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Post by Pickers Ditch on Jul 3, 2020 6:56:37 GMT
Watch this to hear and see what can really be done without a set up .. ...we're really spoilt, aren't we?  |
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Post by bonzo on Jul 3, 2020 10:46:45 GMT
Nice. Works for me!
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Post by blinddrunk on Jul 3, 2020 12:41:25 GMT
So I see, John. You were the guy in the white trousers, yeah? |
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Post by slide496 on Jul 3, 2020 13:29:13 GMT
IMHO Lomax really had an ear for guitar perfection - no matter whether a road worn archtop, flat top or resonator the guitars he recorded (brilliantly IMHO) were just glorious and well chosen by their respective players.
Lawd lawdy,
Harriet
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Post by Michael Messer on Jul 3, 2020 14:44:21 GMT
This is a beautiful piece of film that shows 70 year old Sonny Boy Nelson - Eugene Powell, in fine form.
I first came across his music when it was pointed out to me that on some of his Bluebird recordings he was playing a Silvertone guitar that he had fitted a resonator into, much like one of forum member, Pete1951's conversions. He also, much like Big Joe Williams, fitted one or two extra strings on this guitar. In the early noughties we put a few of his recordings on Catfish Records compilation CDs. I remember being very taken with his music at the time.
What really stands out to me when watching this film is how much he was influenced and probably taught by the Chatmon family, especially in this piece you can hear Sam Chatmon's style shining through.
The dancer is doing something that harks back to the time of Jim Crow laws, when certain dance moves were considered ritualistic, obscene and dangerous, and therefore banned. I believe that style of dancing had various names including - Snake Hips, Fish Tail, Strut and Cakewalk, and it is amazing to see how deeply into the music the dancer is, moving and reacting to every phrase, emotion and beat. Those moves are directly related to West African dances that you can see today, especially in Ghana and Nigeria.
It's kind of amazing to see and also a reminder of where this extraordinary and beautiful art form, that is now a world folk music played in every country on the planet, actually comes from. Poverty and deprivation are words that spring to mind. We and future generations of fans and players of this music should never forget those roots, although I fear that is already happening. With each generation of players, the music drifts further away from its roots.
Alan Lomax did an amazing job of cataloguing so much of this amazing music and culture, as did my late friend, Paul Oliver, and of course, Sam Charters. We have so much to thank them for. Without Alan Lomax we might never have heard some of the greatest musicians of the twentieth century.
Shine On
Michael
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Post by Pickers Ditch on Jul 3, 2020 14:58:04 GMT
Michael, I hope I wasn't sounding derogatory in my initial post.
That wasn't the intention; only to point out what wonderful music can be performed on less than perfect instruments if you have the talent and wherewithal to do so.
To me it's not only a great performance but it shows that today's hunt for perfect instruments, action, intonation etc. is maybe over hyped.😀
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Post by Michael Messer on Jul 3, 2020 15:47:03 GMT
Michael, I hope I wasn't sounding derogatory in my initial post. That wasn't the intention; only to point out what wonderful music can be performed on less than perfect instruments if you have the talent and wherewithal to do so. To me it's not only a great performance but it shows that today's hunt for perfect instruments, action, intonation etc. is maybe over hyped.😀 Not at all, PD. I completely understood your reasons for posting it. I think that I might be a little sensitive right now and also so aware of current problems in the world, that I just felt I needed to write what I was feeling. Shine On Michael |
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Post by slide496 on Jul 3, 2020 16:53:45 GMT
This is a beautiful piece of film that shows 70 year old Sonny Boy Nelson - Eugene Powell, in fine form. I first came across his music when it was pointed out to me that on some of his Bluebird recordings he was playing a Silvertone guitar that he had fitted a resonator into, much like one of forum member, Pete1951's conversions. He also, much like Big Joe Williams, fitted one or two extra strings on this guitar. In the early noughties we put a few of his recordings on Catfish Records compilation CDs. I remember being very taken with his music at the time. Shine On Michael Amazing, thanks for this background and the clip - I hadn't looked further than the Lomax footage on him. Lawd lawdy, Harriet |
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Post by mitchfit on Jul 5, 2020 19:09:26 GMT
IMO--a very good job considering it is played on a bow-n-arrow.
an olde segment of "Peabody's Improbable History" I watched as a kid stated this very issue was most likely the driving force behind the advent of slide guitar.
mitchfit
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Post by Michael Messer on Jul 5, 2020 20:12:04 GMT
IMO--a very good job considering it is played on a bow-n-arrow. an olde segment of "Peabody's Improbable History" I watched as a kid stated this very issue was most likely the driving force behind the advent of slide guitar. mitchfit There has been so much research done and there is far too much evidence of how slide guitar took hold in the US to consider this as a possibility. Shine On Michael |
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Post by mitchfit on Jul 5, 2020 20:46:13 GMT
likely known by few in the UK, but Mr. Peabody did lotsa research into the origins of music.
mitchfit
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