Blues for an Etouffee Feast
"The human being is made up of the very thing that clouded the authority it’s trying to get around."-Ornette Coleman
It is Josh White’s birthday today (and as Charles Gaiennie would chime in: Slim Harpo’s too, even though his birthday is listed wrong all over the internet). I wrote extensively about White on his birthday last year. Yes, ever since Jane Rule Burdine threw on one of his records during a crawfish etouffee feast on a balmy night in Taylor, Mississippi…I have been hooked.
A few weeks ago, my friend Josh Rosenthal brought me over a pristine copy of the 1956 folkways release Big Bill Broonzy Sings Country Blues. Broonzy, like White, were bluesmen who had careers through the times that many of their peers put their guitar under their beds and walked different paths until (if still alive) being rediscovered in the 1960s. And much has been written about each of these players, and the reasons for their ability to continually find new audiences as the decades of the 20th century marched on.
Broonzy and White were both handsome…good looking, charismatic individuals with infectious grins and sweet, rich voices—White’s arguably had less of a traditional blues sounding voice, adopting a more folksy/crooner style. Both not only could play the guitar incredibly, and that is an understatement, but could play with an ease that made the difficult picking sound completely understandable and easy to the uneducated ear; their recordings in the 50s left the blues rawness behind, and instead showcased a refined yet complex beauty that new listeners gravitated to…an evolved style of the blues. It is like the difference between a glass and metal slide….the latter, a grittier sound of the delta while the former, giving a crystal sheen to the strings. White and Broonzy were showmen. They knew it; they leaned into it
By the 1960s, when the blues was rediscovered by the British rock n rollers, and ultimately by the US, Broonzy was dead and White had already been written off as a musician whose sound was dated and did not fit the gritty “realism” of Son House and Skip James )or their story of struggle, which seemed more and more the identifier of the bluesman). But Broonzy had made it in Europe, with legends like Pete Townshend citing his influence and championing his legacy (he gives a great introduction to Broonzy in the bluesman’s biography). White just kind of faded into obscurity, his past success being a catalyst to his longterm failure…even though he had had used his fame to point fingers at real societal issues around race and class1.
As the arcs of history bend, White’s legacy has gotten more of a leg-up. It does not shine like those of many from his 1920s blues generation, but more people are listening and his record prices are going up.
Happy 108th Birthday, Josh White
Charles Darwin mystery solved after 140 years as scientists make stunning ancient find
It’s Darwins birthday this weekend, and on its heals is this fascinating discovery: “Experts in China have announced they found the oldest flower bud in the fossil record. It could be the final puzzle piece in proving flowering plants, or angiosperms, evolved tens of millions of years earlier than initially thought. The team hopes their discovery will help "ease the pain" around the mystery that Darwin called ‘abominable’.”
Syl Johnson, ‘Different Strokes’ legend sampled by Kanye, dead at 85
The great Syl Johnson passed away today…leave it to the New York Post to prioritize that he was sampled by Kanye as its headline to an artist who made great record after great record. The Numero Group did a fantastic job reissuing his stuff…the box set they put out is awe-inspiring….and for a great read on his life, the folks at the record label have one for you. RIP SYL.
20 Terracotta Warriors Uncovered Near Chinese Emperor’s Secret Tomb
“Twenty new warriors from a Chinese emperor’s massive terracotta army were uncovered by archaeologists in Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi Province, on Friday. China Global Television Network reported that the newly discovered sculptures were found in Pit No. 1, outside the emperor’s secret tomb, and remain well-preserved. Notable among these findings are statues of a general and a middle-ranking army officer. Pit No. 1, a section full of infantry and chariots, has a total area of 14,260 square meters. When the excavation is complete, it is expected to yield more than 6,000 pottery figures and horses.”
Gray Matter: Daniel J. Levitin On Why Memory Isn’t So Black And White
This idea of memory…and the past…what we remember…what our mind fills in…and why…has been a big pondering for me ever since my father past. I question the reality of some of my memories of him…especially when I realize that my brain fills in details that might not be true. This interview is a graceful trip looking at the nature of memory. A really worth while read, from the magazine that brings goodness with every issue, The Sun.
THE SKY DON’T HAVE NO ROOF: THE LAST ORNETTE COLEMAN INTERVIEW
With an introduction written by the interviewer John Kruth, explaining why it took over seven years to get this interview published, this interview is an incredible read, finding Ornette in full philosophical mode (ok, when was he not) with huge thoughts littered with every reply Ornette gives. A complete joy to read, and so insightful given it is the jazz giants last interview, it is worth throwing on Free Jazz this weekend and digging in.
WEEKEND LISTEN: THE HOWLING HEX by Neil Michael Hagerty (On Spotify, and Qobuz and more)
In between leaving Royal Trux and forming The Howling Hex, Neil Hagerty made a solo record call The Howling Hex. Confused? Who cares: this record is an incredible drive through Hagerty’s vision of the perfect rock album. You cannot look past the Stones influence here…something he has always worn on his sleeve. But Hagerty brings his own alien guitar sound (and damn, he is a great slinger) and quintessential swagger to every one of these numbers. It is both enticingly strange and incredibly fun…perfect as these northern california days are warming up when it feels right to drive with the top down (oh…please let it rain more). Hands down my favorite thing he has ever done, and that includes all of his work with Pussy Galore.
Plague Of Dead Sharks
By: Alan Dugan
Who knows whether the sea heals or corrodes?
The wading, wintered pack-beasts of the feet
slough off, in spring, the dead rind of the shoes'
leather detention, the big toe's yellow horn
shines with a natural polish, and the whole
person seems to profit. The opposite appears
when dead sharks wash up along the beach
for no known reason. What is more built
for winning than the swept-back teeth,
water-finished fins, and pure bad eyes
these old, efficient forms of appetite
are dressed in? Yet it looks as if the sea
digested what it wished of them with viral ease
and threw up what was left to stink and dry.
If this shows how the sea approaches life
in its propensity to feed as animal entire,
then sharks are comforts, feet are terrified,
but they vacation in the mystery and why not?
Who knows whether the sea heals or corrodes?:
what the sun burns up of it, the moon puts back.
Just listen to his album Chain Gang Songs as an example of his sweet, commercial sway carrying a sharp bite underneath. And at that moment in his career…people were listening.