into 
> jazz, as has Magic Dave Therault. Add to this many prewar guitarists and piano 
> players could play blues, jazz, pop music, whatever the occasion or gig called 
> for. This is just naming a few, but  ithink you can get my point. I think they 
> probably saw it all as music, not really categorizing like we tend to do 
> today. Your post is definately food for thought.
> HB
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