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Customer Reviews (1)

A wonderful, highly readable sociological blues review
Grazian presents the world of Chicago's blues scene with the loving touch of a real fan, and the critical eye of a deep-thinking sociologist.His exploration of notions of "authenticity" in blues is penetrating and insightful, as he examines what it is in the blues experience that makes us think of it as "authentic" -- is it the color of the musician?The world-weariness in his voice?The ambience or clientele of the club?Or is it simply a construct of audience expectations, differing from person to person?Grazian, a blues player himself, skillfully points out how and why the authenticity we seek in our music is a reflection of our search for authenticity, the desire to "keep it real," in culture itself. ... Read more

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In this compact quick-reference chord-finder, Jack Long has gathered together all the most useful chords you'll ever need to play the blues... perfect for improvising or jamming! ... Read more

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This fascinating compendium explains the most unusual, obscure, and curious words and expressions from vintage blues music. Utilizing both documentary evidence and invaluable interviews with a number of now-deceased musicians from the 1920s and '30s, blues scholar Stephen Calt unravels the nuances of more than twelve hundred idioms and proper or place names found on oft-overlooked 'race records' recorded between 1923 and 1949. From 'aggravatin' papa' to 'yas-yas-yas' and everything in between, this truly unique, racy, and compelling resource decodes a neglected speech for general readers and researchers alike, offering invaluable information about black language and American slang. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A handy resource for blues fans.
Ya know, you can listen to blues, especially if you are a novice and really not know for sure what the heck they are insinuating.This book clears it up and it is amazing how many ways you can have double entres in blues.Fun book to have and will help anyone with their blues knowledge which of course makes for more appreciation.

Fun pick-up book
I keep this book at my bedside;It is a fun and good read explaining the words used in blues songs.Even if you dont listen to the blues this book will keep you entertained.Best part is that you can just flip through the pages and pick any page to read and set it aside for the next day.

BLUES LISTENERS NEED THIS BOOK
Trade-size,271 pages of definitions.There is an author's note and an introduction.Also included is an annotated bibliography of dictionary sources,and a general bibliography.There is a list of people who the author consulted or interviewed-several (Gary Davis,Skip James,Son House,for example) before their death,and a list of abbreviations and symbols used in the text,which is very useful.True to it's title,the words and explanations are laid out like a dictionary,in alphabetical order.The acid-free paper is a very nice cream color,which makes reading (or looking up) the definitions easy on the eyes.

This book was originally begun in the 1960's,then put aside because of lack of publisher interest in the 1970's.In 2005,thanks to another scholar,Calt forged ahead,up-dated his manuscript,and finally had it published.And for everyone who listens to blues music,especially earlier styles from various regions (country blues from Texas for example),this book is a valuable key in unlocking words and phrases (both local and more widely known) which have alluded listeners for years.Included are more than 1200 definitions from the era of "race records" (as blues was then called) that have long ago lost their meaning for listeners in the present.Included are slang terms and place names that have been neglected until now.The meanings,explained in modern terms,are also shown in context in snippets of song lyrics from the era,which adds valuable insight to the word usage.

A number of these terms ("afterwhile","creeper",or "pallet" for example) can be figured out in the context of the surrounding words in the song.But to have a definitive meaning leaves no room for speculation.Other terms ("backbite","gauge","shim-sham-shimmy","dead cat on the line",as examples) need clarification.This is where this book comes into it's own.There are so many definitions of words and phrases that,in the modern world,are no longer relevant,or have simply been forgotten,that this wonderful book could be read almost as a history lesson in itself.

For anyone who listens to blues music and has wondered what a particular word/phrase means,this is something you need.As someone who has listened to blues music for over 40 years,I find this book opens up many doors,and gives much insight and understanding into songs I've listened to,and not been able to catch the full meaning of the lyrics.When Blind Willie McTell singsabout putting his pistol "in so' ",now I know what he's really saying.What does "Blind" Lemon Jefferson mean by "jump a rattler"?Or when Robert Johnson sings about taking something out of someone's " 'nation sack",I now know what he's doing.Or when the MEMPHIS JUG BAND sings about a woman looking as good as a "Georgia ham",I now know what they're referring to.What does Lucille Bogan mean when she sings about someone being a "pot hound"?And just what does "graveyard love" really mean?This great book opens up the world of blues music/lyrics like no other.Either spot-reading or reading from cover to cover,this book is both entertaining and invaluable to blues lovers.If blues listeners want to know what they are really listening to-get this book.

... Read more

Product Description
Featuring over 200 vintage photographs and a new introduction by the author, the engaging, informative volume brings to life the African American singers and players who created this rich genre of music as well as the settings and experiences that inspired them.

The author deftly traces the evolution of the blues from the work songs of slaves, to acoustic country ballads, to urban sounds, to electric rhythm and blues bands. Oliver vividly re-creates the economic, social, and regional forces that shaped the unique blues tradition, and superbly details every facet of the music, including themes and subjects, techniques, and recording history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Too much information in too little space
I'm not faulting the research, which is comprehensive; it is the format that the author chooses to present this information that is so difficult to digest. On any given page there are as many as 15 different names with barely enough information about each artist to differentiate them from one another. The book is so short and so densely packed that it is difficult to absorb the information. The author uses the regionalization of the Blues as it traveled from the South to the North as his basis for examination; occasionally throwing in lyrics or musical notes to support a point, but their inclusion seems to be haphazard at best. If you are looking for a tremendous amount of information about the Blues this is fine, but if you are looking for an enjoyable read, look elswhere.

