November 30, 2019

Mary Lou Williams

Folkways Records FS 32843

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo
Country: US
Released: 1964
Genre: Jazz
Style: Bop, Soul-Jazz, Gospel, Modal
[Tracklist]
A1 Black Christ Of The Andes (6:23)
A2 It Ain't Necessarily So (4:35)
A3 The Devil (3:55)
A4 Miss D. D. (2:25)
A5 Anima Christi (2:43)
B1 A Grand Nite For Swinging (2:54)
B2 My Blue Heaven (3:02)
B3 Dirge Blues (3:21)
B4 A Fungus Amungus (2:48)
B5 Praise The Lord (5:47)
[Credits]
Mary Lou Williams (piano)
Artwork: David Stone Martin, Liner Notes: Gerrard Pochonet, Engineer: Tommy Nola
[Notes]
Composer, arranger, and pianist Mary Lou Williams' musical career reflected the history of American jazz from the late 1920s through the 1970s. Described by Duke Ellington as being "beyond category," Williams was conversant in jazz styles ranging from stride through swing and be-bop to the avant-garde, yet her music was always rooted in spirituals and the blues. This self-produced recording, originally recorded in 1962 and 1963, contains a mix of standards and originals including four original compositions reflecting her devout interest in religious music.

November 29, 2019

Earl Scruggs and the 5-String Banjo

Revised and Enhanced Edition by Earl Scruggs

# Publisher: Hal Leonard; Pap/Com edition (August 1, 2005)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 0634060422
# ISBN-13: 978-0634060427

The best-selling banjo method in the world! Earl Scruggs's legendary method has helped thousands of banjo players get their start. The "Revised and Enhanced Edition" features more songs, updated lessons, and many other improvements. It includes everything you need to know to start playing banjo, including: a history of the 5-string banjo, getting acquainted with the banjo, Scruggs tuners, how to read music, chords, how to read tablature, right-hand rolls and left-hand techniques, banjo tunings, exercises in picking, over 40 songs, how to build a banjo, autobiographical notes, and much more! The book/audio version includes recordings of Earl Scruggs playing and explaining over 60 examples! Audio is accessed online using the unique code inside the book and can be streamed or downloaded. The audio files include PLAYBACK+, a multi-functional audio player that allows you to slow down audio without changing pitch, set loop points, change keys, and pan left or right.

November 21, 2019

Old-Time Fiddle: For the Complete Ignoramus

Wayne Erbsen (Author)

Spiral-bound: 80 pages
# Publisher: Native Ground Books & Music (September 2005)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 1883206480
# ISBN-13: 978-1883206482

Wayne Erbsen's 35 years of teaching experience shows on every page. He takes the reader through every step of adjusting, tuning, holding, and playing the fiddle. 37 tunes are written out in Wayne's own unique and easy-to-use tab system and standard notation. Fiddle instruction has never been any simpler, clearer, or more humorous. This book will teach absolutely anyone to play the fiddle. Instructional CD included. You WILL learn to play: Amazing Grace, Blackest Crow, Buffalo Gals, Charley He s a Good Old Man, Cluck Old Hen, Cotton-Eyed Joe, Cripple Creek, Cumberland Mountain Deer Chase, Darling Corey, Don t Let Your Deal Go Down, East Virginia, Groundhog, House of the Rising Sun, Ida Red, In the Pines, It Ain t Gonna Grain no Mo , Joy to the World, Little Birdie, Liza Poor Gal, Lynchburg Town, Muley s Daughter, Old Joe Clark, Old Molly Hare, Polly Put the Kettle On, Rain and Snow, Red River Valley, Run Johnny Run, Rye Whiskey, Sail Away Ladies, Say Darling Say, Shortening Bread, Sugar Hill, Wagoner s Lad, Wildwood Flower, Willie Moore.

