Topic: Jazz - Modern
Jazz is primarily instrumental music. Vocalists like Frank Sinatra appeared with big bands, but they were parts of complete variety programs, not members of the bands. Ella Fitzgerald became an important jazz singer when she abandoned traditional concepts of song and turned her voice into a musical instrument with scat. [1]
A Caribbean-French group merged different jazz styles when they recorded "Kumbaya" in 2015. Two of the members, Alain Deshagette and Léo Rafaël, had been part of a group that specialized in Cole Porter songs. [2] Another, Didier Quérin, had appeared with Ray Charles. [3] They dedicated their album to the Golden Gate Quartet. [4]
Their instrumental accompaniment, a piano with a muted drum, was a simplified version of the bebop style introduced by men like Thelonious Monk. They sang three verses in close harmony that remained true to the primary melody, then the arrangement turned to variations that had little to do with the tune or text.
The group began the lines of the first two iterations together then diverged to parallel thirds. They sang slowly and stayed in harmony when they varied the tones on words. The difference between the two verses was only the piano accompanied them on "kumbaya," while the drums, block, and cymbal were added for "come by here."
The third verse was a solo by one of the tenors that again was melismatic. He altered the wording from "someone praying" to "I hear someone praying."
The style changed on the fourth verses, which was in French. This time the group repeated a single phrase over and over while the soloist varied the melody. It had little to do with "Kumbaya," although the reference to "seigneur" in the last line may have been an allusion to the song’s usual last line.
The transition to pure jazz was completed in the fifth iteration, which was played by the piano and drums. If it was playing the original melody, it was not recognizable. However, the group sang "Oh Lord, cum by yar" twice in close harmony toward the end.
Finally, a soloist began scatting against the piano, again using his own melody. The group concluded by repeating "Oh Lord, cum by yar" five times slowly. They broadened the harmony on the third repetition and continued their melismatic changes.
Performers
Vocal Soloist: tenor
Vocal Group: Alain Deshagette, first tenor; Léo Rafaël, second tenor; Didier Quérin, baritone; Miguel Dalu, bass [5]
Instrumental Accompaniment: piano
Rhythm Accompaniment: drums/block/cymbal
Credits
Composer: RR
Copyright: Jimmy’s Production
Music Publisher: D.R
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English and French
Pronunciation: may have used Creole pronunciation on "cum by yar."
Verses: kumbaya, come by here, praying, own
Vocabulary
Pronoun: someone
Term for Deity: Lord
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: song
Verse Repetition Pattern: none
Ending: repeated "Oh Lord, cum by yar" five times
Unique Features: French verse; substituted "I hear someone" for "someone" in one line
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Tempo: slow
Basic Structure: began with iterations of main melody, then changed to improvisations.
Singing Style: parallel harmony with melisma; scat
Solo-Group Dynamics: soloist varied melody while group repeated a single phrase, much like the denouement section of prelude-denouement versions of "Come by Here." However, the tempo remained slow.
Vocal-Orchestral Dynamics: muted, even when playing alone.
Audience Perceptions
Africultures said the Human Voice Quartet presented "a mix of Negro Spirituality, gospel and Caribbean jazz [. . .] very nuanced, which makes each of their performances an unforgettable moment." It also indicated the group had won the Louis Armstrong Performance Award at the Paris Gospel Festival in 1999. [6]
Notes on Performers
The nucleus of the group may have been Accord, who recorded for Frémeaux et Associés. The company website indicated Accord’s origins lay in Guadeloupe, a French overseas region in the Lesser Antilles. The tenor, Alain Deshagette, and baritone, Didier Quérin, were members. [7]
Quérin had spent two years in the United States before moving to France in 1996. [8] He became director of the choral group, Gospel Hearts, which he took to Guadeloupe. [9]
Meantime, Deshagette worked with Jean-Paul Elysée and Léo Rafaël on the Cole Porter project. [10] Elysée and Rafaël later were members of Baylavwa that specialized in Carribean jazz. [11]
Availability
Album: Human Voice Quartet. MP3. 16 October 2015.
YouTube: uploaded by Believe A on 14 April 2016.
End Notes
1. At its simplest scat involved singing vocables in imitation of a musical instrument.
2. "Vocal Porter." Gospel Agency website.
3. Gospel Hearts website.
4. The Golden Gate Quartet was an African-American group from Virginia that featured tenor and bass solos. They began recording in 1937 with "Born Ten Thousand Years Ago." They performed many gospel songs that entered the camp repertoire, including "Dese Bones Gonna Rise Agin," "Noah and the Ark," and "Wade in the Water." They moved to Paris in 1959. (Wikipedia. "Golden Gate Quartet.")
5. "Human Voice Quartet." Africultures website.
6. Africultures. Google translate from French.
7. "Accord Singers. Down by the Riverside. Frémeaux et Associés website.
8. "Master Class Gospel à Saint-Malo." Agendaou website. Class was scheduled for 28 February 2016.
9. Gospel Hearts.
10. "Vocal Porter."
11. "Baylavwa." Facebook.
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Monday, February 26, 2018
Terell Stafford - Kumbaya
Topic: Jazz - Modern
Swing and the big bands were best known from the late 1930s through World War II, when tire and gasoline shortages curtailed road trips. It became highly polished dance music. [1]
After the war, Black musicians revived the earlier, small-group improvisational styles. Only, instead of serving apprenticeships in local bands, musicians went to college where they learned the rules of contemporary composition and heard recordings by all their predecessors. Over time they called their music bebop, cool, hard bop, and post bop with distinctions made by connoisseurs based on melodic contours, harmonics and rhythms.
For all its sophistication, musicians still worked within the framework established by early jazzmen. John Wesley Work said then:
"the leader ‘stomped off’ the tempo (gave it by tapping his foot), and the ensemble played a refrain maintaining some faithfulness to the melody. Then each soloist was given a refrain for his individual expression. The background of these solos was generally provided by the piano player, sometimes a spur-of-the-moment idea of an idle side man. The ‘solo’ continued as long as the leader wished to let people dance. In conclusion came the ‘out’ chorus, in which the entire band played ecstatic excursions of music within the harmonic framework of the composition." [2]
Terell Stafford’s 2003 recording of "Kumbaya" conformed to this pattern. Only, instead of him stepping the rhythm, he let Derrick Hodge set the tempo in an opening string-bass solo. The cymbals joined him, then the piano played chords.
Stafford played the "Kumbaya" melody through twice on trumpet, before starting his solo improvisation. The only changes he made to the standard tune were in the descents in the second and fourth lines. He repeated the last line like The Seekers had done, but as a variant.
His solo lasted a minute, then Steve Wilson played the saxophone for nearly two minutes. Throughout the solos and renditions of the "Kumbaya" tune, Mulgrew Miller’s piano was the only constant sound. The cymbals were played softly; the drums and bass only were heard as accents.
Stafford played the melody through one more time, before the piano took a solo turn for Work’s out chorus. The piece ended with Mulgrew Miller changing from chords to soft arpeggios accompanied by Dana Hall on the drums.
Performers
Vocal Soloist: none
Vocal Group: none
Instrumental Soloists: Mulgrew Miller, piano; Terell Stafford, trumpet; [3] Steve Wilson, soprano saxophone [4]
Rhythm Accompaniment: Derrick Hodge, string bass; Dana Hall, drums [5]
Credits
Traditional [6]
Arrangement: Stephen Scott [7]
Copyright (c) MaxJazz [8]
Music Publisher: Universal Polygram (ASCAP) [9]
Music Publisher: Songwriters Guild of America (ASCAP) [10]
Notes on Lyrics
There were none
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Tempo: moderate to slow
Basic Structure: concatenation of solos over a piano continuum with the beat set by a string bass and cymbals.
Notes on Performance
Location: Systems Two Studios, Brooklyn, New York.
David Jeffries considered the rendition of "Kumbaya" the best piece on Stafford’s album. He wrote:
"Stafford slinks across Stephen Scott’s wonderful arrangement of ‘Kumbaya’ and Steve Wilson’s brilliant soprano pushes the whole band toward a rapturous ending. It’s definitely the album’s winner, and as a closer it leaves the listener exalted." [11]
Notes on Performers
The six men involved with "Kumbaya," the five musicians and the arranger, represented the changes in Black life that occurred after World War II when bop emerged. Only two were born in the south: Miller in Greenwood, Mississippi, [12] and Wilson in Hampton, Virginia. [13] Only one, Hodge, spent most of his childhood in one of the first targets of freedman migration, Philadelphia. [14] The others either lived in the suburbs of New York (Scott in Queens) [15] or moved from cities to the suburbs: Stafford’s family moved from Miami to Chicago, before settling in Silver Spring, Maryland; [16] Hall’s went from Brooklyn to Philadelphia to Voorhees Township, New Jersey. [17]
They all had at least some college education: Miller went to Memphis State, while Scott studied at Juilliard. Wilson graduated from Virginia Commonwealth and Hodge from Temple. Stafford earned a masters’ degree from Rutgers and Hall is working on a PhD at the University of Chicago in ethnomusicology.
After the demise of the big bands, and the development of bop that spurned popular music, the careers of most musicians have been a series of short-term jobs working as sidemen in other performers’ groups, with opportunities to gather their own groups for solo recording sessions like Stafford’s.
University music departments have become the primary source for steady employment for the most creative or best known. Wilson is on the staff of Julliard, Stafford of Temple, and Hall of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Before he died in 2013, Miller was Director of Jazz Studies at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey.
Availability
CD: New Beginnings. MaxJazz MXJ 402. 2003. Recorded January 2003, Brooklyn, New York. Released 17 June 2003. [18]
Reissue: New Beginnings. MaxJazz MP3. 25 January 2016.
YouTube: uploaded by The Orchard Enterprises on 26 January 2016.
End Notes
The websites listed for the individual artists were the sources for all the biographical information.
1. Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Style Sheet. "The Swing Era." Jazz in America website.
2. John Wesley Work. "Jazz." 440-444 in Harvard Dictionary of Music. Edited by Willi Apel. Cambridge: Belnap Press, 1969 edition. 441.
3. "Terell Stafford - New Beginnings." Discogs website.
4. "Terell Stafford: New Beginnings." All Music website.
5. Discogs.
6. All Music.
7. All Music.
8. Discogs.
9. YouTube posting.
10. YouTube posting.
11. David Jeffries. Review of New Beginnings. All Music.
12. Wikipedia. "Mulgrew Miller."
13. "The Sideman Becomes the Star." Steve Wilson Music website.
14. E. E. Bradman. "Derrick Hodge: Riding High with Maxwell, Robert Glasper and a New Solo Album." Bass Player website. 8 December 2016.
15. Wikipedia. "Stephen Scott (Jazz Pianist)."
16. "Terell Stafford." Terell Stafford website.
17. Wikipedia. "Dana Hall (Musician)."
18. All Music.
Swing and the big bands were best known from the late 1930s through World War II, when tire and gasoline shortages curtailed road trips. It became highly polished dance music. [1]
After the war, Black musicians revived the earlier, small-group improvisational styles. Only, instead of serving apprenticeships in local bands, musicians went to college where they learned the rules of contemporary composition and heard recordings by all their predecessors. Over time they called their music bebop, cool, hard bop, and post bop with distinctions made by connoisseurs based on melodic contours, harmonics and rhythms.