Too much information in too little space
I'm not faulting the research, which is comprehensive; it is the format that the author chooses to present this information that is so difficult to digest. On any given page there are as many as 15 different names with barely enough information about each artist to differentiate them from one another. The book is so short and so densely packed that it is difficult to absorb the information. The author uses the regionalization of the Blues as it traveled from the South to the North as his basis for examination; occasionally throwing in lyrics or musical notes to support a point, but their inclusion seems to be haphazard at best. If you are looking for a tremendous amount of information about the Blues this is fine, but if you are looking for an enjoyable read, look elswhere.

what a story!
If you are looking for a book with mini-sized, hackneyed biographies of a few acclaimed blues artists, this isn't it.After all, it's not called, "Ten Blues Artists You Ought to Know About" (I wonder, how many could one refer to, providing substantial information and interesting details, in just 300 pages?).As the title clearly claims, this book tells "The Story of the Blues," the history of the beginnings of Black American music.Paul Oliver's intention is to present the magnitude of the blues, primarily as an important part of Black American life, but also as a form of entertainment that was, in no time, packing music halls both across America and Europe. The author refers to an extremely large number of artists not with the intention of name-checking them, but with a purpose of mapping the evolution of the blues and its transformation through the years as more and more people were exposed to it.So, if you're interested in reading about the history of the blues, and the development of American music as entertainment, up to and including rock'n'roll, I recommend you check this out.Yes, reading it can become a bit dizzying, but only because it's such an engaging read.

Not for the simply curious
If you are looking for a really informative book with some depth to it as an introduction to the blues, this isn't it.Reading the Story of the Blues can become a bit dizzying.Such an extremely large number of artistsare introduced at such a mind-numbing rapidity that you find you can'tremember a thing about any of them and you doubt whether you would be ableto find any of their work at the record store anyway.When you finally toget something about Robert Johnson at page 133, he is dispatched after acouple of pages, which I found pretty disappointing.The portraits of theblues artists are so superficially done and so numerous, that I found thebook unsatisfying.If you are looking for a good informative book on theblues with some depth to it, I would suggest either Deep Blues by RobertPalmer or I Feel Like Going Home by Peter Guralnick.I would think thisbook would be of more interest to experts who are looking for references torelatively obscure Blues figures. ... Read more

Product Description

A companion to the groundbreaking PBS documentary series, this volume is a unique and timeless celebration of the blues, from writers and artists as esteemed and revered as the music that moved them.

Customer Reviews (4)

Rip Offs
I wrote a chapter for this book and still have not been paid for it. I have the contract sitting on my desk. Holly George Warren (the bug eyed freak) is a thief and a liar, please boycott this book! The Hound

MARTIN SCORSESE PRESENTS "THE BLUES" (BOOK)
THIS IS A VERY COMPREHENSIVE, VERY COMPLETE, VERY WELL ILLUSTRATED, AND VERY WELL PRESENTED BOOK ON THE "BLUES". IN CONTAINS AROUND 275 PAGES.
IT STARTS OUT BY COVERING THE MISSISSIPPI "DELTA" BLUES, THEN PROGRESSES TO THE MISSISSIPPI HILL COUNTRY BLUES, AND THEN PROCEDES ON TO OTHER CLASSES OF BLUES INCLUDING "CHICAGO BLUES". THE BOOK COVERS THE PIONEERING LEGENDS OF THE "BLUES" WHO CREATED THIS GENRE OF AMERICAN MUSIC.

THIS BOOK HAS MANY CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS AND COMMENTARIES FROM BLUES JOURALISTS TO THE ACTUAL BLUES MUSICIANS THEMSELVES!!! IT HAS A "WEALTH" OF THIS CONTRIBUTING INFORMATION, GIVING YOU A VERY AUTHORITATIVE, AND VERY AUTHENTIC ACCOUNT OF THE STORY OF THE "BLUES". THESE COMMENTARIES RANGE FROM THE OLD LEGENDARY PIONEERS OF THE BLUES TO NEW CONTEMPORARY "BLUES' ARTIST LIKE JACK WHITE OF THE WHITE STRIPES. IT HAS COMMENTARY FROM ROBERT PALMER (THE ARKANSAS ONE - SEE MY REVIEW ON "DEEP BLUES" DVD).

IT POINTS OUT THAT AROUND THE GREAT DEPRESSION ERA, THAT BLUES REPLACED JAZZ.

It starts with the Miss. Delta Blues by telling the story of Charlie Patton, (the first King of the Delta Blues). It describes how he "WAS LEGENDARY FOR TEARING UP A JUKE JOINT WITH PERFORMANCES ON GUITAR THAT INCLUDED, PLAYING THE GUITAR BEHIND HIS HEAD, WHILE LAYING ON THE FLOOR, OR BY THROWING THE GUITAR UP IN THE AIR AND CATCHING IT,RESUMING PLAY, WITHOUT NEVER MISSING A BEAT"!!!!

Then it covers others bluesman and blues information, like the "KING BISCUIT FLOWER HOUR" was played at noon on radio station in Helena, Ark. in the 40's to play blues for the laborers working on both sides of the Mississippi Delta.

It covers the story of "SON HOUSE".HE WAS A PREACHER AND A BLUESMAN. HE WAS IN A "JUKE" ONE SATURDAY NIGHT AND GOT INTO A FIGHT AND WAS SHOT, SO SON HOUSE SHOT BACK AND KILLED THE MAN. THEN SON HOUSE WENT TO MISSISSIPPI'S PARCHMAN PRISONG FOR A YEAR, BUT WAS RELEASED WHEN IT WAS PROVED HE ACTED IN SELF DEFENSE.

IT TELLS THE STORY OF HOW ROBERT JOHNSON TRIED TO LEARN TO PLAY GUITAR FROM SON HOUSE. HOWEVER, SON HOUSE GOT FRUSTRATED WITH "LITTLE ROBERT", AND TOLD HIM TO GO LEARN TO PLAY THE HARMONICA, BECAUSE HE WASN'T ANY GOOD ON GUITAR. THEN ROBERT JOHNSON "DIAPPEARED" AND CAME BACK TO A "JUKE" WHERE SON HOUSE WAS PLAYING. THEN ROBERT JOHNSON OUTPLAYED SON HOUSE ON THE GUITAR AND BECAME THE "KING". IT COVERS THE MYSTERY OF ROBERT JOHNSON "SELLING HIS SOUL TO THE DEVEL" AT THE "CROSSROADS".