November 20, 2019

Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp A Butterfly

Top Dawg Entertainment B0022958-02

Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 2015
Genre: Hip Hop
Style: Conscious, Jazzy Hip-Hop
[Tracklist]
01 Wesley's Theory (4:47)
02 For Free? (Interlude) (2:10)
03 King Kunta (3:54)
04 Institutionalized (4:31)
05 These Walls (5:00)
06 U (4:28)
07 Alright (3:39)
08 For Sale? (Interlude) (4:51)
09 Momma (4:43)
10 Hood Politics (4:52)
11 How Much A Dollar Cost (4:21)
12 Complexion (A Zulu Love) (4:23)
13 The Blacker The Berry (5:28)
14 You Ain't Gotta Lie (Momma Said) (4:01)
15 I (5:36)
16 Mortal Man (12:07)
[Credits]
Kendrick Lamar (vocals)
[Notes]
Becoming an adult ultimately means accepting one's imperfections, unimportance, and mortality, but that doesn't mean we stop striving for the ideal, a search that's so at the center of our very being that our greatest works of art celebrate it, and often amplify it. Anguish and despair rightfully earn more Grammys, Emmys, Tonys, and Pulitzer Prizes than sweetness and light ever do, but West Coast rapper Kendrick Lamar is already on elevated masterwork number two, so expect his version of the sobering truth to sound like a party at points. He's aware, as Bilal sings here, that "Shit don't change 'til you get up and wash your ass," and don't it feel good? The sentiment is universal, but the viewpoint on his second LP is inner-city and African-American, as radio regulars like the Isley Brothers (sampled to perfection during the key track "I"), George Clinton (who helps make "Wesley's Theory" a cross between "Atomic Dog" and Dante's Inferno), and Dr. Dre (who literally phones his appearance in) put the listener in Lamar's era of Compton, just as well as Lou Reed took us to New York and Brecht took us to Weimar Republic Berlin. These G-funky moments are incredibly seductive, which helps usher the listener through the album's 80-minute runtime, plus its constant mutating (Pharrell productions, spoken word, soul power anthems, and sound collages all fly by, with few tracks ending as they began), much of it influenced, and sometimes assisted by, producer Flying Lotus and his frequent collaborator Thundercat. "u" sounds like an MP3 collection deteriorating, while the broken beat of the brilliant "Momma" will challenge the listener's balance, and yet, Lamar is such a prodigiously talented and seductive artist, his wit, wisdom, and wordplay knock all these stray molecules into place. Survivor's guilt, realizing one's destiny, and a Snoop Dogg performance of Doggystyle caliber are woven among it all; plus, highlights offer that Parliament-Funkadelic-styled subversion, as "The Blacker the Berry" ("The sweeter the juice") offers revolutionary slogans and dips for the hip. Free your mind, and your ass will follow, and at the end of this beautiful black berry, there's a miraculous "talk" between Kendrick and the legendary 2Pac, as the brutalist trailblazer mentors this profound populist. To Pimp a Butterfly is as dark, intense, complicated, and violent as Picasso's Guernica, and should hold the same importance for its genre and the same beauty for its intended audience. -- AllMusic Review by David Jeffries

November 13, 2019

Women Folk: Iconic Women of American Folk

Sunswept Music 063033

Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: August 7, 2007
Recorded: 1955 - 1961
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk
[Tracklis]
01 Sail Away Ladies: Odetta (2:23)
02 Railroad Bill: Etta Baker (2:39)
03 When I Was a Young Girl: Barbara Dane (3:42)
04 The Bashful Courtship: Jean Ritchie (2:05)
05 Go 'Way from My Window: Carolyn Hester (2:48)
06 Midnight Special: Odetta (2:37)
07 Goin' Down the Road Feeling Bad: Etta Baker (1:24)
08 Nine Hundred Miles: Barbara Dane (2:21)
09 The Old Grey Goose Is Dead: Jean Ritchie (1:27)
10 The Water Is Wide: Carolyn Hester (3:42)
11 He's Got the Whole World in His Hands: Odetta (1:54)
12 John Henry: Etta Baker (2:40)
13 The Danville Girl: Barbara Dane (3:05)
14 The Blackest Crow: Jean Ritchie (1:30)
15 House of the Rising Sun: Carolyn Hester (2:21)
16 Take This Hammer: Odetta (3:27)
17 One Dime Blues: Etta Baker (3:00)
18 Ramblin': Barbara Dane (2:57)
19 Wondrous Love: Jean Ritchie (2:46)
20 Summertime: Carolyn Hester (2:20)
[Credits]
Odetta (guitar/vocals) Etta Baker (guitar/vocals) Barbara Dane (guitar/vocals) Jean Ritchie (dulcimer/vocals) Carolyn Hester (guitar/vocals) Tom Paley (banjo/guitar)
Producer: Rama Barwick, Liner Notes: Oscar Brand and Paul Clayton, Editor: Roger Kash, Designer: Michael Lauzardo, Engineers: Liam Clancy and George Pickow
[Notes]
From Odetta considered one of the most influential artists of the 20th Century to Jean Ritchie the mother of Appalachian folk music, responsible for exposing us to a treasure trove of material passed down from her ancestors that have since become staples of the world-wide folk scene. Carolyn Hester invited Bob Dylan to play harmonica on her first Columbia record which led to him signing with the label while Barbara Dane raised the bar for all singers when she burst onto the scene in the early 1950’s and a little lady from the Southern Appalachians named Etta Baker set the standard for folk guitarists everywhere