For all its sophistication, musicians still worked within the framework established by early jazzmen. John Wesley Work said then:
"the leader ‘stomped off’ the tempo (gave it by tapping his foot), and the ensemble played a refrain maintaining some faithfulness to the melody. Then each soloist was given a refrain for his individual expression. The background of these solos was generally provided by the piano player, sometimes a spur-of-the-moment idea of an idle side man. The ‘solo’ continued as long as the leader wished to let people dance. In conclusion came the ‘out’ chorus, in which the entire band played ecstatic excursions of music within the harmonic framework of the composition." [2]
Terell Stafford’s 2003 recording of "Kumbaya" conformed to this pattern. Only, instead of him stepping the rhythm, he let Derrick Hodge set the tempo in an opening string-bass solo. The cymbals joined him, then the piano played chords.
Stafford played the "Kumbaya" melody through twice on trumpet, before starting his solo improvisation. The only changes he made to the standard tune were in the descents in the second and fourth lines. He repeated the last line like The Seekers had done, but as a variant.
His solo lasted a minute, then Steve Wilson played the saxophone for nearly two minutes. Throughout the solos and renditions of the "Kumbaya" tune, Mulgrew Miller’s piano was the only constant sound. The cymbals were played softly; the drums and bass only were heard as accents.
Stafford played the melody through one more time, before the piano took a solo turn for Work’s out chorus. The piece ended with Mulgrew Miller changing from chords to soft arpeggios accompanied by Dana Hall on the drums.
Performers
Vocal Soloist: none
Vocal Group: none
Instrumental Soloists: Mulgrew Miller, piano; Terell Stafford, trumpet; [3] Steve Wilson, soprano saxophone [4]
Rhythm Accompaniment: Derrick Hodge, string bass; Dana Hall, drums [5]
Credits
Traditional [6]
Arrangement: Stephen Scott [7]
Copyright (c) MaxJazz [8]
Music Publisher: Universal Polygram (ASCAP) [9]
Music Publisher: Songwriters Guild of America (ASCAP) [10]
Notes on Lyrics
There were none
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Tempo: moderate to slow
Basic Structure: concatenation of solos over a piano continuum with the beat set by a string bass and cymbals.
Notes on Performance
Location: Systems Two Studios, Brooklyn, New York.
"Stafford slinks across Stephen Scott’s wonderful arrangement of ‘Kumbaya’ and Steve Wilson’s brilliant soprano pushes the whole band toward a rapturous ending. It’s definitely the album’s winner, and as a closer it leaves the listener exalted." [11]
Notes on Performers
The six men involved with "Kumbaya," the five musicians and the arranger, represented the changes in Black life that occurred after World War II when bop emerged. Only two were born in the south: Miller in Greenwood, Mississippi, [12] and Wilson in Hampton, Virginia. [13] Only one, Hodge, spent most of his childhood in one of the first targets of freedman migration, Philadelphia. [14] The others either lived in the suburbs of New York (Scott in Queens) [15] or moved from cities to the suburbs: Stafford’s family moved from Miami to Chicago, before settling in Silver Spring, Maryland; [16] Hall’s went from Brooklyn to Philadelphia to Voorhees Township, New Jersey. [17]
They all had at least some college education: Miller went to Memphis State, while Scott studied at Juilliard. Wilson graduated from Virginia Commonwealth and Hodge from Temple. Stafford earned a masters’ degree from Rutgers and Hall is working on a PhD at the University of Chicago in ethnomusicology.
After the demise of the big bands, and the development of bop that spurned popular music, the careers of most musicians have been a series of short-term jobs working as sidemen in other performers’ groups, with opportunities to gather their own groups for solo recording sessions like Stafford’s.
University music departments have become the primary source for steady employment for the most creative or best known. Wilson is on the staff of Julliard, Stafford of Temple, and Hall of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Before he died in 2013, Miller was Director of Jazz Studies at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey.
Availability
CD: New Beginnings. MaxJazz MXJ 402. 2003. Recorded January 2003, Brooklyn, New York. Released 17 June 2003. [18]
Reissue: New Beginnings. MaxJazz MP3. 25 January 2016.
YouTube: uploaded by The Orchard Enterprises on 26 January 2016.
End Notes
The websites listed for the individual artists were the sources for all the biographical information.
1. Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Style Sheet. "The Swing Era." Jazz in America website.
2. John Wesley Work. "Jazz." 440-444 in Harvard Dictionary of Music. Edited by Willi Apel. Cambridge: Belnap Press, 1969 edition. 441.
3. "Terell Stafford - New Beginnings." Discogs website.
4. "Terell Stafford: New Beginnings." All Music website.
5. Discogs.
6. All Music.
7. All Music.
8. Discogs.
9. YouTube posting.
10. YouTube posting.
11. David Jeffries. Review of New Beginnings. All Music.
12. Wikipedia. "Mulgrew Miller."
13. "The Sideman Becomes the Star." Steve Wilson Music website.
14. E. E. Bradman. "Derrick Hodge: Riding High with Maxwell, Robert Glasper and a New Solo Album." Bass Player website. 8 December 2016.
15. Wikipedia. "Stephen Scott (Jazz Pianist)."
16. "Terell Stafford." Terell Stafford website.
17. Wikipedia. "Dana Hall (Musician)."
18. All Music.
Saturday, February 24, 2018
Marc Reift - Kumbaya
Topic: Jazz - Early
Jazz spread in the United States after World War I with radio and phonograph records. Bands grew larger and Fletcher Henderson’s in New York became the most influential, according to the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. White musicians tried to assimilate it into their academic western forms and swing bands, with detailed arrangements, became the norm in the 1930s. [1]
Like Dixieland, swing became an internationally popular music style, as suggested by the allusion to Glen Miller in the brass-band version mentioned in the post for 17 September 2017. Marc Reift publishes band music from his headquarters in southwestern Switzerland. On 5 February 2018 he offered five different arrangements of "Kumbaya" in 232 different combinations. [2] The one by Norman Tailor and Marcel Saurer used big band techniques, textures, and rhythms, and was only marketed for bands.
The recording of the Tailor-Saurer version by the Philharmonic Wind Orchestra syncopated the waltz tempo of the original version. Instead of the opening kumbaya being .5 .5 1.75 (with 1 a quarter note), it became .75 .25 1. One iteration was slowed, which made the rhythm more obvious.
The ensemble was divided between brass and woodwinds, with one or the other playing the melody. When the clarinets were dominant, the trumpets and other brass instruments either played rhythm or flourishes. When the trumpets had the melody, the clarinets used scales as the basis for their counterpart. The Monk Institute said Henderson introduced this "pattern of brass against reeds." [3]
The rhythm was handled by melodic instruments. A cymbal kept time in back, and sometimes a tuba was used. Drums only were heard at the very end. These patterns were borrowed from the bebop styles, which followed swing. Samuel Floyd noted:
"Since bebop was meant to be listened to, not danced to, it could use faster tempos. Drumming shifted to a more elusive and explosive style, in which the ride cymbal was used to keep time while the snare and bass drum were used for accents. This led to a highly syncopated music with a linear rhythmic complexity." [4]
Performers
Vocal Soloist: none
Vocal Group: none
Instrumental Accompaniment: Philharmonic Wind Orchestra
Rhythm Accompaniment: cymbal, tuba
Instrumental Director: Marc Reift
Credits
© copyright by Editions Marc Reift
Arr: Norman Tailor/Marcel Saurer
Notes on Lyrics
There were none
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Time Signature: 2/2
Tempo: quarter note = 100 beats per minute
Basic Structure: iterations of the melody distinguished by instrumentation rather than by variations in the tune. There was little repetition in the orchestral interplay of parts.
Notes on Performers
Marcel Saurer was born in Zürich in 1969. He began playing trumpet as a boy, and added piano as he became more serious about music. He studied composition at the Swiss Jazz School in Bern, and continued composing and arranging for the Zürich Jazz Orchestra. [5]
Hardy Schneiders used the name Norman Tailor. He played trombone for the Basle Radio Orchestra, before working as an arranger and rehearsal pianist for opera companies. He later toured with Josephine Baker. [6]
Reift’s parents were Swiss Salvation Army ministers, and his instrument of choice was the trombone. While he was working with the Tonhalle Opera Orchestra in Zürich, he established his music publishing business in 1983. [7]
Reift began making his own CDs with musicians from the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra in 1998. [8] Under Soviet rule, those musicians were the house orchestra for the Barrandov Film Studios. They worked everyday, playing whatever was required, and continued to do so after the privatization that occurred in 1992. [9]
Availability
Sheet music: Crans-Montana, Switzerland: Editions Marc Reift.
CD: Philharmonic Wind Orchestra. Show Time. 7058. 4 August 2008. Not on YouTube.
CD: Philharmonic Wind Orchestra. Festival Concert 2. 7076. 29 July 2008. Uploaded to YouTube by The Orchard Enterprises on 19 January 2015.
CD: Philharmonic Wind Orchestra. 83 Greatest Hits for Concert Band. 21 January 2014. Uploaded to YouTube by The Orchard Enterprises on 18 July 2014.
End Notes
1. Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Style Sheet. "The Swing Era." Jazz in America website.
2. The reason for the large number of variants of five arrangements was some were scored for a number of different instrument combinations. The arranger’s name did not always appear with listings of "Kumbaya." The way to distinguished the recorded versions was by their length. The sheet music versions had different band difficulty codes. The arrangements of "Kumbaya" offered by Reift were:
Norman Tailor-Marcel Saurer. 2.38 minutes. Recorded. Level 3+. For different sorts of bands.
Ted Parson. 2.48 minutes. Recorded. Level 3+. For different sorts of bands. One record was made with the Prague Chamber Choir.
John Glenesk Mortimer. Not recorded. Level 2-3. For bands and ensembles.
Jérôme Naulais. Not recorded. Level 2+. For various combinations of instruments.
Ted Barclay. Not recorded. Level 1-2. Came with an instructional CD for various combinations of instruments.
3. Monk Institute.
4. Samuel A. Floyd, Jr. The Power of Black Music. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. Paraphrased by Wikipedia, "Jazz."
5. "Marcel Saurer." Editions Marc Reift website.
6. "Hardy Schneiders." Editions Marc Reift website.
7. "Marc Reift." Editions Marc Reift website.
8. "Orchestra Philharmonic Wind." Editions Marc Reift website.
9. City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra website.
Jazz spread in the United States after World War I with radio and phonograph records. Bands grew larger and Fletcher Henderson’s in New York became the most influential, according to the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. White musicians tried to assimilate it into their academic western forms and swing bands, with detailed arrangements, became the norm in the 1930s. [1]
Like Dixieland, swing became an internationally popular music style, as suggested by the allusion to Glen Miller in the brass-band version mentioned in the post for 17 September 2017. Marc Reift publishes band music from his headquarters in southwestern Switzerland. On 5 February 2018 he offered five different arrangements of "Kumbaya" in 232 different combinations. [2] The one by Norman Tailor and Marcel Saurer used big band techniques, textures, and rhythms, and was only marketed for bands.