IT COVERS THE NORTH MISSISSIPPI HILL COUNTRY BLUES, AND THE LEGENDS OF R.L.BURSIDE, AND FRED McDOWELL. IT COVERS JIM DICKINSON AND HIS SON LUTHER AND THE CONTEMPORARY GROUP "THE NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALLSTARS" (PLEASE SEE MY REVIEW OF THEIR DVD "KEEP ON MARCHIN'".

IT COVERS ELMORE JAMES, AND THE SLIDE GUITAR TECHIQUE, STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN, THE PAUL BUTTERFIELD BLUES BAND, JOHN LEE HOOKER, KENNY WAYNE SHEPARD, JONNY LANG, SUSAN TEDESCHI AND MANY. MANY OTHERS.

IT COVERS THE LEGENDARY "LEAD BELLY" FROM LOUISIANA. IT COVERS MUDDY WATERS, BOBBY BLUE BLAND, LOUIS ARMSTRONG, HOWLIN' WOLF, BLIND WILLIE JOHNSON, BONNIE RAITT, BLIND LEMON JEFFERSON AND OTHER VISION IMPAIRED BLUESMAN, BLIND WILLIE McTELL (KNOWN FOR THE STATESBORO BLUES - HE WAS A GREAT INFLUENCE ON THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND AND DICKEY BETTS). IT COVERS LIGHTLING HOPKINS, SKIP JAMES, MEMPHIS MINNIE, PINETOP PERKINS ,AND IT GOES ON AND ON. LIKE I STATED BEFORE IT IS COMPREHENSIVE.

IT GETS TO "CHICAGO BLUES" AND COVERS WILLIE DIXSON WHO MIGRATED THERE FROM VICKSBURG, MISSISSIPPI. MUDDY WATERS DID SOME OF HIS SONGS. IT COVERS THE STORY OF "HOOCHIE COOCHIE" MAN AND IT'S SEXUAL OVERTONES.

IT COVERS THE ROLLINGS STONES' ADVENTURES INTO THE BLUES.

IT EVEN COVERS MARCIA BALL FROM NEW ORLEANS, ALONG WITH DR.JOHN, PROFESSOR LONGHAIR AND B.B. KING.

IT HAS A STORY ABOUT CHRIS THOMAS KING WHO WAS IN THE MOVIE "O BROTHERM WHERE ART THOU?"

AS I MENTIONED, IT IS VERY COMPREHENSIVE, THERE ARE MANY MORE BLUES ARTISITS IN THE BOOK AND MANY MORE BLUES STORIES. THIS IS A GREAT REFERNCE BOOK ON THE BLUES. IF YOU LIKE THE BLUES, OR AMERICAN MUSIC HISTORY, YOU'LL LIKE THIS BOOK, ITS WELL ILLUSTRATED AND EASY TO READ AND FOLLOW. I HAVE LEARNED ALOT ABOUT THE BLUES FROM THIS BOOK, I ENJOY READING IT AND THEREFORE, I DO HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!!! ITS A GREAT BLUES BOOK!!!

Blues Perpectives
Martin Scorsese's book takes the reader on a musical journey of the blues. He really provides several blues perspectives from musicians, writers, film producers, and several other sources. I am using this book for my thesis in literature. Dr. Reginald Martin from the University of Memphis often references this book in his African American Literature courses. This book really captures the true essence of the blues people, culture, and music. It is also a companion to several films. It is an invaluable resource!

The Blues....
"The blues - it's kind of like religion, really." - Peter Green

In this companion book to MARTIN SCORSESE PRESENTS THE BLUES: A MUSICAL JOURNEY, a PBS/DVD series, numerous music historians and period writers take on the task of capturing the very essence of the genre that gave birth to rock and roll. Peter Guralnick says in his introduction that the purpose of the companion book was to "reflect and refract the spirit of the blues" and to compile "something deeper and more spiritual than a mere recitation of the facts."

Mainstay blues historians such as Christopher John Farley, Peter Guralnick, Alan Lomax, Paul Trynka, and Robert Gordon have their place in the companion book by contributing their biographical and historical research as well as adding some new information to the blues arsenal. Excerpts from Gordon's CAN'T BE SATISFIED: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MUDDY WATERS and Trynka's PORTRAIT OF THE BLUES are included alongside new entries such as Christopher John Farley's "Bessie Smith: Who Killed the Empress?" Present day fiction writers like Suzan Lori-Parks and Toure also offer their contributions on the blues and the legacy it left behind.

While the usual historians are included in the book, there also are many mainstream writers who have come across the blues at times in their lives.Among others, there are excerpts from Ralph Ellison's acclaimed INVISIBLE MAN, James Baldwin's FIRE NEXT TIME, and Faulkner's SOLDIER'S PAY. All of these pieces relate to the blues within their own context, and the result is a first hand account of how the blues have affected many.

The blues is an element of American culture that has spawned the genesis of many things from R&B to rock and roll and everything in between.Although the televised version of Martin Scorsese's chronicle of this genre is excellent and informative in its own right, this book affords an experience that can only be garnered by turning pages, scrutinizing photos, and reading and re-reading the bottom line, which turns out to be the blues.

