Is blues a dying art?

[alexer47]

You guys are missing the boat on this blues is very much alive. You have both Johnny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Joe Bonamassa holding it down right now. And as for Hendrix you really fell out of the boat. A entire album was released of Hendrix's blues recording posthumously here is the link.


http://www.amazon.com/Blues-Jimi-Hendrix/dp/B000002OSK

 

[tycobb73]

Look, everything has its following so you can find blues bands if you look hard enough.

And there are blues based rock bands that are awesome like the black keys, etc.

But no one has hit it big with blues shuffles since SRV.

 

[48thStreetCustom]

I was referring to your comment about virtuosity. It's a form where virtuosity has the opportunity to shine through, but that isn't the end all, be all of blues.

It's about authenticity. Hence my reference to RL Burnside. Not a virtuoso by any stretch. But there was something raw and honest to what he was doing. On the flipside, there are some players trying to pass themselves off as bluesmen who have chops for days. And a lot of people see right through them.

I think we're on the same page but quibbling about the definition of virtuosity. My original point was that blues guys rise by the quality of their musicianship.

 

[HolmeBass]

TL, DR, but if he didn't get mentioned, he should: Corey Harris. Real blues, plus some more modern stuff with his full band. But solo, he is as earthy and real blues as it can get.

If you think the Black Keys are a blues band, he might be too much for you. (just kidding, check him out!)

 

[Deep Cat]

I wish it would die. If I never heard a 12 bar blues in my life I'd be very happy.

Easily done. Stop listening to all American music.

 

[scottbass]

The blues is alive and well. You have to get yourself to the juke joint to hear it. Same as always.

This is it, as true and succinctly as it can be stated.

 

[eddiemac]

I have played in a blues band for many years, mainly Chicago-style urban electric blues. Our peak time was early 90's. Since then, I've noticed a decline in appreciation for what we play. Audiences are younger and largely unknowledgeable, and many of the older listeners no longer care to spend a whole night listening to the blues. People want to hear the songs they are most familiar with. And what is called "blues" today often has no connection to the roots.

 

[fhm555]

Sorry, but if you think virtuosity has any bearing on being a great blues player, then you haven't listened to enough blues. If you listen to the old blues recordings, most of those guys were mediocre at best, but still making great music.

Years ago I attended a show in ATL that consisted entirely of traditional blues artists from all over the SE. Understand, these were not unknown bands looking for a break, these were people who before gracing the stage in ATL had never played anywhere but their home or maybe a neighbors place. They had all manner of homemade instruments, not a single one had a factory made piece of any kind, and tuning was whatever worked best for the man or woman using their particular instrument. None of these folks were educated and I'd suspect a lot of them couldn't read or write, but the emotion they could draw from their raggedy homemade instruments and their voices was staggering.

Up to that point in my life I considered myself a decent blues player, as did quite a few other people I knew, but after that show I realized I would never be anything but just another white boy trying his best to imitate something that is impossible to imitate.

Blues is not a musical genre, it is an emotional release from the deepest, darkest well of your soul that expresses through your voice and/or hands. Absent that, it's just another song fashioned around a basic 12 bar format.

 

[ArtechnikA]

One of my favorite blues artists from the SoCal area - Doug MacLeod - said
"Blues is like a train. If you're feeling it, you can hop on and ride for a while.
If you're not, you can watch it go by and say 'Glad I ain't on it'. "

He also tells a story about learning to play as a young pup, and seeking out some masters. One asked him to play a bit, and he laid down a blistering fast riff. Told him to hand over the guitar, which he did. Master played back the same riff, at about one tenth the tempo - but he felt every note. When he handed back the guitar he asked - "Which one of those touched you more?"

You have to feel and believe every note.

This spring I took my wife to see B.B. King - I saw him at the Playboy Jazz Festival maybe 20 years ago, she never had.

The opening act was some Guitar Center contest winner who played many, many notes at blinding speed (and ear-splitting volume...) and there wasn't a touch of emotion in even one of those notes. King's sidemen then played about 20 minutes and B.B. took the stage. For the rest of the show, I don't think he played more than a handful of notes, and that included 'Thrill Is Gone.' Those notes had feeling...

 

[Not yet]

Dude, you're entitled to your opinion, but to me your original point was kind of weak. The blues is one of the few genres where virtuosity and depth of emotion still mater. Sure, there will always be poseurs but the genre itself ensures that the cream rises to the top

We ain't bein fair.... That guy is funny. Point remains ludicrous, but still funny.