The recording of the Tailor-Saurer version by the Philharmonic Wind Orchestra syncopated the waltz tempo of the original version. Instead of the opening kumbaya being .5 .5 1.75 (with 1 a quarter note), it became .75 .25 1. One iteration was slowed, which made the rhythm more obvious.
The ensemble was divided between brass and woodwinds, with one or the other playing the melody. When the clarinets were dominant, the trumpets and other brass instruments either played rhythm or flourishes. When the trumpets had the melody, the clarinets used scales as the basis for their counterpart. The Monk Institute said Henderson introduced this "pattern of brass against reeds." [3]
The rhythm was handled by melodic instruments. A cymbal kept time in back, and sometimes a tuba was used. Drums only were heard at the very end. These patterns were borrowed from the bebop styles, which followed swing. Samuel Floyd noted:
"Since bebop was meant to be listened to, not danced to, it could use faster tempos. Drumming shifted to a more elusive and explosive style, in which the ride cymbal was used to keep time while the snare and bass drum were used for accents. This led to a highly syncopated music with a linear rhythmic complexity." [4]
Performers
Vocal Soloist: none
Vocal Group: none
Instrumental Accompaniment: Philharmonic Wind Orchestra
Rhythm Accompaniment: cymbal, tuba
Instrumental Director: Marc Reift
Credits
© copyright by Editions Marc Reift
Arr: Norman Tailor/Marcel Saurer
Notes on Lyrics
There were none
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Time Signature: 2/2
Tempo: quarter note = 100 beats per minute
Basic Structure: iterations of the melody distinguished by instrumentation rather than by variations in the tune. There was little repetition in the orchestral interplay of parts.
Notes on Performers
Marcel Saurer was born in Zürich in 1969. He began playing trumpet as a boy, and added piano as he became more serious about music. He studied composition at the Swiss Jazz School in Bern, and continued composing and arranging for the Zürich Jazz Orchestra. [5]
Hardy Schneiders used the name Norman Tailor. He played trombone for the Basle Radio Orchestra, before working as an arranger and rehearsal pianist for opera companies. He later toured with Josephine Baker. [6]
Reift’s parents were Swiss Salvation Army ministers, and his instrument of choice was the trombone. While he was working with the Tonhalle Opera Orchestra in Zürich, he established his music publishing business in 1983. [7]
Reift began making his own CDs with musicians from the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra in 1998. [8] Under Soviet rule, those musicians were the house orchestra for the Barrandov Film Studios. They worked everyday, playing whatever was required, and continued to do so after the privatization that occurred in 1992. [9]
Availability
Sheet music: Crans-Montana, Switzerland: Editions Marc Reift.
CD: Philharmonic Wind Orchestra. Show Time. 7058. 4 August 2008. Not on YouTube.
CD: Philharmonic Wind Orchestra. Festival Concert 2. 7076. 29 July 2008. Uploaded to YouTube by The Orchard Enterprises on 19 January 2015.
CD: Philharmonic Wind Orchestra. 83 Greatest Hits for Concert Band. 21 January 2014. Uploaded to YouTube by The Orchard Enterprises on 18 July 2014.
End Notes
1. Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Style Sheet. "The Swing Era." Jazz in America website.
2. The reason for the large number of variants of five arrangements was some were scored for a number of different instrument combinations. The arranger’s name did not always appear with listings of "Kumbaya." The way to distinguished the recorded versions was by their length. The sheet music versions had different band difficulty codes. The arrangements of "Kumbaya" offered by Reift were:
Norman Tailor-Marcel Saurer. 2.38 minutes. Recorded. Level 3+. For different sorts of bands.
Ted Parson. 2.48 minutes. Recorded. Level 3+. For different sorts of bands. One record was made with the Prague Chamber Choir.
John Glenesk Mortimer. Not recorded. Level 2-3. For bands and ensembles.
Jérôme Naulais. Not recorded. Level 2+. For various combinations of instruments.
Ted Barclay. Not recorded. Level 1-2. Came with an instructional CD for various combinations of instruments.
3. Monk Institute.
4. Samuel A. Floyd, Jr. The Power of Black Music. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. Paraphrased by Wikipedia, "Jazz."
5. "Marcel Saurer." Editions Marc Reift website.
6. "Hardy Schneiders." Editions Marc Reift website.
7. "Marc Reift." Editions Marc Reift website.
8. "Orchestra Philharmonic Wind." Editions Marc Reift website.
9. City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra website.
Thursday, February 22, 2018
The Parson’s Sons Plus - Kumbaya, My Lord
Topic: Jazz - Early
Brass instruments became more freely available to freedmen in New Orleans after the end of the Civil War. Jack Buerkle and Danny Baker suggested they were pawned when the military bands demobilized, and that the men who obtained them learned to play without any official tutoring. [1]
The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz suggested brass bands first were used in funerals sponsored by burial societies and other community groups. No rules existed on governing instrumentation: groups used whoever was available. [2] By World War I each instrument had an assigned role, but the Institute said jazz still was "mostly ensemble playing." [3] There were no vocalists.
Dixieland developed an enduring international following, and The Parson’s Sons still worked within its tradition when it played "Kumbaya" in a 2015 concert in Australia. The opening bars were influenced by Glenn Miller, then the two saxophones and trombone played the melody in parallel.
After the first verse, the tenor and alto saxes started the melody. The trombone soon joined them and they played together as they had in the introduction. They keyboard played the melody as a solo after the second verse. They were accompanied by a drum set and an electric bass that marked time.
It wasn’t clear who had decided the six men should appear with a vocalist, but it was obvious they didn’t often work together. Rather than perform as a group, they alternated parts and styles. The leader waved to Trude Aspeling when it was her turn. Between her verses she returned to standing by the right wall and directing the audience to clap to the music.
The audience began singing the "kumbaya" verse when the band was playing the introduction, and joined Aspeling, even before she invited them. This allowed Aspeling to skip phrases and let the audience carry the melody. Only the drums, bass, and keyboard accompanied her.
Aspeling used an amen ending. She repeated the last line slowly, with no instrumental accompaniment. The very last "kumbaya" was sung by the audience alone.
Performers
Vocal Soloist: Trude Aspeling
Vocal Group: audience
Instrumental Accompaniment: David Brainwood, keyboard; Harry Armstrong, alto sax; George Coward, tenor sax; Neville Quarmby, trombone
Rhythm Accompaniment: Peter Armstrong, drums; Philip Bloomfield, electric bass
Credits
None given
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Pronunciation: the leader said koom BY ah; Aspeling sang KOOM by Yah
Verses: praying, crying
Vocabulary
Pronoun: someone
Term for Deity: Lord
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: open-ended
Verse Repetition Pattern: ABA
Ending: repeated last line once
Unique Features: none
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Tempo: moderate
Time Signature: the leader counted 1-2-3-4 to begin
Basic Structure: alternated vocal and instrumental parts
Singing Style: little ornamentation; she began varying the melody on the last iteration.
Solo-Vocal Group Dynamics: the audience carried the melody
Instrumental Style: the trombone and saxophone played with a swing rhythm, but did not vary the melody. The keyboard player, as a soloist, was able to improvise more. As the Monk Instituted suggested, the drums acted as "time keeper." [4]
Notes on Performance
Occasion: Jazz in the Chapel concert, 12 April 2015. This was a common name for concert series on the internet, and I could not learn more about this particular one.
Location: church with white walls, a simple wooden cross on the left side of the back wall, and a religious painting in the center.
Microphones: none
Clothing: casual.
Notes on Movement
The drummer and keyboard player were seated; the rest stood. The leader turned towards others once in a while, but the rest stood facing the audience. They had music stands but did not turn pages.
Aspeling moved from the side of the church to the center, and back. She wasn’t stiff, but she only also didn’t step to the music. She used her arms to signal when the audience should sing. After her first verse she opened her arms wide to clap; after the second she raised them over her head and clapped as she brought them down.
Notes on Audience
Audience was seated on chairs. Many had white or gray hair. Some women began swaying gently when the band began. They applauded at the end, and sang the verses. They clapped when requested, but did not continue when they were singing.
Notes on Performers
The Parson’s Sons were a local group whose appearances in newspapers were noted when they did charity events. The month after this concert, they appeared again with Aspeling in a fund raiser for Syrian and Iraqi refugees. [5] In November 2016 they appeared with a local country singer in a benefit for spina bifida at the Bargo Baptist Church. [6]
Very little was available on the web about the musicians. The drummer, Peter Armstrong, was a country musician [7] based in Blackheath who taught guitar in a local music school. [8]
Aspeling was born in Cape Town, South Africa. Her parents migrated in the 1970s, to improve the lives of their children. She saw it as " an opportunity to do what she wanted and to be judged on merit rather than colour." [9]
She lived in Sydney, and all the places mentioned where the band appeared were in the nearby areas in New South Wales.
Availability
YouTube: uploaded by netPastor Henry on 20 April 2015.
End Notes
1. Jack V. Buerkle and Danny Barker. Bourbon Street Black. New York: Oxford University Press, 1973. 14.
2. Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Style Sheet. "Pre-Jazz and the Brass Bands." Jazz in America website.
3. Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Style Sheet. "Early Jazz (Dixieland)." Jazz in America website.
4. Monk, Dixieland.
5. "Gospel Jazz Aids Refugees." Wollondilly [New South Wales] Advertiser website. 5 May 2015.
6. "Jazz Band Strums up Donation." Macarthur [New South Wales] Advertiser website. 20 November 2016.
7. Jazz Band.
8. "Peter Armstrong." Mitchell Conservatorium website, New South Wales.
9. "Songs of Struggle in Sydney." Greenleaf website. 16 February 1994.
Brass instruments became more freely available to freedmen in New Orleans after the end of the Civil War. Jack Buerkle and Danny Baker suggested they were pawned when the military bands demobilized, and that the men who obtained them learned to play without any official tutoring. [1]
The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz suggested brass bands first were used in funerals sponsored by burial societies and other community groups. No rules existed on governing instrumentation: groups used whoever was available. [2] By World War I each instrument had an assigned role, but the Institute said jazz still was "mostly ensemble playing." [3] There were no vocalists.
Dixieland developed an enduring international following, and The Parson’s Sons still worked within its tradition when it played "Kumbaya" in a 2015 concert in Australia. The opening bars were influenced by Glenn Miller, then the two saxophones and trombone played the melody in parallel.
After the first verse, the tenor and alto saxes started the melody. The trombone soon joined them and they played together as they had in the introduction. They keyboard played the melody as a solo after the second verse. They were accompanied by a drum set and an electric bass that marked time.
It wasn’t clear who had decided the six men should appear with a vocalist, but it was obvious they didn’t often work together. Rather than perform as a group, they alternated parts and styles. The leader waved to Trude Aspeling when it was her turn. Between her verses she returned to standing by the right wall and directing the audience to clap to the music.
The audience began singing the "kumbaya" verse when the band was playing the introduction, and joined Aspeling, even before she invited them. This allowed Aspeling to skip phrases and let the audience carry the melody. Only the drums, bass, and keyboard accompanied her.