Reviewed by CandaceK
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers ... Read more

Product Description
Book 5 of In Recital with Jazz, Blues, & Rags gives the intermediate-level pianist a wonderful collection of solos and equal-part duets to choose from, sure to become personal favorites in their performance repertoire. Solo titles include Ragamuffin, Chatterbox Rag, and Jazz Toccata, and equal-part duets include arrangements of Dill Pickles Rag, Bohemia, and (The Original) Chicago Blues. As in all of the books of the In Recital series, the pieces are written to conform to the pedagogical criteria for the specific level, so students are assured that the repertoire is appropriately leveled and written with the utmost creativity. Includes a full-performance CD along with interesting information in About the Pieces and Composers. ... Read more

Product Description
While building the necessary skills, this book provides extensive musical and stylistic insight to the blues style of piano playing. It includes harmonic patterns, tempos, syncopation, blue notes, grace notes, and compound meters. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Blues Hanon - Somewhat a Misnomer
If you are familiar with the classic Hanon exercises, you will not find the same thing here. The classic Hanon exercises are meant to strengthen the fingers especially 3,4 and 5. They are boring but definitely accomplish the objective. The Blues Hanon will strengthen your rhythmic feeling for the blues. A CD is not necessary but a metronome is recommended. The exercises progress in difficulty and should be transposed by sight. The exercises immediately give you a feel for the blues and are musically interesting. I would definitely recommend this book.

Bought it for my husband...
I bought this book for my husband and didn't see him for a week. He loves it, and wants more Hanons from this company. Highly recommended.

about a lessons
I am very satisfied of this book.I am a pianist and i found everything what i need it to learn the basik of bluse.I have just one problem.I would like to order many book sheets from this webside.Is it posible to pay by cash on delivery and how?Thank you in advance.Sincerely yours
Dori

This ain't no Hanon
I've now got both "Blues Hanon"s and am disappointed with this one as well in it's own way (see review of the other).By contrast this one is not a Hanon at all by which I mean exercises in all keys each focusing on a specific technical problem, which at least the other one was in format.
This book is more of an introduction to blues piano and has some material of possible value but the "exercises" are essentially a few written out songs that do (to the books credit) focus on a particular technical issue.The songs are in different keys but not even passing mention is made of how to turn them into multi-key exercises.
I'm almost frustrated enough to create my own and I no doubt will create at least as subset for my own use now (...)I will get a little from each of these "Hanons" but I wouldn't recommend either if a "Hanon" is what you seek.This particular book can serve as an intro to blues piano for those in search of such.

Blues Hanon's are fun
For those piano students who remember long hours at the keyboard practicing "Hanons"....let me say that Alfassy's "Blues Hanons" are NOT the same old exercises. These fingering techinquesprovide very good musical insight (and finger practice) for the aspiringblues musician.The lessons progress from easier to harder....and in somecases the later riffs build on skills learned in earlier lessons. Oneslight problem.......there is no CD or cassette. Blues riffs have a"sound" that requires both rhythm and dynamics to duplicate.Hearing these riffs played would be of great benefit...especially for thelate-beginner or early-intermediate student. ... Read more

Product Description
As one of the first African American vocalists to be recorded, Bessie Smith is a prominent figure in American popular culture and African American history. Michelle R. Scott uses Smith's life as a lens to investigate broad issues in history, including industrialization, Southern rural to urban migration, black community development in the post-emancipation era, and black working-class gender conventions.Arguing that the rise of blues culture and the success of female blues artists like Bessie Smith are connected to the rapid migration and industrialization in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Scott focuses her analysis on Chattanooga, Tennessee, the large industrial and transportation center where Smith was born. Scott explores how the expansion of the Southern railroads and the development of iron foundries, steel mills, and sawmills created vast employment opportunities in the postbellum era, contributing to Chattanooga's African American community and an emergent blues culture. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Bessie before Fame, as Frame
Dr. Scott's monograph uses Bessie Smith as an inspirative framework for her inquiry into the experiences of African Americans in the New South during the Nadir. The book is less about Bessie Smith as a person, and more about what shaped the community which, in turn, shaped her. What brought her parents there. What Bessie saw, growing up. The emerging business community of which she became a part. If you want a biography of Bessie Smith, this is not the book for you. Scott is primarily interested in urban black community and how recreational activities were organized, performed, and replicated, particularly within the realm of gender. Some of the early chapters feel rather light on substance, but Scott hits her stride whenever she discusses music. "Life on 'Big Ninth' Street" is an especially engrossing chapter. As part of the scholarly discussion of the music business during the Nadir, this is a worthy addition.

Interesting about Black migration to Southern cities, not much about Bessie Smith and her music
This book does a masterful job at discussing the foundation and growth of the Black community in Chattanooga especially charting the circumstances that made African Americans like Bessie Smith's parents migrate there in the 19th century. It is often forgotten that before the migration of Southern Blacks to the cities of the North and the West, there was a migration of rural Black folk to the cities of the South.We get a picture of the New South growth of Chattanooga and how the exploitation of poor Black people was integral to that.

What we do not get much of is discussion of African American music and culture, particularly the influences that were expressed in Bessie Smith's music. The author does give some mention of Brass bands in Chattanooga and more mention of Black commercial entertainment that boomed in the late 19th and early 20th Century.However, Scott is chiefly discusses such things and very much else insofar as they reflect business achievement by African American entrepeneurs, rather than expressions of the development of Black theatrical or musical culture.

There is almost nothing in this book about Black secular music and nothing about the Blues and its development or the particular blues that Bessie presented. Indeed, the author makes frequent references to other biographies of Bessie Smith where she expects her readers to find out about Bessie Smith's life, music, and culture.

This is unfortunate as Smith was a pivotal figure in American culture as a whole. Until her phenomenal success, outstripping any other Black recording artists dramatically in her first recordings, Blues had largely been performed by vaudeville and minstrel veterans like herself, but whose Blues emulated the sixteen bar Blues of the early 19th century that was adaptations of the Blues to pop music of the time.Smith's singing style was completely in the folk blues style developed in the Black south, reflecting her plebian roots.Her success led to the recording and commercial success of Blacker blues singers like Ma Rainey, who was in fact Smith's mentor, and to the explosion of recordings of Southern Black Blues singers starting with Blind Lemon Jefferson.

