The News Review:
- The Blues a Colorful Part of the Cultural Palette
- Blue is Liz Mandeville’s primary color in art and music
- Odetta’s voice rumbled deep in our souls
- A life of spirit and surprises
- The Kelly Bell Band often performs to predominantly white crowds …
- Blues singer Bobbye King dies at 54
The Blues a Colorful Part of the Cultural Palette
Washington Post United States
The Honors focus on uplift. You walk away from the blues feeling drained and spent. That is the nature — and the beauty — of the music. The Honors are not a competition and so it’s a bit unseemly to start counting how many of the honorees have come from the various genres of music. The suggestions of those who are deserving and the list of those who are ultimately chosen are all subjective.
Related from Thehubnyc: The Blues a Colorful Part of the Cultural Palette
Blue is Liz Mandeville’s primary color in art and music
Chicago Sun-Times United States
Earwig’s depth in recording contemporary blues is only surpassed by Bob Koester’s Delmark Records. At its first session in November 1978 Earwig founder Michael Frank recorded the Jelly Roll Kings (Big Jack Johnson Frank Frost Sam Carr) in Memphis Tenn. “Their music was so different from Chicago blues it haunted me” Frank said. “Little bit of country little bit of soul some rhythm and blues.
Odetta’s voice rumbled deep in our souls
Baltimore Sun United States
Work and prison songs heard in the fields during her childhood left a deep impression. But after her father died in 1937 she and her mother moved to Los Angeles. It was there three years later at age 10 that Odetta discovered her singing voice and decided to pursue music. In her teens she absorbed blues jazz and folk music. She later earned a music degree from Los Angeles City College. While a student there she studied classical music and music theater but she later admitted that none of it had much influence on her art. Her first professional break came in 1950 when Odetta began singing in the West Coast production of the musical “Finian’s Rainbow.
A life of spirit and surprises
Boston Globe United States
Obviously it wasn’t personal and besides I couldn’t be upset with someone who had inspired me so much. Every time I hear her voice – that majestic booming instrument that seemed to descend from on high – I’m reminded of how transformative music really is. To me Odetta harnessed a visceral energy a vibe as fierce as her Afro whether she was singing folk blues spirituals or pop songs. I dare you to watch the brief YouTube clip of Odetta performing “Water Boy” in “No Direction Home” Martin Scorsese’s 2005 documentary on Dylan and not get the chills. Or maybe you’ll feel a little terrified when she starts barking and bellowing as the camera suddenly draws back almost as a reaction to the force she unleashes. As soon as I heard about her death my first and only inclination was to pull out all of my Odetta albums on vinyl – hard-won treasures secured in the last minute of bidding on eBay. For such an icon of song Odetta rarely gets enough credit for what she accomplished as a musician.
The Kelly Bell Band often performs to predominantly white crowds …
Baltimore Sun United States
You have to weigh inthe role of the artists and who they’re trying to pitchit to. If they feel it’s black music it’s black music” saysMark Anthony Neal professor of black popular cultureat Duke University and author of What the MusicSaid: Black Popular Music and Black Public Culture. But what about white artists whose music absorbsthe vocal approaches and rhythmic syncopation oftraditionally black styles: jazz blues hip-hop? In thelast two years some of the most authentic-soundingR&B came from white artists such as Robin Thicke. They all adheredto musical templates of Motown-influencedmelodies and aggressive funk-laced rhythms. Eachsang with a streetwise swagger that was mostly convincing.
Blues singer Bobbye King dies at 54
Peoria Journal Star IL
""She was a very spiritual person; I appreciated that" he said. "Bobbye had a real deep faith in her own quiet way. "Others remembered her Saturday for the way she personified blues music and connected with audiences in casual yet invigorating style. "She was authentic that’s one thing you can say – meaning not fly by night" said Preston Jackson a local visual artist and jazz guitarist who has known King for 30 years. "She was a real blues person who sung the blues understood it and was the blues. ""Even when she was sitting down (during a performance) she had a way of connecting with the people that got the people going" said Brian Stear a Peoria-based blues harmonica player. "That’s the sign of a true artist – to be able to make that connection through her singing and her personality.