Hello There,
My name is Thomas and this is my first post on this great forum, I started to play the piano about eight months ago and at first was completely smitten with those technical masters like the Sykes's, Ammons, Cow Cows, Maceos ie. the ones that possess a lifetime worth of technique and talent that us mere mortals could only dream of.
However, recently I've become entranced with those pianists especially from St Louis among others (Jab Jones) who could play not as virtuoso's but simply as musicians, and whom possessed a sound that was altogether less impressive yet maintained that big emotional weight we call the blues. Of Course the prime example of this would be Walter Davis but I'm inclined to praise Peetie Wheatstraw who, although possessed less variation than Davis had a really low down sound and was a more competent accompanist.
I don't think St Louis gets as much recognition for it's music as the other big areas do, and it is surprising considering the diversity of the blues scope there and how much creativity the musicians demonstrated in terms of technique and songwriting (but that's a whole other post).
I've always been a big fan of Lonnie Johnson's piano playing as well, the sound on Sam You're Just A Rat is just evil and reminded a lot of Hellhounds On My Trail. I also mentioned Jab Jones, I think he contributed a great deal to the sound Sleepy John got on those early recordings like those chordal stabs on The Girl I Love and also provided wonderful accompaniments to Will Shade and the Jug Band.
Anyway in the video I tried to provide a tone similar to those great accompanying pianists, but please bear in mind my musical wherewithal on the piano is not fully realised yet and I unfortunately don't have a real piano, but the digital isn't bad if you turn it up.
Thank you and have a pleasant day.
My name is Thomas and this is my first post on this great forum, I started to play the piano about eight months ago and at first was completely smitten with those technical masters like the Sykes's, Ammons, Cow Cows, Maceos ie. the ones that possess a lifetime worth of technique and talent that us mere mortals could only dream of.
However, recently I've become entranced with those pianists especially from St Louis among others (Jab Jones) who could play not as virtuoso's but simply as musicians, and whom possessed a sound that was altogether less impressive yet maintained that big emotional weight we call the blues. Of Course the prime example of this would be Walter Davis but I'm inclined to praise Peetie Wheatstraw who, although possessed less variation than Davis had a really low down sound and was a more competent accompanist.
I don't think St Louis gets as much recognition for it's music as the other big areas do, and it is surprising considering the diversity of the blues scope there and how much creativity the musicians demonstrated in terms of technique and songwriting (but that's a whole other post).
I've always been a big fan of Lonnie Johnson's piano playing as well, the sound on Sam You're Just A Rat is just evil and reminded a lot of Hellhounds On My Trail. I also mentioned Jab Jones, I think he contributed a great deal to the sound Sleepy John got on those early recordings like those chordal stabs on The Girl I Love and also provided wonderful accompaniments to Will Shade and the Jug Band.
Anyway in the video I tried to provide a tone similar to those great accompanying pianists, but please bear in mind my musical wherewithal on the piano is not fully realised yet and I unfortunately don't have a real piano, but the digital isn't bad if you turn it up.
Thank you and have a pleasant day.