However, this is a tale that Scott does not wish to tell, enamoured as she is with the achievement of Black business people and the Black middle class, which she vainly attempts to claim Bessie's success was part of.

The real question in discussing Bessie is how the basic Down Home Blues broke through in her music and her struggle to be recorded.

Still, the book's discussion of the formation of Black Chattanooga and of the business aspects of the Black entertainment industry there are worthy editions to my knowledge and I hope yours. ... Read more

Product Description
A passionate memoir by legendary bandleader and musician Otis, who recalls the sheer joy and energy of the blues--and the stifling ugliness of racism. During Otis' 50-year career, he encountered, discovered, or performed with every significant figure in the early days of R&B and rock and roll. 75 illus. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Johnny's THE MAN
One of the true heroes of popular American music.Johnny knew everybody and has a depth of understanding and experience of the Black musical scene (and isn't all American music ultimately Black music?) that is unsurpassed.He's the only Black man I know of whose parents were Greek.I love this guy and love this book.

A unique R&B Literary Perspective
This a book deserving of wider recognition. Upside Your Head !, written by Johnny Otis, was first published in 1993 but time has not diminished the merit of the subject matter. The author is a living R&B legend. His musical milestones are simply to numerous to list in this review. Throughout the book,the author provides riveting and vivid accounts of the African American musical contributions within the Rhythm and Blues genre. His detailed and lively profiles of the artists, tours, clubs and music business throughout the twentieth century are entertaining and insightful. Aside from his musical career,the author is a civil rights activist, pastor, painter, sculptor and successful business man and farmer.
All these elements play an integral part in his compelling story of the historical evolution of the Central Ave/L.A. African American cultural scene. His observations and personal experience on the impact of racism throughtout the second half of the twentieth century is especially thought provoking.His writing is particularly effective when it addresses the abuse and injustices experienced by the author, his family and fellow performers.
The pictures generously displayed throughout the book reflect a joy of being part of a musical movement that continues to resonate throughout the twenty-first century. The book provides the curious with an opportunity to explore the origins and artistic creative level of West Coast Rhythm and Blues. Upside Your Head!,is a richly rewarding reading experience.
... Read more

Product Description
Titles are: Don't Marry Her
* Little Blue
* Mirror
* Blackbird on the Wire
* The Sound of North America
* Have Fun
* Liars' Bar
* Rotterdam (Or Anywhere)
* Foundations
* Artificial Flowers
* One God
* Alone. ... Read more

Product Description

Blues: The Basics offers a concise introduction to a century of the blues. Organized chronologically, it focuses on the major eras in the growth and development of this popular musical style. Material includes:

• a definition of the blues and the major genres within it
• key artists such as Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Robert Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson
• key recordings

Complete with timelines and suggestions for further investigation, this fascinating overview is ideal for students and interested listeners.

Product Description
Expanded and updated, a new edition of the indispensable guidebook to the cradle of the blues ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

This & Google maps is all you need
I just got back from my 10-day trip to the Delta which culminated in the Sunflower River Blues Festival.I did months of research on Google and through reading books.I created my own google map with many of the places that I was going to go mapped out.I then got this book, and ended up using this almost exclusively for the entire trip.Not because of a lack of spots on my map (it had more than in the book), but because for all of the spots that I could realistically get to, this book already had them all.

There are some areas that could use better directions.To give you an idea, a made up example:"Heading west on main street, go to the second light and make a left on Elm" - well what happens if I am starting out on some different part of main street?We found in all our stops, only a few were like this, and they seemed like the first sentence or two might have been left out of the directions.Weird.

Despite this, this is still an invaluable book, and none of the others like it can touch it.With this and google maps/GPS on my iphone, that was all I needed to get everywhere and see everything that I was able to given the time constraints.The book gives great background information on all of the areas that you'd be interested in, as well as the sites.Steve has done the research for you.No need to search the web for months and gather information.It's all here.

A couple of sites are missing, but you still aren't going to find a better book on the subject.Just remember to go to 305 S. State St in Clarksdale for Hot Tamales at Hicks.They are the best anywhere, and while Hicks Superette is mentioned in the book, the Hicks on S. State Street is not.Also no mention really of the cemetary in Haqzlehurst where Ike Zimmerman and likely Robert Johnson practiced guitar late at night, nor any of the possible crossroads locations other than the commercial and incorrect 49 & 61 intersection.

Useful for blues fans and Mississippi travelers
I have done a college radio blues show for years but never wound up taking a trip to the Mississippi Delta--till now. As I write this I'm in Clarksdale, halfway through my trip, and all has gone smoothly thanks tothis book which I bought through amazon. Cheseborough's latest edition has proven useful in terms of
what to see and do and where to stay, shop and eat. His method of starting in Memphis and doing a circular route (just what I'm doing) is a good way to go about it, and his information on blues history and trivia makes it a fun read.

Enjoy some of this culture while we still have it. The classic stars of blues have been dying off (though, some new voices take their place) and everything from the current economy to the casinos knocks off some blues places, but a lot is still out there and this is a great guidebook for the blues traveler.

A Great Guide Book for Traveling Blues Fans
In his 1991 masterpiece, Blue Highways, William Least Heat Moon takes the reader on a journey of American discovery, scrupulously avoiding the interstates in favor of the nation's rural back roads.

With Blues Traveling: The Holy Sites of Delta Blues, blues guitarist and writer Steve Cheseborough takes us on a similar odyssey; only this one is regional, leading us along the "blue highways" of the Mississippi Delta.

