I used to read regularly, and very occasionally post, to rec.music.makers.guitar.jazz, and a fellow there who is quite the 'know it all' (maybe he is here too?) said this regarding the number of piano players in Clarksdale:
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Thomas "Jaybird" Jones gave Alan Lomax lots of names of Clarksdale pianists of the ragtime era. Howard Odum's and Charles Peabody's research in the Delta during the '00-'09 period (and in an indirect way, E.C. Perrow's then too) suggests that banjo or guitar playing in a ragtime-influenced style was more popular among "blacks" in the Delta during '00-'09 than anything else was. Many of the guitarists we'd tend to call "rural" or "country blues" in style were around quite a lot of pianists
So why didn't the proliferation of ragtime pianists translate to blues pianist 20 years later? Maybe they didn't get recorded because they couldn't take their piano out to the street to catch any talent scout's ear?
Buster Pickens was recorded in Houston, Aug. 9 & 17, 1960 and May 4, 1961 by Chris Strachwitz, Mack McCormick & Paul Oliver. Issued first 1962 as Heritage HLP 1008, later (1977) as Flyright LP 536
Forgot to mention that Tommie Lee Russell has a few cuts on one of the Flyright LPs recorded at a major concert in early 1973 that Bastin and I put together when he was at Chapel Hill. He was idiosyncratic! (Tommie Lee, that is!)
Peter B
« Last Edit: December 20, 2008, 07:50:22 PM by oddenda »
there had been a small number of pianists recorded in the 6o`s and 7o`s, but most of the researchers went on for guitarrist. its much easier to take a guitar in the car for musicians who had no instruments than a piano. many of these recordings apeared on only small labels like adelphi, JSP etc and are now sought items: lee kizard ( tutwiler, ms), mose vinson, memphis piano red (memph.) wallace johnson, jasper love ( clarksdale), lyin joe holley(n.y.),alex moore, robert shaw, lavada durst, grey ghost ( texas), easau weary ( louis.), when I went down south in 1981 kizard,johnson had died, love went up to memphis, weary had left the aera and ghost just was`nt in town. but beside the others, I rediscovered guitarist isaac youngblood in columbus, miss ( see evans book: tommy johnson), who played wonderfull gospel piano, a style close related to piano blues mixed up with rag/strride elements, which also has died out
when I went down south in 1981 kizard,johnson had died, love went up to memphis, weary had left the aera and ghost just was`nt in town. but beside the others, I rediscovered guitarist isaac youngblood in columbus, miss ( see evans book: tommy johnson), who played wonderfull gospel piano, a style close related to piano blues mixed up with rag/strride elements, which also has died out
Am I correct in remembering that you wrote about this event in Blues Life magazine around about 1982 or so?
quite right you`are. something great that somebody remebers that from a long gone austrian blues mag. I also published an interjew with robert shaw there, the only article in all the years which they issued in english....
some of the recordings I made then were issued on wold records, and they even paid the musicians........
quite right you`are. something great that somebody remebers that from a long gone austrian blues mag.
In my attic I have quite a number of issues which were sent to me by Fritz Svacina and other ones sent by Teddy Doering. I have a recollection that you contributed to the magazine over many years. The last issue I saw was from 1987! Is it still published?
I left blues life about 1985/86 for they lost interest in stories about old blues-styles. later , after his wife died of cancer, fritz svacina left austria for some years living in the USA, but has now returned and has a internet-blues mag: www.bluesartstudio.com
great time then, on one the cover pic was the face of mott willis, who looked like and old indian chief.