Aspeling used an amen ending. She repeated the last line slowly, with no instrumental accompaniment. The very last "kumbaya" was sung by the audience alone.
Performers
Vocal Soloist: Trude Aspeling
Vocal Group: audience
Instrumental Accompaniment: David Brainwood, keyboard; Harry Armstrong, alto sax; George Coward, tenor sax; Neville Quarmby, trombone
Rhythm Accompaniment: Peter Armstrong, drums; Philip Bloomfield, electric bass
Credits
None given
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Pronunciation: the leader said koom BY ah; Aspeling sang KOOM by Yah
Verses: praying, crying
Vocabulary
Pronoun: someone
Term for Deity: Lord
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: open-ended
Verse Repetition Pattern: ABA
Ending: repeated last line once
Unique Features: none
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Tempo: moderate
Time Signature: the leader counted 1-2-3-4 to begin
Basic Structure: alternated vocal and instrumental parts
Singing Style: little ornamentation; she began varying the melody on the last iteration.
Solo-Vocal Group Dynamics: the audience carried the melody
Instrumental Style: the trombone and saxophone played with a swing rhythm, but did not vary the melody. The keyboard player, as a soloist, was able to improvise more. As the Monk Instituted suggested, the drums acted as "time keeper." [4]
Notes on Performance
Occasion: Jazz in the Chapel concert, 12 April 2015. This was a common name for concert series on the internet, and I could not learn more about this particular one.
Location: church with white walls, a simple wooden cross on the left side of the back wall, and a religious painting in the center.
Microphones: none
Clothing: casual.
Notes on Movement
The drummer and keyboard player were seated; the rest stood. The leader turned towards others once in a while, but the rest stood facing the audience. They had music stands but did not turn pages.
Aspeling moved from the side of the church to the center, and back. She wasn’t stiff, but she only also didn’t step to the music. She used her arms to signal when the audience should sing. After her first verse she opened her arms wide to clap; after the second she raised them over her head and clapped as she brought them down.
Notes on Audience
Audience was seated on chairs. Many had white or gray hair. Some women began swaying gently when the band began. They applauded at the end, and sang the verses. They clapped when requested, but did not continue when they were singing.
Notes on Performers
The Parson’s Sons were a local group whose appearances in newspapers were noted when they did charity events. The month after this concert, they appeared again with Aspeling in a fund raiser for Syrian and Iraqi refugees. [5] In November 2016 they appeared with a local country singer in a benefit for spina bifida at the Bargo Baptist Church. [6]
Very little was available on the web about the musicians. The drummer, Peter Armstrong, was a country musician [7] based in Blackheath who taught guitar in a local music school. [8]
Aspeling was born in Cape Town, South Africa. Her parents migrated in the 1970s, to improve the lives of their children. She saw it as " an opportunity to do what she wanted and to be judged on merit rather than colour." [9]
She lived in Sydney, and all the places mentioned where the band appeared were in the nearby areas in New South Wales.
Availability
YouTube: uploaded by netPastor Henry on 20 April 2015.
End Notes
1. Jack V. Buerkle and Danny Barker. Bourbon Street Black. New York: Oxford University Press, 1973. 14.
2. Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Style Sheet. "Pre-Jazz and the Brass Bands." Jazz in America website.
3. Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Style Sheet. "Early Jazz (Dixieland)." Jazz in America website.
4. Monk, Dixieland.
5. "Gospel Jazz Aids Refugees." Wollondilly [New South Wales] Advertiser website. 5 May 2015.
6. "Jazz Band Strums up Donation." Macarthur [New South Wales] Advertiser website. 20 November 2016.
7. Jazz Band.
8. "Peter Armstrong." Mitchell Conservatorium website, New South Wales.
9. "Songs of Struggle in Sydney." Greenleaf website. 16 February 1994.
Tuesday, February 20, 2018
The S.francisco Gospel Singers - Kum Ba Yah
Topic: Jazz - Early
Jazz is essentially instrumental music centered on a few key instruments that are augmented by other musicians and singers. The general consensus is the musical form developed in New Orleans in the years when Jim Crow laws were disrupting the city’s existing social structures. [1] As musicians followed the Mississippi and Missouri rivers north to other jobs, new forms co-evolved in cities like Chicago and Kansas City. [2]
In the early years essentially two forms existed, one played indoors and the other outside in the streets. The first used the piano, and the second the brass instruments of military bands. The Saint Louis ragtime-piano style of Scott Joplin was spread through sheet music and piano rolls. When it developed into stride piano with James P. Johnson in New York City, the new style diffused through recordings.
Cassandra Mathews used a simple stride-piano style when The San Francisco Gospel Singers recorded "Kumbaya" in 2007. She began by playing the melody one note at a time and striking the keys harder on the downbeats. Although it wasn’t strict syncopation, it had the same asymmetric sound. On the second line her left hand alternated between a low note and high note with occasional chords.
On the first "come by here" verse, the all-female group sang a capella with pauses after "Lord" and at the end of each line that were filled by piano chords. In the second "come by here" verse, the pianist added the stride pattern used in the introduction.
When the group began a new verse, "somebody needs you," the pianist added frills in the right hand at the ends of the lines. This was repeated with the "praying" verse. In the first "kumbaya" verse, the piano only played chords in the pauses. The final "kumbaya" verse was sung like the first "come by here," nearly a capella.
The women finished by repeating "oh Lord kumbaya" five times. The piano maintained its part on the first two iterations. It stopped with a third, and a hand clap was added after "Lord." The single claps continued until the end. The women held the last note, and the piano played a final chord.
Performers
Vocal Soloist: none
Vocal Group: Barbara Gilton, Sharon M. Jones, Cassandra Mathews, Elizabeth McCurtis-Bell, Cynthia Padilla, and Katrina Staples. [3]
Instrumental Accompaniment: piano
Rhythm Accompaniment: none
Credits
Arrangement credited to Cassandra Mathews by Brian Harmon. [4]
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Pronunciation: kum ba YAH
Verses: come, needs, praying, kumbaya
Vocabulary
Pronoun: somebody
Term for Deity: Lord
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: song with verses
Verse Repetition Pattern: AAxxBB
Ending: repeated last line five times
Unique Features: mixed verses from "Come by Here" with "Kumbaya"
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Tempo: upbeat
Basic Structure: vocal strophic repetition, with increasing complexity in piano accompaniment
Singing Style: unadorned, unison
Vocal-Orchestral Dynamics: piano quiet enough the women sound like they are singing a capella
Notes on Performers
Cassandra Mathews organized her first female a capella group in 1992. [5] She since has used the names The San Francisco Gospel Singers [6] and The San Francisco Gospel Girls. [7] Four women with changing last names were in all her groups; it is not clear if their names changed or different women participated with the same first names. In 2009, Mathews had another group entirely, the San Francisco Gospel Divas. [8]
Availability
CD: Walk in the Light. Feelin’ Good Records 005. 2007. [9]
End Notes
1. Jack V. Buerkle and Danny Barker. Bourbon Street Black. New York: Oxford University Press, 1973. Chapter 1 discussed the legal changes in Louisiana and the ways they affected New Orleans musicians.
2. John Wesley Work. "Jazz." 440-444 in Harvard Dictionary of Music. Edited by Willi Apel. Cambridge: Belnap Press, 1969 edition. 441.
3. Brian Harmon. Review of Walk in the Light. Blues Art website, December 2007.
4. Harmon.
5. "Cassandra Mathews & The San Francisco Gospel Girls." Feelin’ Good Records website.
6. Harmon.
7. Feelin’ Good.
8. "Cassandra Mathews & The San Francisco Gospel Divas. Let’s Praise The Lord! CD Baby website.
9. Harmon.
Jazz is essentially instrumental music centered on a few key instruments that are augmented by other musicians and singers. The general consensus is the musical form developed in New Orleans in the years when Jim Crow laws were disrupting the city’s existing social structures. [1] As musicians followed the Mississippi and Missouri rivers north to other jobs, new forms co-evolved in cities like Chicago and Kansas City. [2]
In the early years essentially two forms existed, one played indoors and the other outside in the streets. The first used the piano, and the second the brass instruments of military bands. The Saint Louis ragtime-piano style of Scott Joplin was spread through sheet music and piano rolls. When it developed into stride piano with James P. Johnson in New York City, the new style diffused through recordings.
Cassandra Mathews used a simple stride-piano style when The San Francisco Gospel Singers recorded "Kumbaya" in 2007. She began by playing the melody one note at a time and striking the keys harder on the downbeats. Although it wasn’t strict syncopation, it had the same asymmetric sound. On the second line her left hand alternated between a low note and high note with occasional chords.
On the first "come by here" verse, the all-female group sang a capella with pauses after "Lord" and at the end of each line that were filled by piano chords. In the second "come by here" verse, the pianist added the stride pattern used in the introduction.
When the group began a new verse, "somebody needs you," the pianist added frills in the right hand at the ends of the lines. This was repeated with the "praying" verse. In the first "kumbaya" verse, the piano only played chords in the pauses. The final "kumbaya" verse was sung like the first "come by here," nearly a capella.
The women finished by repeating "oh Lord kumbaya" five times. The piano maintained its part on the first two iterations. It stopped with a third, and a hand clap was added after "Lord." The single claps continued until the end. The women held the last note, and the piano played a final chord.
Performers
Vocal Soloist: none
Vocal Group: Barbara Gilton, Sharon M. Jones, Cassandra Mathews, Elizabeth McCurtis-Bell, Cynthia Padilla, and Katrina Staples. [3]
Instrumental Accompaniment: piano
Rhythm Accompaniment: none
Credits
Arrangement credited to Cassandra Mathews by Brian Harmon. [4]
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Pronunciation: kum ba YAH
Verses: come, needs, praying, kumbaya
Vocabulary
Pronoun: somebody
Term for Deity: Lord
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: song with verses
Verse Repetition Pattern: AAxxBB
Ending: repeated last line five times
Unique Features: mixed verses from "Come by Here" with "Kumbaya"
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Tempo: upbeat
Basic Structure: vocal strophic repetition, with increasing complexity in piano accompaniment
Singing Style: unadorned, unison
Vocal-Orchestral Dynamics: piano quiet enough the women sound like they are singing a capella
Notes on Performers
Cassandra Mathews organized her first female a capella group in 1992. [5] She since has used the names The San Francisco Gospel Singers [6] and The San Francisco Gospel Girls. [7] Four women with changing last names were in all her groups; it is not clear if their names changed or different women participated with the same first names. In 2009, Mathews had another group entirely, the San Francisco Gospel Divas. [8]
Availability
CD: Walk in the Light. Feelin’ Good Records 005. 2007. [9]
End Notes
1. Jack V. Buerkle and Danny Barker. Bourbon Street Black. New York: Oxford University Press, 1973. Chapter 1 discussed the legal changes in Louisiana and the ways they affected New Orleans musicians.
2. John Wesley Work. "Jazz." 440-444 in Harvard Dictionary of Music. Edited by Willi Apel. Cambridge: Belnap Press, 1969 edition. 441.
