Mississippi John Hurt again--- his unique playing style

[mitchfit]

a younger man's outlook:



mitchfit

[Michael Messer]

I don't believe it is possible to enter into the world Mississippi John Hurt's playing without talking about the West African influences and connections in his playing and singing. I have talked with musicians from Mali, Ghana, Nigeria, my dear late friend from Sierra Leone, S.E. Rogie and Taj Mahal, and they all say that Mississippi John Hurt, as well as one or two others like Skip James and John Lee Hooker, were the closest to the way they play.

The syncopation and approach to both rhythm and melody are in John Hurt and Skip James's just like Griot kora players (Griot is a musical storyteller), and John Lee Hooker's style is closer to ngoni playing (one string instrument like a cigar box guitar). But sticking with John Hurt as this is the subject of the thread, his music just can't be examined and decoded without understanding its roots. It makes no sense to look at it in that way. It is all very well to count the one AND two AND three AND ...etc, but that is not the way these musicians thought about or played their music and as soon as we do that we Westernise it and turn it into something else.

Here are a few pieces that illustrate this connection....

S.E Rogie's acoustic guitar and vocal pitch and phrasing in these pieces is so John Hurt!





Toumani Diabaté & Sidiki Diabaté - Jarabi. Again the syncopation and phrasing of the melody.



Boubacar Traoré & Ali Farka Touré - Duna Ma Yelema



Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté



I could write all day on this subject....

Shine On
Michael

[mitchfit]

starting to see your point-now-. i should have added this thread to the first MJH thread where you brought this salient subject matter up to begin with.

it would seem this musical influence has expanded well beyond its roots. listening your above posting:

"Toumani Diabaté & Sidiki Diabaté - Jarabi. Again the syncopation and phrasing of the melody."

the texture of that melody reminded me very much of John Gorka and Leo Kottke in "Furniture".



you also mentioned Taj Mahal giving praise for MJH, i had to think of his tune on "Recycling The Blues & Other Related Stuff". hey--who is that with him on the album cover?



"I could write all day on this subject...."

PLEASE DO SO.

mitchfit

[mitchfit]

PS-



mitchfit