Will admit that the times I've played at Buddy Guys Legends, Rosa's or any major club I must have forgotten that key fashion accessory. Time to go shopping

 

[zachoff]

Derek Trucks & Warren Haynes came to mind right away.

Lots of heavier blues in stoner rock... Graveyard is probably closest to traditional blues, but that whole genre is basically fuzzed out blues riffs.

 

[Shakin-Slim]

Yeah, that's why people are paying big $$ to packed stadiums around the world to hear him?



The blues is dying? Not on my planet!

I watched the video. Sorry, man, but I didn't hear a jot of feel or taste. Give me Slim Harpo any day.

People are also paying big $$ to go to packed stadiums to hear Bieber.

I'm not of the "blues is dead" camp. I play blues regularly. It's just that I believe the big names in 'blues' today aren't the guys who are doing anything good for the style. However, people like Rick Estrin, Kid Anderson, Jimmie Vaughn, Igor Prado, Kim Wilson, James Harman, Rick Holmstrom, Kid Ramos, Larry Taylor etc, are the guys who are doing stuff. I'd trade 30 seconds from any one of them for an hour of JoBo or John Mayer.

You may think I sound up myself, but that's not the case, it's just, like, my opinion, man I just feel passionately about the tradition and the innovation and don't mind calling out those who I see as fakes for the same reason I don't mind calling out Kenny G (also someone who gets big money for big gigs, and we all know about Kenny G's ability to play)

 

[Rich McCoy]

I think it is a dying art.
But it still has it's place sometimes.

 

[JoeWPgh]

What is blues? To me it's a 12 bar form. That alone sets it apart from the standard 32 bar form of most of the history of pop music. To speak blues, you must master that form. There is simply no escaping it. I suppose you could argue there's an attitude to it, but that becomes so subjective that only history can judge. Who is to say that Stevie Ray, Keb Mo, Joe Bonamssa or Taj Mahal is any different from Howling Wolf, BB King, Elmore James, James Cotton, or even Robert Johnson? They all, took the music and applied the music of their day to the genre. Blues is alive. It will never die. It just might not sound like the blues of 20 or 40 years ago. Same as it ever was.

 

[wcnewby]

I'm probably wrong on this, or generalizing improperly, but aren't blues songs done in a 1,4,5 progression? Isn't that what characterizes them?

 

[JoeWPgh]

I'm probably wrong on this, or generalizing improperly, but aren't blues songs done in a 1,4,5 progression? Isn't that what characterizes them?

That is the basic blues progression as most understand it, but the variations are endless. What ties those variations together, and instantly identifiable as blues is the 12 bar form.

 

[JimK]

I am digging robben ford lately
he bridges the gap between jazz+ blues nicely

...and he's been at it since the '70s. Charles Ford Band...Charlie Musselwhite...Jimmy Witherspoon...at that time, more Blues than Jazz, per se.

 

[HeavyRockBasser]

Buddy Guy is still going strong. He just released a brand new two disc set that's just fantastic.

Here in LA, there's a blues jam somewhere, every night. There's still a lot of blues happening, if you take the time to look for it.

For those that think that blues is boring, maybe you haven't dug deep enough. Check out some Buddy Guy, SRV, Otis Rush, Albert King, Hound Dog Taylor, or Johnny Winter, just for starters. Every one of these guys rock harder than most mainstream music acts, in the last 20 years.

 

[JimK]

That is the basic blues progression as most understand it, but the variations are endless. What ties those variations together, and instantly identifiable as blues is the 12 bar form.

That is the most common...as you said, there are many variations; example: 16-Bar Blues. Jazz musicians also 're-harmonized the basic 1-4-5 progression into other variants (e.g. Bird Changes). Another thing to consider..."the feel". Some Blues are "straight", some are Shuffles, some swing, some are in 3/4, 5/4, etc.

 

[JimK]

Anyone who thinks Hendrix wasn't a bluesman is clueless.

Red House - Polydor Are You Experienced LP 1966

Yeah I don't get where some are saying that Hendrix wasn't a blues guitarist. I mean yeah, he had some psychedelic rock going on too but the majority of it was all blues/blues based. It's crazy to me to think of him than anything else. When I think of jimmy, I think of some rippin electric blues.

...I am with you guys. Hendrix is all about the Blues.