Rich with hallowed Blues place names--Clarksdale, Greenwood, Tutwiler, Dockery Plantation, Helena, Parchman Farm, Leland, Bentonia and Meridian are only a few of the places named - Blues Traveling is only partly a guide book.But it's a good one, according to those who have ridden the circuit, following the author's detailed travel instructions.

The trip begins and ends in Memphis.Scheduled destinations in Mississippi and Arkansas include birthplaces, graves, jook joints, museums, hotels, historic venues, famed highways, notorious streets, historic record shops and other bluesiana many of us have read about our favorite performers but could never quite locate on a map. Where telephone numbers, names and other travel information are available, Cheseborough helpfully includes them.

The writer conveys his considerable knowledge of Delta history with every entry.Each site - there must be 500 listed -- has at least a short biography of the blues performer associated with the site, along with a discussion of his or her work and significance as a performer. Cheseborough also delves into the subsequent history and mythology of the place and its importance to the reader.

The historically richest locations -- towns like Greenville and Clarksdale -- have entire chapters dedicated to the treasures within their borders.Along the way, the author's concern for traveler comfort expresses itself in safety and etiquette tips.

Cheseborough has no doubt created a perennial by crafting three books in one: guide book, pocket history and paean to the early Delta performers who left us their musical legacy.

The book is also a feast for trivia hounds.Even so-called minor luminaries - including a former "Ikette" -- are represented fully and with dignity.To his credit throughout, Cheseborough keeps a close eye on history and has possibly made some original contributions in this regard.

Guide books have a way of going out of style as soon as another becomes available.The author has anticipated that.This book, with its solid writing, easy directions, fine thumbnail history, excellent maps, good photos and helpful tips is destined, like the blues itself, to stick around a while.- originally published in Blues Revue Magazine, 2003


... Read more

Product Description
Guitarist Michael Bloomfield shot to stardom in the Õ60s with The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Bob Dylan, The Electric Flag and on Al KooperÕs "Super Session." His story is told in the words of his brother, musicians such as B.B. King, producer Paul Rothchild and dozens of others - including Bloomfield himself. Features a foreword by Carlos Santana, and a CD of unreleased early studio tracks. Hardcover.

"(This book) is a look inside the psyche of a musical innovator who deserves a posthumous Nobel Prize and a statue on Rush Street in Chicago. If you love his blues, youÕll love this book."

- Al Kooper ... Read more

Customer Reviews (26)

Great book about a great guitarist
This book is written based on many interviews on people who knew Mike Bloomfield and by interviews made with Mike Bloomfield himself.
It's a book of mixed emotions of the troubled life Bloomfield lived and the many musical success's he achieved in the 1960s.
Unfortunately the 1970s were not so kind for Mike and he lived in a drugged filled environment which saddens the reader as he should have had a much more fulfilled life.

The CD included is from his very early days in 1964 and is quite interesting but not essential listening.

A great book on an important musical legend from the 1960s.

Best of Bloomfield
A great read that gives tremendous personal insight into the life of a truly legendary, and often overlooked, blues master. The writing style of the book using extensive interviews of family, friends and fellow musicians, was different, but easy to read and a great way to provide a ton of insider information from those who knew him best. After finishing the book, I came away with a much greater respect for the wide-ranging infuluence of his contributions to blues artistry. It's a shame that he had to be one of those who lead a tortured life and ended it all too soon. With this book, Michael's memory and work can long be remembered, and Long live the Blues!

The Micheal Bloomfield Story
I expected this to be a good read, but this exceeded my expectations! The oral history presentation not only told about Mr. Bloomfield, but also his fellow musicians and friends. A fascinating profile with many funny and hair-raising sidelights. As a person who lived and breathed music during the 60's and 70's, I can highly recommend this to anyone interested in the genre.

bloomfield fanatic
anything about bloomers is great.this book tells alot about the man,by many different people.highly highly recomended

A Long Time Coming - the Rise and Fall of the First American Guitar Hero
I just watched the outakes of The Complete MONTEREY POP FESTIVAL from the Criterion Collection.WHY HASN'T THIS BEEN RELEASED BEFORE?.For those who saw The Monterey Pop Festival movie in '67-'68, when it was released, it contained 90 minutes that brought not only the California Sound of the 60's, but the most innovative acts in rock, to the world.Not only was it a culutural revelation but a revolution.Even Clive Davis, the super manager who is the most powerful force in pop music to this day, says the concert changed his life (he can be seen in audience reaction shots).Well, I gotta tell you all - this movie- now with the outtakes that you can watch and hear on DVD-- I believe is just as powerful as WOODSTOCK!!!HELLO, LOU ADLER!WHY DID WE HAVE TO WAIT SO LONG?

I was kid in a rock band in the 60's playing high schools in Ohio. Sure I was influenced by the Beatles, Stones, Animals-- the British Invasion. Soon ourband finally understood these bands were influenced by Elvis, Chuck Berry, and the Blues greats-- Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, etc. Realize in farm-bound Ohio,the cultural education we got was mainstream.FM rock was still in its infancy and we were slaves to AM top 40.Somehow we heard of this band from Chicago that was creating a huge scene with their high energy blues music-- the Paul Butterfield Blues Band.And that they learned and/or played with the blues greats.So Michael Bloomfield became our hero and his place on the throne was cemented with SUPER SESSION.
This fascinating book.... this incredible oral history.... from many of the artists that surrounded Bloomfield follows the rise of blues-rock and his influence on the music of the time.
Before Hendrix, Page, and Clapton, there was Michael Bloomfield and he was an insecure but incredible force who's effect on many artists is now finally being documented.
If you love the music of the 60's you must read this book.IT IS GREAT!!!.It would make a great movie.MARTY, I HOPE YOU'RE READING THIS!
So get this book then you'll understand what was going on at the Monterey Pop Festival. Cause in it is not only a fantastic performance by Paul Butterfield Blues Band but also one with Bloomfield playing with The Electric Flag plus several cutaways of Bloomfield in other parts of the film. Also, the comment from David Crosby in the film about Bloomfield is priceless. ... Read more