3. Brian Harmon. Review of Walk in the Light. Blues Art website, December 2007.
4. Harmon.
5. "Cassandra Mathews & The San Francisco Gospel Girls." Feelin’ Good Records website.
6. Harmon.
7. Feelin’ Good.
8. "Cassandra Mathews & The San Francisco Gospel Divas. Let’s Praise The Lord! CD Baby website.
9. Harmon.
Sunday, February 18, 2018
Eric Bibb - Needed Time
Topic: Seminal Influences - Innovation
Lighnin’ Hopkins’ version of "Needed Time" allowed for possible innovation because he did not always play it the same way. Taj Mahal added another blessing for change when he transposed the song to the banjo at the end of Sounder.
Eric Bibb introduced three changes in the many performances uploaded to YouTube that did not obscure the outlines of Hopkins’ version. First, he converted it into an audience participation song like Pete Seeger did with "Kumbaya." Some of the longer videos included his introduction that invited the audience to sing. Most just showed them singing the "needed time" lines.
Not all audiences responded the same. The one in Thailand would not sing, or if it did, the camera microphone didn’t pick up their voices. [1] Fewer responded to his request to clap during the instrumental interludes. The only audiences that were able to sing and clap at the same time were in Amsterdam [2] and Hannover, Germany. [3]
Bibb, like the Fourth Street Gospel Band discussed in the post for 14 February 2018, was able to use different instrumental configurations. Starting around 2008 he began appearing with a drum set, string bass, and an electric guitar played by Staffan Astner. [4] A few times he appeared with Michael Jerome Browne playing a slide-style guitar. [5] In these performances he and his backup musicians played as a group.
On some videos he appeared with local musicians. In Italy, Fabrizio Poggi played harmonica, [6] and in Stockholm, Ale Möller played a horizontal member of the flute family. [7] In that Hannover show Bibb appeared with mandolin and dobro players. [3] In these performances, Bibb usually took turns with the others on solo passages.
Bibb went a step farther and wrote his own introduction to "Needed Time." In addition, when he introduced Habib Koité to "Needed Time" the African guitar player added his own verses in Bambara. [8]
Performers
Vocal Soloist: Eric Bibb
Vocal Group: audience
Vocal Director: Eric Bibb
Instrumental Accompaniment: acoustic guitar, often electric guitar
Rhythm Accompaniment: sometimes drum set and string bass
Credits
Bibb always credited Taj Mahal with introducing him to "Needed Time"
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Verses: needed time, bended knee, if you don’t stay long
Vocabulary
Pronoun: I
Term for Deity: Lord, Jesus
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: open-ended with "needed time" treated as a burden
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: Lightnin’ Hopkins
Tempo: moderate
Basic Structure: alternated between sung sections and instrumental ones. The latter were introduced by the invitation to "think of someone you love" between 2008 and 2011, and with the announcement "it’s praying time" since 2010.
Singing Style: Bibb’s style was unornamented; the audiences sang in unison.
Solo-Group Dynamics: Bibb sang the verses and the audience sang the burden. He often just sang a few words in each line of the burden and let the audience carry the melody.
Vocal-Orchestral Dynamics: the accompanying instruments were subdued during the singing.
Instrumental-Rhythm Dynamics: Bibb told Keith Shadwick "having a percussionist will allow the sound of the guitar, which was my first love and something I still love, to come through." [14]
Notes on Performance
Occasion: Bibb appeared alone in remote areas like Ontario, [15] Australia, [16] and Thailand, [1] but more often appeared with other musicians.
Location: the videos ranged from small, indoor clubs to outdoor festivals. Some festivals were in tents.
Microphones: floor microphones in most places.
Clothing: Bibb dressed informally in a colored shirt that was open at the neck. He sometimes added a sports jacket and always appeared in a flat-brimmed hat.
Notes on Movement
Bibb might sit or stand while performing, but was always in motion. He used his feet to set the rhythm. In Östersund, Sweden, Astner tapped his toe twice as often as Bibb moved his feet. [4] Koité used his foot less often that Bibb, and one time crossed his ankles. Later he lifted one heel to mark time. [8]
Audience Perceptions
YouTube comments ran the gamut from praise to religious comments to questions about technique. Some recalled other concerts where they saw him perform, and add their memories of singing with him. Typical was Lani Dundore’s comment: "We needed you Eric and you played. We sang along at Laxon Chico World Music Fest." [17]
More specific was the memory of Nevada Cato, who sang backup on Bibb’s 1994 album, Spirit and The Blues. [18] He wrote:
"Awesom guy! Awesom music! Cant forget when he pulled me out out the crowd to join him on this song in Stockholm. Long live Erik Bibb." [19]
Notes on Performers
Bibb was born in New York in 1951. [20] His father, Leon Bibb had moved from Louisville, Kentucky, to New York where he performed in Broadway musicals, before turning to the folk-revival circuit. The elder Bibb was friends with Paul Robeson. [21] After Leon moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Eric went to Paris where he worked with Mickey Baker. [22] He was the Louisville-born musician mentioned in the post 17 August 2018 who worked with John Littleton.
The diversity of Bibb’s relations with other musicians like Astner was partly the result of his life in Europe. From Paris, he settled in Sweden. Around 1980, he returned to the States, but found the congenial atmosphere he remembered from Greenwich Village had been replaced by one of rugged individualism. [23] He returned to Sweden. Then, after recording for an English company, Bibb moved to London in 2003. After his marriage to Sari Matinlassi, he moved to Helsinki, Finland in 2011. [24]
Availability
I found nearly 30 concert videos on YouTube on 31 January 2018 with the search parameters "Eric Bibb Needed Time." Some are mentioned in the End Notes.
End Notes
1. Eric Bibb. "Needed Time." Uploaded by Ed Vaughan on 31 October 2009. Phuket International Blues Rock Festival, Thailand, 2009.
2. Eric Bibb. "Needed Time." Uploaded by DeKuijp on 28 April 2012. Staffan Astner, electric guitar. Amstel Kerk, concert, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 27 April 2012.
3. Eric Bibb and the North Country Far. "Needed time." Uploaded by snory66 on 16 December 2013. Bluesgarage Isernhagen, club, near Hannover, Germany, 15 December 2013. Petri Hakala, mandolin; Ollie Haavisto, Dobro guitar.
4. Eric Bibb. "Needed Time." Uploaded by dreamingtree72 on 19 April 2010. Gamla Teatern, hotel, Östersund, Sweden, 2010. Staffan Astner, electric guitar.
5. Eric Bibb and Michael Jerome Browne. "Needed Time." Uploaded by randallstaffordcook on 21 January 2016. Hugh’s Room, club, Toronto, Canada, 20 January 2016.
6. Eric Bibb. "Needed time." Uploaded by Alberto Polito on 2 August 2016. Fabrizio Poggi, harmonica; Guy Davis, electric guitar. Liri Blues Festival, near Rome, Italy, 2016.
7. Ale Möller, Eric Bibb, and Knut Reiersrud. "Needed Time." Uploaded by sssler on 18 September 2010. Concert, Stockholm, Sweden, 17 October 2010. Reiersrud, electric guitar.
8. Eric Bibb and Habib Koité. "Touma Ni Kelen/Needed Time." Uploaded by Gudi0510 on 13 November 2012. Harmonie, club, Bonn, Germany, 11 November 2011. Mamadou Kone, shakers.
14. Eric Bibb. Interviewed by Keith Shadwick. "Eric Bibb: Blues with a Pedigree." [London] Independent website. 21 February 2003.
15. Eric Bibb. "Needed Time." Uploaded by Opeongolad on 18 July 2011. Festival, Perth, Ontario, Canada, 2011.
16. Eric Bibb. "Needed Time." Uploaded by SilkySkillsUnited on 24 December 2011. The Basement, club, Sydney, Australia.
17. Lani Dundore. Comment, 2008, on Eric Bibb and Brian Kramer. "Needed Time." Uploaded by zekezement on 30 June 2007. California club, 1999.
18. Eric Bibb. Spirit and The Blues. Opus 3 Records 19401. Sweden, 1994. (Discogs entry for the album.)
19. bangoutaorda. Comment, 2009, on Eric Bibb and Brian Kramer. (See #17 above.)
20. Wikipedia. "Eric Bibb."
21. Joshua D. Farrington. "Bibb, Charles Leon." The Kentucky African American Encyclopedia. Edited by Gerald L. Smith, Karen Cotton McDaniel, and John A. Hardin. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2015. Robeson was mentioned in the post for 17 August 2018.
22. Wikipedia.
23. James M. Manheim. "Eric Bibb Biography - Steered Toward Blues by Jazz Musician, Moved to Sweden, Influenced by Taj Mahal." JRank website.
24. Wikipedia.
Lighnin’ Hopkins’ version of "Needed Time" allowed for possible innovation because he did not always play it the same way. Taj Mahal added another blessing for change when he transposed the song to the banjo at the end of Sounder.
Eric Bibb introduced three changes in the many performances uploaded to YouTube that did not obscure the outlines of Hopkins’ version. First, he converted it into an audience participation song like Pete Seeger did with "Kumbaya." Some of the longer videos included his introduction that invited the audience to sing. Most just showed them singing the "needed time" lines.
Not all audiences responded the same. The one in Thailand would not sing, or if it did, the camera microphone didn’t pick up their voices. [1] Fewer responded to his request to clap during the instrumental interludes. The only audiences that were able to sing and clap at the same time were in Amsterdam [2] and Hannover, Germany. [3]
Bibb, like the Fourth Street Gospel Band discussed in the post for 14 February 2018, was able to use different instrumental configurations. Starting around 2008 he began appearing with a drum set, string bass, and an electric guitar played by Staffan Astner. [4] A few times he appeared with Michael Jerome Browne playing a slide-style guitar. [5] In these performances he and his backup musicians played as a group.
On some videos he appeared with local musicians. In Italy, Fabrizio Poggi played harmonica, [6] and in Stockholm, Ale Möller played a horizontal member of the flute family. [7] In that Hannover show Bibb appeared with mandolin and dobro players. [3] In these performances, Bibb usually took turns with the others on solo passages.
Bibb went a step farther and wrote his own introduction to "Needed Time." In addition, when he introduced Habib Koité to "Needed Time" the African guitar player added his own verses in Bambara. [8]
Performers
Vocal Soloist: Eric Bibb
Vocal Group: audience
Vocal Director: Eric Bibb
Instrumental Accompaniment: acoustic guitar, often electric guitar
Rhythm Accompaniment: sometimes drum set and string bass
Credits
Bibb always credited Taj Mahal with introducing him to "Needed Time"
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Verses: needed time, bended knee, if you don’t stay long
Vocabulary
Pronoun: I
Term for Deity: Lord, Jesus
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: open-ended with "needed time" treated as a burden
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: Lightnin’ Hopkins
Tempo: moderate
Basic Structure: alternated between sung sections and instrumental ones. The latter were introduced by the invitation to "think of someone you love" between 2008 and 2011, and with the announcement "it’s praying time" since 2010.
Singing Style: Bibb’s style was unornamented; the audiences sang in unison.