November 1, 2019

Protobilly: The Minstrel & Tin Pan Alley DNA of Country Music 1892-2017

JSP Records JSP5202

Format: 3xCD, Compilation, Limited Edition, Stereo, Mono
Country: UK
Released: October 25, 2019
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Old Time, Country, Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
Disc One
101 Casey Jones: Billy Murray
102 Casey Jones: Fiddlin' John Carson
103 Southern Casey Jones: Jesse James
104 Steamboat Bill: Arthur Collins
105 Casey and Bill: Earl McDonald's Original Louisville Jug Band
106 Steamboat Bill Boogie: Delmore Bros.
107 Red Wing: Frank C Stanley & Henry Burr
108 Red Wing: Doc Williams & the Border Riders
109 Just Break the News to Mother: George J Gaskin
110 Take the News to Mother: Louvin Bros.
111 In the Shadow of the Pines: Royal Fish & Vernon Archibald
112 In the Shadow of the Pine: Kelly Harrell
113 Are You From Dixie?: Billy Murray & Irving Kaufman
114 Are You From Dixie: Grandpa Jones
115 Home, Sweet Home: Eleanora de Cisneros
116 Home, Sweet Home: Don Reno
117 The Party That Wrote Home Sweet Home, Never Was a Married Man: Ed Morton
118 The Man Who Wrote Home Sweet Home, Never Was a Married Man: Mack Woolbridge & Charlie Parker
119 I'm Alabama Bound: Prince's Orchestra
120 Alabama Bound: Papa Charlie Jackson
121 Unter dem Doppleadler: Olbrig's Zither Trio
122 Under the Double Eagle: Bill Boyd's Cowboy Ramblers
123 Blue Bell: Harry Macdonough
124 Blue Bell: Merle Travis
125 Virginia Bluebell: Eddie Adcock
126 The Foolish Frog: May Irwin
127 The Foolish Frog: Frank Corso
Disc Two
201 Haul The Woodpile Down: Charles A Asbury
202 Hold That Wood-Pile Down: Uncle Dave Macon
203 Darling Nellie Gray: The American Quartet
204 Darling Nellie Gray: Roland Cauly & Lake Howard
205 Darling Nellie Gray: Louis Armstrong & the Mills Brothers
206 I Got Mine: Arthur Collins & Joseph Natus
207 I Got Mine: Frank Stokes
208 Go Easy Mabel: Edward Meeker
209 Go Easy Mabel: Delmore Bros
210 Smoke Goes Up the Chimney: Dan W Quinn
211 Smoke Goes Up the Chimney: Fiddlin' John Carson
212 When the Bees Are In the Hive: Peerless Quartet
213 When the Bees Are In the Hive: Bill Monroe
214 Don't You Leave Me Here: Charles Johnson's Original Paradise Ten
215 I'm Alabamy Bound: Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five
216 Don't Go Down In the Mine, Dad: Stanley Kirkby
217 Dream Of a Miner's Child: Keith Whitley
218 I Loved You Better Than You: Byron G Harlan & Frank C Stanley
219 I Loved You Better Than You: The Carter Family
220 I Loved You Better Than You: Johnnie and Jack
221 By The Watermelon Vine: Edison Male Quartet
222 Lindy: Proximity String Quartet
223 Who Broke The Lock: Cousins and DeMoss
224 Who Stole De Lock: The Georgia Browns
225 Who Stole The Lock: Jack Bland & his Rhythmmakers
226 Lovesick Blues: Emmett Miller
227 Lovesick Blues: Hank Williams
228 I'm the Father of a Little Black Coon: Charles A Asbury
Disc Three
301 May Irwin's Bully Song: May Irwin
302 Bully Of the Town: Gid Tanner & the Skillet Lickers
303 Fille de la Fille: Vin Bruce
304 Turkey in the Straw: Billy Golden
305 Turkey Buzzard Blues: Peg Leg Howell & Eddie Anthony
306 Old Dan Tucker: Harry C Browne
307 Old Dan Tucker: Gid Tanner & the Skillet Lickers
308 The Arkansas Traveler: Len Spencer
309 The Arkansaw Traveler: Jilson Setters (J.W Day)
310 Arkansas Traveler: Clayton McMichen & his Georgia Wildcats
311 The Girl I Loved in Sunny Tennessee: S.H Dudley & Harry Macdonough
312 Sunny Tennessee: Floyd County Ramblers
313 Nigger Blues: George O'Connor
314 The Blues Ain't Nothing But: Georgia White
315 I'se Gwine Back to Dixie: Brilliant Quartet
316 I'se Gwine Back to Dixie: Uncle Dave Macon
317 Baby Mine: Elizabeth Spencer
318 Going Around This World: Leslie Keith
319 All Night Long: Anna Chandler
320 All Night Long: Roy Acuff & his Crazy Tennesseeans
321 Laughing Rag: Sam Moore & Horace Davis
322 Mexican Rag: Darby & Tarlton
323 I Don't Care If I Never Wake Up: Silas Leachman
324 My Money Never Gives Out: Arthur Collins
325 My Money Never Runs Out: Banjo Joe (Gus Cannon)
326 My Money Never Gives Out: Dom Flemons & Guy Davis
[Notes]
This 3 CD reissue anthology is the first to track 20th century American vernacular music of old time country, bluegrass, jazz and blues by tracing their beginnings in 19th century blackface minstrelsy and Tin Pan Alley. The set includes a 76 page booklet with song annotations, sheet music covers, photographs and period graphics, biographies and discographies Driven by songwriting and publishing songs are refashioned again and again showcasing stylistic as well as lyrical changes over the past 100 years The foundation of the American popular songbook traces its beginnings to the Vaudeville, Circus, Minstrel, Music Hall and Theatre stages of the mid-late 1800s The songs spread throughout the country and world creating a new musical tapestry that included both black and white performers of all backgrounds By aligning performances from the earliest cylinder recordings with later 78 rpm, LP and CD versions, PROTOBILLY brings to life 81 historic recordings more than half never before reissued all brilliantly remastered to vividly demonstrate the checkered and enormously powerful elasticity of American music.