Product Description
This best selling book, 100 Ultimate Blues Riffs by Andrew Gordon is an exhaustive guide to some of the best musical phrases that make up blues piano/keyboard playing. There are five sections broken down into:

* Basic Blues riffs

* R&B influenced Blues riffs

* Boogie Woogie

* Rock influenced Blues riffs

* Gospel influenced Blues riffsThe 12 bar Blues progression and the Blues scale are explained. There are two completed songs at the back of the book that shows how to combine many of the riffs to form a song. Many people have commented that this is the best Blues keyboard product that they have ever used. A must for all levels of keyboardists that want to study the blues. All 100 "riffs" are recorded with the piano right hand on the right channel and the piano left hand on the left channel along with a drum track. Learn how your favorite Blues keyboardists play including Dr. John, Leon Russell, Chuck Leavell, Jimmy Yancey, Meade Lux Lewis, Otis Spann, Nicky Hopkins and many more! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

don't bother
Give this book/CD a miss. The riffs are soulless and dull. 100 blues riffs and not one grabbed my attention.

Best Blues Book available
If you are a late intermediate to advanced piano player who wants a great 'hands-on' blues book, this is the one for you.The riffs are awesome, stuff you would hear played by an accomplished blues piano player.The accompanying CD is essential, as it allows the player to hear the way the music should really sound. You can also browse the CD and find a riff you like and concentrate on learning that one. This is a great book which I like more than his other 'riffs' books.

Very Useful!!!
Had I noticed that this was by Andrew D. Gordon, I probably would not have bought it, based on his rhythm piano book, which I have reviewed and which was mediocre.

This book is far better. There are good licks in here that give insight into many techniques of blues piano from several different genres. They are not for beginners, but are not insanely difficult, either. Still, getting the tougher ones up to speed will take time for pianists who are not already technically accomplished.

Now that I've seen that this author can write a good piano book, I'm tempted to dock his other book one star.

This book would make a good companion to "Improvising Blues Piano" by Tim Richards, and everyone will find at least half ofthe 100 riffs to be very useful.

I recommend it!

Not about the blues
I am puzzled by the positive reviews of this book. As a blues player and teacher I am always searching for new artists and books about the blues and this book does not deliver. The "riffs" are played on a cheezy keyboard - not a real piano and are sequenced and quantized rendering them lifeless and useless. Playing these "riffs" will make you a better piano player, but will not help you learn the blues. Real blues are about groove and soul and feel not just playing a sequence of "riffs"- the vast majority of which would never be played by a real bluesman. Do not waste your money.

Very Good Resource For Blues Licks
This book is a very good book on showing you bits and pieces of riffs/licks from blues, rock, gospel, R & B, and boogie woogie that will help enhance your playing. You can incorporate these licks in a variety of music. For example, I am incorporating these licks into my jazz and blues piano playing.

Some of the licks however, are not that good but for the most part they are very good. This is not a book that teaches you how to play the blues but gives you bass lines, 12 bar blues form and 2 pieces at the end of the book that show you how to combine the riffs to make your own songs.

A very good resource ranging from the intermediate to the advanced and it will help your playing sound better. ... Read more

Product Description

In 1969 Gerhard Kubik chanced to encounter a Mozambican labor migrant, a miner in Transvaal, South Africa, tapping a cipendani, a mouth-resonated musical bow. A comparable instrument was seen in the hands of a white Appalachian musician who claimed it as part of his own cultural heritage. Through connections like these Kubik realized that the link between these two far-flung musicians is African-American music, the sound that became the blues.

Such discoveries reveal a narrative of music evolution for Kubik, a cultural anthropologist and ethnomusicologist. Traveling in Africa, Brazil, Venezuela, and the United States, he spent forty years in the field gathering the material for Africa and the Blues. In this book, Kubik relentlessly traces the remote genealogies of African cultural music through eighteen African nations, especially in the Western and Central Sudanic Belt.

Included is a comprehensive map of this cradle of the blues, along with 31 photographs gathered in his fieldwork. The author also adds clear musical notations and descriptions of both African and African American traditions and practices and calls into question the many assumptions about which elements of the blues were "European" in origin and about which came from Africa. Unique to this book is Kubik's insight into the ways present-day African musicians have adopted and enlivened the blues with their own traditions.

With scholarly care but with an ease for the general reader, Kubik proposes an entirely new theory on blue notes and their origins. Tracing what musical traits came from Africa and what mutations and mergers occurred in the Americas, he shows that the African American tradition we call the blues is truly a musical phenomenon belonging to the African cultural world.

Gerhard Kubik is a professor in the department of ethnology and African studies at the University of Mainz, Germany. Since 1983 he has been affiliated with the Center for Social Research of Malawi, Zomba. He is a permanent member of the Center for Black Music Research in Chicago and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, London. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Africa and the Blues
Excellent Book!A scholarly and poignant text that would be a wonderful addition to any high school or university music history or appreciation course.

Essential
This is an essential reading for everyone interested in relationships between African and African-American Music. Kubik is a major scholar in both fields and has a new, fresh and documented approach to the old controversy about how African music influenced the blues. In this book you will find new and exciting answers.
Very important: don't forget to buy the companion Cd.It's an essential support to understand the book. It was planned to be attached to the book, but now is available only as separate purchase. It's available at network.rp@utanet.at ... Read more

Product Description
Beginners can learn to play blues harp in no time by following the book and listening to the cd. Easy to follow guidelines and exercises will have you playing the blues quickly and easily. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Highly Recommended
Nice layout, clear lessons in a logical sequence, plenty of diagrams and a very helpful companion CD.

