This is the year of the blues! PBS is preparing to launch a
series of films by well known directors (including Clint Eastwood and Wim
Wenders) each giving their spin on one or another aspect of the blues. The
project was overseen by Martin Scorsese, and it promises to be an exciting
and in depth look at this definitive American art form. Other companies are
joining in the fun, including a multi-disc
set of CDs from Virgin/Right Stuff, and a remarkable two DVD set entitled
The American Folk Blues Festival 1962-1966. A couple of German blues
lovers -- one a Jew who had experienced persecution by the Nazis, the other
a former Hitler Youth member -- joined forces to bring American blues musicians
to Germany. They produced a series of concerts, and videotaped some of the
greatest blues performers in the world. The tapes languished unseen for forty
years until they were rediscovered and issued recently on DVD. This is what
DVD can and should be: a storehouse for historic archiving! With pristine
sound and clear video these two volumes present a virtual history of the blues
which is not only informative but thrilling music as well.
Volume One sets the tone. Beginning with the great T-Bone Walker's
"Call Me When You Need Me," and working its way through the yelps
of Sonny Terry (& Brownie McGhee) on "Hootin' Blues" with stops
for John Lee Hooker, Sippie Wallace, Otis Spann and Muddy Waters, the stunning
black and white images and crystalline audio are the next best thing to being
there. Better maybe, since you can simply watch it all again whenever you
like. (And, yes, Cat, the menu is intuitive and easy to use.) I was particularly
happy to see the inclusion of Lonnie Johnson, whose contribution to the blues
is often under-rated, and he is sensational. Dignified and serious, he steps
up to the microphone and lets loose some superlative melodic guitar work!
But I'm getting ahead of myself. The programme starts around
a shack, built on the set, in a German television studio. A woman sits knitting
and T-Bone Walker is playing his guitar, riffing, when Shakey Jake walks in
and sings a pleading blues. It's so mellow and natural, it's fantastic. Then
outside the same set Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee do their thing; a few
couples drop by to dance. It's just one of the sets they use. Others include
an indoor juke joint, or the front of a Chicago or Mississippi vista. The
performers seem relaxed and comfortable even when placed in these fictional
landscapes.
The technical aspects of the programme are wonderful. The liner notes describe
it this way:
"...originally recorded in the state-of-the-art technology
of its day, all these performances were captured on two-inch PAL black-and-white
video tape with unusually high standards of audio engineering and attention
to detail in both the set design and cinematography. This was in part due
to the high caliber of talent working behind the scenes. The imaginative and
fluid camera work was captured by Michael Ballhaus (whose later work would
include such films as Goodfellas, The Last Temptation of Christ
and Gangs of New York). The sets were designed by famous artist Gunther
Keiser, who also did the striking and unique poster art for each year's AFBF
and many other major artists (Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful
Dead, Frank Zappa)."
Whether dropped into a set, or standing on a stage, the blues singers and
players perform beautifully. It's particularly refreshing to see them introducing
each other, as Sonny Boy Williamson does Lonnie Johnson, paying him the deference
the master is due. Muddy Waters is shown singing in front of the band without
his guitar. He leads them through a mellow but chooglin' "Got My Mojo
Working." And then the whole company comes out for a concluding "Bye
Bye Blues." I can't describe how exciting it is to see Muddy and Sonny
Boy, Big Joe Williams, Willie Dixon, Lonnie Johnson, Victoria Spivey, Memphis
Slim, Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Otis Spann and Bill Stepney all together
on one stage. It's a blues fan's dream!
And then there's Volume Two. Sonny Boy Williamson, in front of a ramshackle
building, plays a solo "Bye Bye Bird." Then he goes inside to another
set, a model of a juke joint. Here he's accompanied by an incredible band;
Sunnyland Slim on piano, Hubert Sumlin on guitar, Willie Dixon bass and Clifton
James on drums. He introduces the band, and they play "Come on Home Baby,"
led by Sunnyland Slim, and featuring a sizzling guitar solo by Little Hubert
Sumlin. They are relaxed and comfortable. Their German hosts were treating
them with a respect and affection that they were not given in their homeland.
Remember that Howlin' Wolf was only invited to appear on American television
because the Rolling Stones requested him!
Willie Dixon is introduced by Memphis Slim, who then plays piano for Dixon's
rendition of "Nervous." Perhaps this is the song that began the
tradition of stuttering (like "My Generation" or "You Ain't
Seen Nothin' Yet") and big Willie does it brilliantly. Lightnin' Hopkins
does a shuffling version of "Mojo Hand" and then Victoria Spivey
performs "Black Snake Blues." These performances are authentic,
and as close as most of us will ever get to seeing these people. Most of them
are gone. Some of them were getting on at the time these programmes were made.
Lonnie Johnson was killed by a taxi while crossing the street in Toronto in
1970. Sonny Boy Williamson died only months after these recordings were done.
But the musicians we see on these remarkable DVDs are vital and alive. The
black and white images are crisp and sharp, the music beautifully reproduced.
The audience was respectful; many of them jazz aficionados who saw blues as
the beginning of their music. The three songs done by Howlin' Wolf display
the passion and fire with which he filled everything he touched. You can hear
the basis of Captain Beefheart's growl in Wolf's vocals.
I hadn't even heard about these DVDs. I was looking for something to spend
my birthday money on, so I was browsing through the esoteric selection of
CDs stocked by my local independent record retailer. He always has plenty
of folk, and jazz, lots of imports and rare recordings. There in a cardboard
box on the counter were a few DVDs. Not the stuff that the mainstream stores
sell, oh no. Steve Hackett, King Crimson, and...what's that? The American
Folk Blues Festival 1962-1966! Whew! It's got Muddy Waters, and Howlin'
Wolf, and Lonnie Johnson, and...wow! I wasted no time buying them, and rushed
home to play them. This is important and wonderful material. Thanks to all
who had anything to do with creating, locating, and marketing these remarkable
packages.
For more, go here -- and here -- and here!
