|
|
MIDWEST BLUES BEAT |
|
|
|
||
|
by Eric Steiner FALL
FOR THE YEAR OF THE BLUES
There’s a few things
I wanted to do this month. First,
I wanted to let you know that there’s just three weeks left to catch The
Chicago Blues Exchange at the Chicago Tourism Center at 72 East
Randolph.
Then, I’ll shout about a blues exhibition that will premiere
here in the upper left hand corner of the country, but will stop at
Chicago’s Museum of Science and
Industry in January.
We’ll wrap up by previewing a PBS film series called “The Blues,” and talk about a new series from The Right Stuff and EMI called Blues Kingpins. CHICAGO
BLUES EXCHANGE…
You’ve got only until
September 21st to catch The
Chicago Blues Exchange. This
major exhibition traces the evolution of the blues in Chicago and
showcases some of the city’s great blues artists. A variety of blues
musicians will perform every Monday at Noon and every Friday at 5:30
p.m. Admission to the
exhibit and shows is free. This exhibit traces the journey of the blues
from the Mississippi Delta, through Memphis, to Chicago. SWEET
HOME CHICAGO…
Sweet Home Chicago: Big City Blues 1946-1966
is the first major museum exhibition devoted to Chicago blues.
It opens at Seattle’s Experience Music Project on September 27th and runs through January
4, 2004, when it travels to Chicago’s Museum
of Science and Industry to kick-off the Museum’s annual “Black
Creativity Celebration.” As
a kid, I marveled at the dinosaurs in the museum, and wound my way
through the walk-through exhibit of the human heart.
Next time, though, I’ll head straight to Sweet Home Chicago. Speaking of museums, I think the EMP has shown the world that honoring rock ‘n’ roll in a museum context is certainly not stuffy. Far from it: experience EMP online at: www.emplive.com THE
BLUES ON PBS…
“The Blues” is a
week’s worth of documentaries from such diverse filmmakers as Martin
Scorsese, Wim Wenders, Mike Figgis, and Clint
Eastwood. Sunday,
September 28:
“Feel Like Going
Home”
by Martin Scorsese. This film
gives us the broad brush strokes that include the journey of the blues
form from West Africa to the American South.
The first film in “The Blues” series promises performances by Willie
King, Taj Mahal, Otha Turner
and Ali Farka Touré, and rare archival footage that includes bluesmen Son
House, Muddy Waters and John
Lee Hooker. Monday,
September 29:
The Soul of a Man”
by Wim Wenders.
Wenders is one of my favorite filmmakers of all time. Sure,
he’s done critically-acclaimed films like “The Buena Vista Social Club”,
and “Lightning Over Water,” but I’ll always cherish his
cinematic gifts writ large in “The American Friend.”
“The Soul of a Man”
features bluesman Chris Thomas
King starring as Blind Willie
Johnson, and it’s a fictional story of the blues that Wenders
brought to the Cannes Film Festival.
Tuesday,
September 30:
“The Road to
Memphis”
by Richard Pearce.
Pearce’s love letter to Memphis features B.B.
King, Bobby Rush, Rosco Gordon, Ike Turner, Howlin’ Wolf, and Rufus
Thomas. While the Wolf
was probably best known for his Chicago blues, Memphis’ own Rufus
Thomas is given center stage as a key figure in Memphis music. Wednesday,
October 1: “Warming
by the Devil’s Fire” by Charles
Burnett. Burnett is an
accomplished independent filmmaker whose UCLA thesis film, “Killer
of Sheep,” was one of the nation’s 50 films listed in the
National Film Registry and honored by the Library of Congress in the
1980s. “Warming
by the Devil’s Fire” tells the story of Burnett’s
childhood, interspersed with some fictional stories, in 1950’s
Mississippi. Thursday,
October 2:
“Godfathers and
Sons”
by Marc Levin.
Director Marc Levin and hip hop guru Chuck D, Chess records heir
Marshall Chess explore new ways to mix the history of the blues with the
future of hip hop. While I
can’t fathom how the blues and hip hop intersect, I’m looking
forward to Marc, Marshall, and Mistachucks’ adventures on the blues
trail. Friday,
October 3: “Red,
White and Blues” by Mike
Figgis. My favorite Mike Figgis film is “Leaving Las Vegas,”
and I know I’m not alone in that regard as Nicholas
Cage earned a “Best Actor”
Academy Award and the film earned four Oscar nominations.
When Figgis gets “The Blues,” he has a
decidedly British take on the music, with Tom
Jones, Jeff Beck, Van Morrison and Lulu
kicking back in Abbey Road studios improvising the blues. Saturday,
October 4:
“Piano Blues”
by Clint Eastwood.
I’m sure you’ve seen Clint Eastwood movies.
While they’re usually visual treats, I tend to gravitate toward
the soundtrack. Eastwood’s
a piano man, and it’s fitting that Scorsese recruited him for the
closing film in the series that brings together Pinetop Perkins, Jay McShann, Dave Brubeck, and Marcia
Ball. BLUES
KINGPINS…
The Right Stuff and EMI
have released six CDs under the “Blues
Kingpins” banner, drawn from EMI’s blues catalogue.
Together, the releases
from Fats Domino, Ike Turner,
John Lee Hooker, Lightnin' Hopkins, Elmore James and B.B. King are an encyclopedia of the blues, and feature each of
these groundbreaking artists solo, acoustic, electric, and with a full
band.
You’ll find the Kingpins at discounted
prices in the record store, but I hope that you’ll agree with me that
the Kingpins need to be appreciated as a complete set. Each disc contains nods to swing and jazz, and if you
consider John Lee Hooker’s earthy, signature style or Elmore James’
searing slide essential blues, you’ll enjoy ‘em all. NEXT
MONTH…
I’ll
shout about a new compilation benefiting the Big
Brothers and Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties, produced by Tom
Johnson. While he’s a
bluesman, it’s more important to me that he’s giving back to the
community as a Big Brother.
The CD will be called “Blues
for Kids Sake,” with Deb
Seitz (Chicago Blues Posse), JB
Ritchie, Chicago Kingsnakes, Little Johnny Moore, and many others.
Don’t wait ‘til my
ink dries here, go to –– www.bbbswillgrundy.org/blues.htm
–– for more information. Until Next month…go see some live blues! |
||
|
Web
Design By: All Rights Reserved © 6 String Design2003 |
||