My favorite Blues book
I've been teaching myself for 2 years and have bought over 20 books.For blues, this is the best.The songs are not famous, but the instruction finally taught me to bend.The exercises and CD took me through steps,from simple to more advanced, that accelerated my blues range and speed. After working with this book, blues riffs from other sources became easier. ... Read more

Product Description

Illinois Woman's Press Association Award Book Award - 1st Place - General Nonfiction

Come on Baby, Don't You Want to Go?

Chicago boasts more landmarks in blues history than any place else north of the Mississippi Delta. More blues musicians live and work in Chicago than in any other city in the world, and more clubs devoted entirely to the blues thrive here than in any other metropolitan area.

Only in Chicago can you hear live blues music seven days a week, 365 days a year, by musicians who helped create the Chicago blues sound--a lusty, amplified style built on shuffling rhythms, electrified slide guitar, wailing harmonica, and gritty vocals.

The passion and intimacy of this celebrated American art form draw a half a million or more people to Grant Park each June for the largest free blues festival in the world. Natives and visitors alike know there is no better party music than the rollicking, soulful, swinging tempos and melodies of the blues for drawing you in, getting you moving, and reaching deep into your soul.

Today's Chicago Blues brings together everything fans will need to know about the blues in Chicago. A more in-depth look at the city's blues scene than typical guidebooks offer, this up-to-date resource offers both newcomers and longtime devotees a handy and informative way to enrich their experience of this celebrated musical genre.

Come on--immerse yourself in the historical and cultural context of this powerful, emotional, sensual music, and see for yourself how Sweet Home Chicago is moving the legacy of the blues forward. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Covers the Breadth, but not the Depth of the Chicago Blues Scene
This book is a fairly comprehensive and encyclopedic glossary of Chicago blues artists and clubs.The descriptions of clubs and festivals are mundane and factual, and for the most part they don't try too hard to capture the essence or soul of the blues through descriptions of live events.While the artist directory (featuring 80 or so musicians) does make some effort at painting the scene's many colorful characters through artist spotlights and anecdotes (e.g. Eddie "the Chief" Clearwater discovering his trademark headdress at a friend's house party), the description of the Chicago blues festival is particularly inane ("bring... if rain seems possible, an umbrella") and like the rest of the book reads more like a tourist brochure than a critical review or a narrative description.

If that's all the book is aiming for, that's understandable.Unfortunately, though this book was just published in 2007, it is already becoming a bit dated- many of the clubs (particularly the smaller bars) have closed down and a third of the listed artist websites are broken links.Interestingly, it's still got a better track record than most websites I could find and I'd actually find this material to be useful if it were still 2006 or the content of the book were moved to the web and kept up to date.That said, if you're new to the Chicago blues scene, this is worth skimming (I actually read most of it straight through and found it tedious)- ifand like the previous reviewer noted, even the most seasoned blues fan would learn a few things.

A Must Have Guide to Chicago's Blues Scene
This book is different than other books about Chicago blues.Its journalistic style covers a lot of ground in less than 250 pages. It is contemporary in the sense that it captures the Chicago Blues scene today, not as it existed fifty or even five years ago.

"Today's Chicago Blues" serves a dual audience.First of all it is a "must have" for out-of town blues fans who wants to maximize their trip to the Blues Mecca known as Chicago.The book not only contains a detailed guide to the many blues venues in the Chicago area, but it also includes little known items like the location of grave-sites for blues legends like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, and Jimmy Rogers.Hanson also reveals the addresses of blues landmarks like Muddy's residences, the site of the old Chess Records studio now been restored by the Blues Heaven Foundation, the historic Maxwell Street Market, and the Leyland Hotel in Aurora.A visitor from out of town would benefit greatly from the encyclopedic treatment of everything from Blues Fest to the local radio stations that play blues to the blues jamming venues for visitors who want to bring their ax. Of course, the author gives extensive biographical treatment to the blues musicians who keep the great music alive.

But "Today's Chicago Blues" is not just for out-of-towners.Even the most devoted Chicago based blues fan will learn little-known facts and blues history. For me I was astounded to learn that WOPA's legendary blues radio tradition continues today at 1490 AM dial (the same frequency that broadcast Big Bill Hill) with host John Gorny from midnight to 5 am on Monday's.In addition to the facts and history, there were countless blues bars and juke joints listed by the author which I never knew existed.And maybe I'll drop Hubert Sumlin an email from the address that Hanson gives along with her biography of the renowned guitarist.

Greg Freerksen, host Blues Edition WDCB Public Radio, Glen Ellyn, Illinois
... Read more

Product Description
The Rhapsody in Blue (1924) established Gershwin's reputation as a serious composer and has since become one of the most popular of all American concert works. In this richly informative guide David Schiff considers the piece as musical work, historical event and cultural document. He traces the history of the Rhapsody's composition, performance and reception, placing it within the context of American popular song and jazz and the development of modernism. He also provides a full account of the different published and recorded versions of the work and explores the many stylistic sources of Gershwin's music. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Informative and Interesting
The Cambridge Music Handbooks try to do what is rarely done-- bridge the gap between the dilettante "light" style of books on music that are written for the "general public" the esoteric style of heavy musicological writing. A noble pursuit, but one that runs the risk of pleasing no one rather than achieving a happy medium. Having read several of the Cambridge Music Handbooks, this one stands out as being one of the more successful. I especially enjoyed the discussion of the history of the forms which the Rhapsody in Blue has appeared ("jazzy" versions versus "classical" renditions), as well as the background of the work's first performance in Aeolian Hall in 1924. At times, the book tends towards the more "musicological" style, but all in all, it remains accessible and interesting to anyone interested in music. Schiff's style throughout is engaging and witty. If this is a piece of music you are looking to explore further, I highly recommend this book. ... Read more