Solo-Group Dynamics: Bibb sang the verses and the audience sang the burden. He often just sang a few words in each line of the burden and let the audience carry the melody.
Vocal-Orchestral Dynamics: the accompanying instruments were subdued during the singing.
Instrumental-Rhythm Dynamics: Bibb told Keith Shadwick "having a percussionist will allow the sound of the guitar, which was my first love and something I still love, to come through." [14]
Notes on Performance
Occasion: Bibb appeared alone in remote areas like Ontario, [15] Australia, [16] and Thailand, [1] but more often appeared with other musicians.
Location: the videos ranged from small, indoor clubs to outdoor festivals. Some festivals were in tents.
Microphones: floor microphones in most places.
Clothing: Bibb dressed informally in a colored shirt that was open at the neck. He sometimes added a sports jacket and always appeared in a flat-brimmed hat.
Notes on Movement
Bibb might sit or stand while performing, but was always in motion. He used his feet to set the rhythm. In Östersund, Sweden, Astner tapped his toe twice as often as Bibb moved his feet. [4] Koité used his foot less often that Bibb, and one time crossed his ankles. Later he lifted one heel to mark time. [8]
Audience Perceptions
YouTube comments ran the gamut from praise to religious comments to questions about technique. Some recalled other concerts where they saw him perform, and add their memories of singing with him. Typical was Lani Dundore’s comment: "We needed you Eric and you played. We sang along at Laxon Chico World Music Fest." [17]
More specific was the memory of Nevada Cato, who sang backup on Bibb’s 1994 album, Spirit and The Blues. [18] He wrote:
"Awesom guy! Awesom music! Cant forget when he pulled me out out the crowd to join him on this song in Stockholm. Long live Erik Bibb." [19]
Notes on Performers
Bibb was born in New York in 1951. [20] His father, Leon Bibb had moved from Louisville, Kentucky, to New York where he performed in Broadway musicals, before turning to the folk-revival circuit. The elder Bibb was friends with Paul Robeson. [21] After Leon moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Eric went to Paris where he worked with Mickey Baker. [22] He was the Louisville-born musician mentioned in the post 17 August 2018 who worked with John Littleton.
The diversity of Bibb’s relations with other musicians like Astner was partly the result of his life in Europe. From Paris, he settled in Sweden. Around 1980, he returned to the States, but found the congenial atmosphere he remembered from Greenwich Village had been replaced by one of rugged individualism. [23] He returned to Sweden. Then, after recording for an English company, Bibb moved to London in 2003. After his marriage to Sari Matinlassi, he moved to Helsinki, Finland in 2011. [24]
Availability
I found nearly 30 concert videos on YouTube on 31 January 2018 with the search parameters "Eric Bibb Needed Time." Some are mentioned in the End Notes.
End Notes
1. Eric Bibb. "Needed Time." Uploaded by Ed Vaughan on 31 October 2009. Phuket International Blues Rock Festival, Thailand, 2009.
2. Eric Bibb. "Needed Time." Uploaded by DeKuijp on 28 April 2012. Staffan Astner, electric guitar. Amstel Kerk, concert, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 27 April 2012.
3. Eric Bibb and the North Country Far. "Needed time." Uploaded by snory66 on 16 December 2013. Bluesgarage Isernhagen, club, near Hannover, Germany, 15 December 2013. Petri Hakala, mandolin; Ollie Haavisto, Dobro guitar.
4. Eric Bibb. "Needed Time." Uploaded by dreamingtree72 on 19 April 2010. Gamla Teatern, hotel, Östersund, Sweden, 2010. Staffan Astner, electric guitar.
5. Eric Bibb and Michael Jerome Browne. "Needed Time." Uploaded by randallstaffordcook on 21 January 2016. Hugh’s Room, club, Toronto, Canada, 20 January 2016.
6. Eric Bibb. "Needed time." Uploaded by Alberto Polito on 2 August 2016. Fabrizio Poggi, harmonica; Guy Davis, electric guitar. Liri Blues Festival, near Rome, Italy, 2016.
7. Ale Möller, Eric Bibb, and Knut Reiersrud. "Needed Time." Uploaded by sssler on 18 September 2010. Concert, Stockholm, Sweden, 17 October 2010. Reiersrud, electric guitar.
8. Eric Bibb and Habib Koité. "Touma Ni Kelen/Needed Time." Uploaded by Gudi0510 on 13 November 2012. Harmonie, club, Bonn, Germany, 11 November 2011. Mamadou Kone, shakers.
14. Eric Bibb. Interviewed by Keith Shadwick. "Eric Bibb: Blues with a Pedigree." [London] Independent website. 21 February 2003.
15. Eric Bibb. "Needed Time." Uploaded by Opeongolad on 18 July 2011. Festival, Perth, Ontario, Canada, 2011.
16. Eric Bibb. "Needed Time." Uploaded by SilkySkillsUnited on 24 December 2011. The Basement, club, Sydney, Australia.
17. Lani Dundore. Comment, 2008, on Eric Bibb and Brian Kramer. "Needed Time." Uploaded by zekezement on 30 June 2007. California club, 1999.
18. Eric Bibb. Spirit and The Blues. Opus 3 Records 19401. Sweden, 1994. (Discogs entry for the album.)
19. bangoutaorda. Comment, 2009, on Eric Bibb and Brian Kramer. (See #17 above.)
20. Wikipedia. "Eric Bibb."
21. Joshua D. Farrington. "Bibb, Charles Leon." The Kentucky African American Encyclopedia. Edited by Gerald L. Smith, Karen Cotton McDaniel, and John A. Hardin. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2015. Robeson was mentioned in the post for 17 August 2018.
22. Wikipedia.
23. James M. Manheim. "Eric Bibb Biography - Steered Toward Blues by Jazz Musician, Moved to Sweden, Influenced by Taj Mahal." JRank website.
24. Wikipedia.
Friday, February 16, 2018
Ilan and Ilanit - Kumbaya
Topic: Seminal Influences - Innovation
The difficulty with innovation within a seminal version of a song is an artist needs to introduce something idiosyncratic without destroying the integrity of the original. With "Kumbaya," Ilan and Ilanit reproduced The Seekers vocal arrangement. Ilanit sang the lines like Judith Durham, while Ilan joined her like the men in The Seekers. A larger group repeated the last line as an interverse continuum, just as The Seekers had done.
They made changes in the instrumentation: instead of two acoustic guitars and a string bass, they used one guitar and a wooden block for rhythm. The major change was the staccato ending of "yah" in the third lines, followed by a cessation of all sound before line four.
Performers
Vocal Soloist: Ilanit
Vocal Group: not identified
Instrumental Accompaniment: acoustic guitar
Rhythm Accompaniment: block
Credits
1971: Folk
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Pronunciation: koom bye YAH
Verses: kumbaya, crying, praying, hears you, needs you
Vocabulary
Pronoun: one
Term for Deity: Lord
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: three-verse song framed by "kumbaya" with a repeat of line four
Verse Repetition Pattern: AxxxA
Ending: repeated last line an additional time
Unique Features: none
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Tempo: moderate
Basic Structure: strophic repetition. Ilanit tended to sing the second syllable of the gerunds on a lower note, rather than the same one.
Singing Style: one syllable to one note, except for Lord in some third lines. The Lord in the fourth line was only one tone.
Solo-Group Dynamics: Ilanit sang each statement alone; Ilan joined her on the refrain. A group repeated the last line interlude as Ilanit began the next verse.
Vocal-Orchestral Dynamics: the instrumental pattern was set in the introduction and did not change.
Notes on Performers
Ilanit was born Hanna Dresner-Tzakh to Polish Jews who migrated to Palestine. [1] "Kumbaya" was recorded in 1970 by a Germany company. She asked her mother whether she should go there, and was told "‘You know what, you should go. I’m sure Germany has changed, and you should think about your future and not think about the past." [2] However, she remembered
"it was strange because every time I saw an old man with one leg or one arm I thought, ‘He was probably a soldier in the Wehrmacht.’ It was a strange feeling" [3]
Despite her holocaust heritage - both her parents lost relatives - she was closer to Judith Durham than Joan Baez in her views of politics and music. "‘Music is supposed to make people happy and make people forget about troubles and politics,’" she said. "‘I don’t like to interfere - I want to bring happiness to people’." [4]
Ilan was born Shlomo Zach. He began as an Israeli singer, but later became a manager and producer. [5]
Availability
Album: Folksongs Der Welt. SR International 92 480. Germany, 1970. [6]
Album: Shuv Itchem. RR 30600. Israel, 1971. [7]
Reissue CD: Ilan and Ilanit. Hataklit, 1 April 2013. [8]
End Notes
1. Wikipedia. "Ilanit."
2. Josh Hamerman. "Ilanit Looks Back." Ynetnews website. 11 December 2006.
3. Hamerman.
4. Hamerman.
5. Wikipedia.
6. "Ilan & Ilanit - Folksongs Der Welt." Discogs website.
7. "A Ilan & Ilanit - Shuv Itchem." Discogs website.
8. Amazon website for the album.
The difficulty with innovation within a seminal version of a song is an artist needs to introduce something idiosyncratic without destroying the integrity of the original. With "Kumbaya," Ilan and Ilanit reproduced The Seekers vocal arrangement. Ilanit sang the lines like Judith Durham, while Ilan joined her like the men in The Seekers. A larger group repeated the last line as an interverse continuum, just as The Seekers had done.
They made changes in the instrumentation: instead of two acoustic guitars and a string bass, they used one guitar and a wooden block for rhythm. The major change was the staccato ending of "yah" in the third lines, followed by a cessation of all sound before line four.
Performers
Vocal Soloist: Ilanit
Vocal Group: not identified
Instrumental Accompaniment: acoustic guitar
Rhythm Accompaniment: block
Credits
1971: Folk
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Pronunciation: koom bye YAH
Verses: kumbaya, crying, praying, hears you, needs you
Vocabulary
Pronoun: one
Term for Deity: Lord
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: three-verse song framed by "kumbaya" with a repeat of line four
Verse Repetition Pattern: AxxxA
Ending: repeated last line an additional time
Unique Features: none
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Tempo: moderate
Basic Structure: strophic repetition. Ilanit tended to sing the second syllable of the gerunds on a lower note, rather than the same one.
Singing Style: one syllable to one note, except for Lord in some third lines. The Lord in the fourth line was only one tone.
Solo-Group Dynamics: Ilanit sang each statement alone; Ilan joined her on the refrain. A group repeated the last line interlude as Ilanit began the next verse.
Vocal-Orchestral Dynamics: the instrumental pattern was set in the introduction and did not change.
Notes on Performers
Ilanit was born Hanna Dresner-Tzakh to Polish Jews who migrated to Palestine. [1] "Kumbaya" was recorded in 1970 by a Germany company. She asked her mother whether she should go there, and was told "‘You know what, you should go. I’m sure Germany has changed, and you should think about your future and not think about the past." [2] However, she remembered
"it was strange because every time I saw an old man with one leg or one arm I thought, ‘He was probably a soldier in the Wehrmacht.’ It was a strange feeling" [3]
Despite her holocaust heritage - both her parents lost relatives - she was closer to Judith Durham than Joan Baez in her views of politics and music. "‘Music is supposed to make people happy and make people forget about troubles and politics,’" she said. "‘I don’t like to interfere - I want to bring happiness to people’." [4]
Ilan was born Shlomo Zach. He began as an Israeli singer, but later became a manager and producer. [5]
Availability
Album: Folksongs Der Welt. SR International 92 480. Germany, 1970. [6]
Album: Shuv Itchem. RR 30600. Israel, 1971. [7]
Reissue CD: Ilan and Ilanit. Hataklit, 1 April 2013. [8]
End Notes
1. Wikipedia. "Ilanit."
2. Josh Hamerman. "Ilanit Looks Back." Ynetnews website. 11 December 2006.
3. Hamerman.
4. Hamerman.
5. Wikipedia.
6. "Ilan & Ilanit - Folksongs Der Welt." Discogs website.
7. "A Ilan & Ilanit - Shuv Itchem." Discogs website.
8. Amazon website for the album.
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
4th Street Gospel Band - Needed Time
Topic: Seminal Influences - Innovation
Taj Mahal laid the foundation for non-blues versions of Lightnin’ Hopkins’ "Needed Time" when he used a lively version at the end of the film Sounder in 1972. [1] While the credits rolled by, he played the song on a banjo with a double handclap rhythm.
A generation or so later, the Fourth Street Gospel Band of Saint Charles, Missouri, sang the verses in the close harmony style associated with country music and used Western Swing instruments in 2010. The fiddle played the melody once in every instrumental interlude. The keyboard player introduced more variations in his two solos; the second was jazzier than the first. The electric guitar played stayed within the rhetoric of country and country-rock musicians.
Performers
Vocal Soloist: man
Vocal Group: two and at least one other man
Instrumental Accompaniment: electric guitar, fiddle, keyboard
Rhythm Accompaniment: electric bass, drum set
Credits
"Lightning Hopkins’ classic, gospel blues song."
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Verses: won’t you come by here, down on my knees, if you don’t stay long, needed time
Vocabulary
Pronoun: I
Term for Deity: Jesus, Lord
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: "needed time" treated as burden
Verse Repetition Pattern: AB-CB- DB-BC
Ending: repeat last line once
Unique Features: treated "come by here" and "come down here" as interchangeable
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: Lightnin’ Hopkins
Tempo: moderate
Basic Structure: Alternated vocal and instrumental verses; instrumental verses mirrored verse-burden format with two instruments each playing three lines of the six-line melody (AAABBB).
Singing Style: unornamented with unison or timbraic harmony
Solo-Group Dynamics: male soloist sang the first line; woman and possibly other men began a measure later in second line and continued the line with him; same pattern in third line.
Instrumental Style: modern western swing. On Facebook, one member wrote: "We come from backgrounds of gospel, country, blues, and rock and roll to produce a unique sound." [2]
Vocal-Orchestral Dynamics: subdued during sung verses.
Vocal-Rhythm Dynamics: drum set beat but only played flourishes in the introduction.
Notes on Performance
Occasion: concert
Location: they were on a stage with a brick wall in back.
Microphones: floor mikes were set at mouth level in front of all the instrumentalists except the drummer; female singer had a hand mike.
Clothing: casual. Most of the men were wearing blue jeans and button-front shirts. She was wearing white slacks with a shirt and cerise over shirt.
Notes on Movement
Drummer and keyboard player were seated; fiddle player knelt; the others were standing. As soon as the drum began, the woman began tapping her foot. The guitar player tapped his foot and the keyboard player raised and lowered one knee.
Notes on Audience
Applauded at end.
Notes on Performers
Facebook said the Fourth Street Gospel Band was organized in 2009 in Saint Charles, Missouri. It listed the following members: Scott Adair, Danny Mills, Randy Shields, Glenn Uhls, and Glynelle Wells. [3] Elsewhere, one member wrote "4 of us are from the nazarene church in bridgeton (yes that is the one that was leveled by a tornado) 2 from Church of Christ, and 1 from evangelical free." [4]
On a website where it advertised its availability, a spokesman wrote:
"play and sing gospel music for Church Concert, event, tent meeting, fund raiser, picnic. Play lot of old time gospel/ hymns some contemporary christian. With a St. Louis Style of Blues/ country mix you will love." [5]
On Facebook, a spokesman added "We can bring from 1-8 musicians to you for your event." [6] He or she assured potential customers "we can play quiet with brushes" instead of drums. [7]
Availability
YouTube: uploaded by Scott Adair on 10 March 2010.
End Notes
1. Taj Mahal’s version was discussed in the post for 10 February 2018.
2. "4th Street Gospel Band." About page, Facebook.
3. Facebook.
4. "4th street Gospel band." Gig Salad website
5. Gig Salad.
6. Facebook.
7. Gig Salad.
Taj Mahal laid the foundation for non-blues versions of Lightnin’ Hopkins’ "Needed Time" when he used a lively version at the end of the film Sounder in 1972. [1] While the credits rolled by, he played the song on a banjo with a double handclap rhythm.
A generation or so later, the Fourth Street Gospel Band of Saint Charles, Missouri, sang the verses in the close harmony style associated with country music and used Western Swing instruments in 2010. The fiddle played the melody once in every instrumental interlude. The keyboard player introduced more variations in his two solos; the second was jazzier than the first. The electric guitar played stayed within the rhetoric of country and country-rock musicians.
Performers
Vocal Soloist: man
Vocal Group: two and at least one other man
Instrumental Accompaniment: electric guitar, fiddle, keyboard
Rhythm Accompaniment: electric bass, drum set
Credits
"Lightning Hopkins’ classic, gospel blues song."
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Verses: won’t you come by here, down on my knees, if you don’t stay long, needed time
Vocabulary
Pronoun: I
Term for Deity: Jesus, Lord
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: "needed time" treated as burden
Verse Repetition Pattern: AB-CB- DB-BC
Ending: repeat last line once
Unique Features: treated "come by here" and "come down here" as interchangeable
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: Lightnin’ Hopkins
Tempo: moderate
Basic Structure: Alternated vocal and instrumental verses; instrumental verses mirrored verse-burden format with two instruments each playing three lines of the six-line melody (AAABBB).
Singing Style: unornamented with unison or timbraic harmony
Solo-Group Dynamics: male soloist sang the first line; woman and possibly other men began a measure later in second line and continued the line with him; same pattern in third line.
Instrumental Style: modern western swing. On Facebook, one member wrote: "We come from backgrounds of gospel, country, blues, and rock and roll to produce a unique sound." [2]
Vocal-Orchestral Dynamics: subdued during sung verses.
Vocal-Rhythm Dynamics: drum set beat but only played flourishes in the introduction.
Notes on Performance
Occasion: concert
Location: they were on a stage with a brick wall in back.
Microphones: floor mikes were set at mouth level in front of all the instrumentalists except the drummer; female singer had a hand mike.
Clothing: casual. Most of the men were wearing blue jeans and button-front shirts. She was wearing white slacks with a shirt and cerise over shirt.
Notes on Movement
Drummer and keyboard player were seated; fiddle player knelt; the others were standing. As soon as the drum began, the woman began tapping her foot. The guitar player tapped his foot and the keyboard player raised and lowered one knee.
Notes on Audience
Applauded at end.
Notes on Performers
Facebook said the Fourth Street Gospel Band was organized in 2009 in Saint Charles, Missouri. It listed the following members: Scott Adair, Danny Mills, Randy Shields, Glenn Uhls, and Glynelle Wells. [3] Elsewhere, one member wrote "4 of us are from the nazarene church in bridgeton (yes that is the one that was leveled by a tornado) 2 from Church of Christ, and 1 from evangelical free." [4]
On a website where it advertised its availability, a spokesman wrote:
"play and sing gospel music for Church Concert, event, tent meeting, fund raiser, picnic. Play lot of old time gospel/ hymns some contemporary christian. With a St. Louis Style of Blues/ country mix you will love." [5]
On Facebook, a spokesman added "We can bring from 1-8 musicians to you for your event." [6] He or she assured potential customers "we can play quiet with brushes" instead of drums. [7]
Availability
YouTube: uploaded by Scott Adair on 10 March 2010.
End Notes
1. Taj Mahal’s version was discussed in the post for 10 February 2018.
2. "4th Street Gospel Band." About page, Facebook.
3. Facebook.
4. "4th street Gospel band." Gig Salad website
5. Gig Salad.
6. Facebook.
7. Gig Salad.
Monday, February 12, 2018
The Gospel - Kumbaya
Topic: Seminal Influences - Innovation
Once performers have become familiar with a seminal version of a song they may innovate within its boundaries. The simplest form is a substitution of one voice or instrument for another. This modification requires at least one member of a group be able to do transpositions of keys.
The Gospel recorded a version of "Kumbaya" in Oslo, Norway, in 1970 that vocally copied The Seekers with a soprano lead. Except for the first verse, she said the final Lord on one note like Judith Durham with no other ornamentation. On the second verse the group used a call-response form, but after that the group joined the soloist like the men in The Seekers had done with Durham.
The innovations were in the instrumentation. Instead of two guitars and a string bass playing the melody through once before the singing commenced, a pennywhistle was used with the bass. By then, the idea of using African drums had been introduced and one began when the soprano started singing. Since this was 1970, it probably was a bongo.
Instead of the group repeating the last line between sung verses, as The Seekers had done, the instruments played it. The most unusual was a trumpet which began in the third verse and began to add its own flourishes in the final iteration.
Performers
Vocal Soloist: soprano
Vocal Group: men and women
Vocal Director: not identified
Instrumental Accompaniment: pennywhistle, keyboard, trumpet
Rhythm Accompaniment: string bass, triangle, bongo
Credits
© 1970 Arne Bendiksen Records AS
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Pronunciation: Com bye yah
Verses: kumbaya, crying, praying, singing,
Vocabulary
Pronoun: someone
Term for Deity: Lord
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: four-verse song
Verse Repetition Pattern: none
Ending: none
Unique Features: none
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Tempo: moderate; last note sustained
Basic Structure: alternate sung verses with instrumental interludes; key changed between second and third verses
Singing Style: one syllable to one note; unison
Solo-Group Dynamics: verse 1 soloist only, verse 2 solo statement and group refrain, verses 3 and 4 soloist and group in unison
Vocal-Orchestral Dynamics: pennywhistle and string bass play the introduction. Bongo drum replace bass with verse 1 and keyboard replace pennywhistle on 2. Trumpet added with verse 3 that become louder and more ornamented in verse 4.
Vocal-Rhythm Dynamics: bongo drum constant from verse 2
Notes on Performers
No information was provided on the group. The album containing "Kumbaya" was recorded in Arne Bendiksen’s studios. He was a popular singer in the 1960s, who took over a recording company in 1964. He was interested in promoting melodic music in the years when the Beatles and Rolling Stones were ascendent. [1]
One side of the Jeg Vil Tro album was in Norwegian and the other in English. [2] It included American religious songs like "Just a Closer Walk with Thee." "All My Sorrows" was popularized by Joan Baez, while "This Train" was recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary and by The Seekers.
Availability
Album: Jeg Vil Tro. Triola TNLP 37. 28 October 1970.
End Notes
1. Norwegian Wikipedia. "Arne Bendiksen."
2. "Gospel (3) - Jeg Vil Tro." Discogs website.
Once performers have become familiar with a seminal version of a song they may innovate within its boundaries. The simplest form is a substitution of one voice or instrument for another. This modification requires at least one member of a group be able to do transpositions of keys.
The Gospel recorded a version of "Kumbaya" in Oslo, Norway, in 1970 that vocally copied The Seekers with a soprano lead. Except for the first verse, she said the final Lord on one note like Judith Durham with no other ornamentation. On the second verse the group used a call-response form, but after that the group joined the soloist like the men in The Seekers had done with Durham.
The innovations were in the instrumentation. Instead of two guitars and a string bass playing the melody through once before the singing commenced, a pennywhistle was used with the bass. By then, the idea of using African drums had been introduced and one began when the soprano started singing. Since this was 1970, it probably was a bongo.
Instead of the group repeating the last line between sung verses, as The Seekers had done, the instruments played it. The most unusual was a trumpet which began in the third verse and began to add its own flourishes in the final iteration.
Performers
Vocal Soloist: soprano
Vocal Group: men and women
Vocal Director: not identified
Instrumental Accompaniment: pennywhistle, keyboard, trumpet
Rhythm Accompaniment: string bass, triangle, bongo
Credits
© 1970 Arne Bendiksen Records AS
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Pronunciation: Com bye yah
Verses: kumbaya, crying, praying, singing,
Vocabulary
Pronoun: someone
Term for Deity: Lord
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: four-verse song
Verse Repetition Pattern: none
Ending: none
Unique Features: none
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Tempo: moderate; last note sustained
Basic Structure: alternate sung verses with instrumental interludes; key changed between second and third verses
Singing Style: one syllable to one note; unison
Solo-Group Dynamics: verse 1 soloist only, verse 2 solo statement and group refrain, verses 3 and 4 soloist and group in unison
Vocal-Orchestral Dynamics: pennywhistle and string bass play the introduction. Bongo drum replace bass with verse 1 and keyboard replace pennywhistle on 2. Trumpet added with verse 3 that become louder and more ornamented in verse 4.
Vocal-Rhythm Dynamics: bongo drum constant from verse 2
Notes on Performers
No information was provided on the group. The album containing "Kumbaya" was recorded in Arne Bendiksen’s studios. He was a popular singer in the 1960s, who took over a recording company in 1964. He was interested in promoting melodic music in the years when the Beatles and Rolling Stones were ascendent. [1]
One side of the Jeg Vil Tro album was in Norwegian and the other in English. [2] It included American religious songs like "Just a Closer Walk with Thee." "All My Sorrows" was popularized by Joan Baez, while "This Train" was recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary and by The Seekers.
Availability
Album: Jeg Vil Tro. Triola TNLP 37. 28 October 1970.
End Notes
1. Norwegian Wikipedia. "Arne Bendiksen."
2. "Gospel (3) - Jeg Vil Tro." Discogs website.
Saturday, February 10, 2018
Taj Mahal, Eric Bibb, Clive Barnes - Needed Time
Topic: Seminal Influences - Tribute
In the United States today, the ultimate tribute for an artist is a reference in a film. Lightnin’ Hopkins’ "Needed Time" was played during the opening credits of Sounder in 1972. At the end, a banjo version by Taj Mahal was played while the final credits scrolled across the screen. During the film, it was alluded to several times.
Mahal began learning blues guitar from friends when he was an adolescent, but developed what he called his "basic building blocks" when he heard the older bluesmen play at the Ash Grove in Los Angeles. In 1964 he formed the Rising Sons with Ry Cooder and Jessie Lee Kincaid. While their single did not sell well, it led to their becoming an opening act for some of the older men. [1] By 1970, he was touring with Hopkins. [2]
One artist who was inspired by Sounder was Eric Bibb, the son of folk-revival musician Leon Bibb. He paid his first tribute to Mahal in 1994 when he recorded "Needed Time" with a backup group he called Needed Time." [3] Once, when he as touring in France with Clive Barnes, [4] he had a chance to play "Needed Time" with Mahal. The video posted by Barnes showed how tradition was perpetuated: Mahal had worked with Hopkins, Bibb had worked with Mahal, and Barnes was working with Bibb.
The three were sitting backstage and had just finished playing something referred to as "Cool on John." One of them suggested "Needed Time." After debating whether to use the key of E or E flat, Mahal played the melody through once in E. Then the other two began playing an accompaniment with Bibb sometimes singing some lines. During the instrumental breaks, the men took turns playing lead, but during the verses, Mahal transposed the music into jazz and then blues variations.
Mahal said when they started, he had never heard Hopkins play "Needed Time." I haven’t seen anything that indicated why it was selected as the theme song for Sounder, or, for that matter how Mahal became involved in the project. Another composer, Alex North, wrote an initial score that was rejected. [5]
Performers
Vocal Soloist: Eric Bibb
Vocal Group: none
Instrumental Accompaniment: Taj Majal, Eric Bibb, acoustic guitars; Clive Barnes, acoustic slide guitar.
Rhythm Accompaniment: none
Credits
None provided
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Verses: fragments of "come if you don’t stay long" and "now is the needed time"
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: Lightnin’ Hopkins
Tempo: moderate
Basic Structure: repetition of basic melody with variations
Notes on Performance
Occasion: Clive Barnes was touring with Eric Bibb in France.
Location: back stage following a performance
Microphones: none
Clothing: casual
Notes on Movement
The three were seated on folding chairs. Taj Mahal either tapped his left foot or nodded his head to mark time.
Audience Perceptions
Sounder introduced Hopkins and "Needed Time" to a new audience. Marc Nerenberg, a Toronto banjo player, wrote:
"learned this from Taj Mahal’s playing of this tune in the soundtrack of the movie ‘Sounder’ in 1972. His version showed up on the radio for a few days. Imagine that: clawhammer banjo on pop music radio! I actually learned it from the radio - the only song I’ve ever done so with." [6]
A couple people who learned the song from Daddy Stovepipe commented they were motivated by Sounder, [7] [8] while another discovered the song was more widely known than a film tribute. He remembered:
"First heard this on the ‘Sounder’ film soundtrack. Much later, playing it on a blues harp on a late night Cambridge MA subway platform, a Bahamian preacher approached me, telling me he knew that tune (with different words) from his own gospel tradition. Amen!" [9]
Notes on Performers
Mahal was born in 1942 in Harlem. His father, Henry Saint Clair Fredericks, was a West Indian jazz musician who moved his family to Springfield, Massachusetts. Young Fredericks adopted his stage name around the time he entered the University of Massachusetts to study agriculture. [10]
In 2008, Jimmy Leslie asked him what was "the most interesting guitar culture?" He responded
"Recordings by Lightnin’ Hopkins, Skip James, and John Lee Hooker are amazing because two-thirds of what they’re playing is in the African mold, and one-third articulates the American experience. The density of African music without blues notes is incredible, because it wasn’t disconnected by slavery." [11]
When Leslie asked him how he felt about becoming an elder statesman for the blues, he answered:
"None of that means anything. What matters is that I can pick up my instrument and use it to go wherever I want with the music. There was a time when some nights the music would play me, and I couldn’t do anything wrong. There were other nights when I couldn’t buy a vibe. Now it’s consistent. The instrument sings every time I pick it up because I stopped wrestling over who’s in charge. It’s the music. She is in charge." [12]
Availability
Film: Sounder. Directed by Martin Ritt. Twentieth Century Fox. 24 September 1972.
Album: Sounder. Columbia S31944. 1972.
YouTube: Sounder album. Lightnin’ Hopkins. "Needed Time." Uploaded by Sony Music Entertainment on 13 February 2017.
YouTube: Sounder album. Taj Mahal. "Needed Time (Hummin’ and Pickin’)." Uploaded by Sony Music Entertainment on 25 August 2016.
YouTube: Sounder album. Taj Mahal. "Needed Time (Guitar)." Uploaded by Sony Music Entertainment on 13 February 2017.
YouTube: Sounder album. Taj Mahal: "Needed Time (Banjo and Hand Clapping)." Uploaded by Sony Music Entertainment on 25 August 2016.
YouTube: Clive Barnes, Eric Bibb, and Taj Mahal. "Needed Time." Uploaded by Clive Barnes on 16 March 2010.
End Notes
1. Wikipedia. "Taj Mahal (Musician)."
2. Alan B. Govenar. Lightnin’ Hopkins: His Life and Blues. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2010. 194.
3. Eric Bibb and Needed Time. Spirit and The Blues. Opus 3 Records CD 19401. Recorded and released in Sweden in 1994. (Discogs website)
4. Clive Barnes was an Irish guitarist who worked with Bibb in 2005 and 2006. (Press release for Clive Barnes’ The Ghost Country. 2009.)
5. Alex North Music uploaded part of his score for Sounder to YouTube on 11 July 2014.
6. Marc Nerenberg. "Needed Time." Uploaded to YouTube on 20 September 2014
7. Pelu Maad commented on the first Daddy Stovepipe lesson discussed in the post for 4 February 2018. In 2011 he asked: "Didn’t anyone see ‘Sounder’ with Taj Mahal’s soundtrack? I’ve wanted to learn this song ever since. Thanks Daddy..."
8. In 2009, HOTROD74GremlinX wrote on Daddy Stovepipe’s first lesson "Fantastic sir.Thank you so much for posting this lesson.This is a song I’ve ALWAYS loved from the movie ‘Sounder’ and from one of my fav Blues musicians ‘Lightnin Hopkins’."
9. Comment by MrMusicguyma uploaded to this video in August 2017.
10. Wikipedia.
11. Taj Mahal. Quoted by by Jimmy Leslie. Guitar Player website. 31 October 2008.
12. Taj Mahal, quoted by Leslie.
In the United States today, the ultimate tribute for an artist is a reference in a film. Lightnin’ Hopkins’ "Needed Time" was played during the opening credits of Sounder in 1972. At the end, a banjo version by Taj Mahal was played while the final credits scrolled across the screen. During the film, it was alluded to several times.
Mahal began learning blues guitar from friends when he was an adolescent, but developed what he called his "basic building blocks" when he heard the older bluesmen play at the Ash Grove in Los Angeles. In 1964 he formed the Rising Sons with Ry Cooder and Jessie Lee Kincaid. While their single did not sell well, it led to their becoming an opening act for some of the older men. [1] By 1970, he was touring with Hopkins. [2]
One artist who was inspired by Sounder was Eric Bibb, the son of folk-revival musician Leon Bibb. He paid his first tribute to Mahal in 1994 when he recorded "Needed Time" with a backup group he called Needed Time." [3] Once, when he as touring in France with Clive Barnes, [4] he had a chance to play "Needed Time" with Mahal. The video posted by Barnes showed how tradition was perpetuated: Mahal had worked with Hopkins, Bibb had worked with Mahal, and Barnes was working with Bibb.
The three were sitting backstage and had just finished playing something referred to as "Cool on John." One of them suggested "Needed Time." After debating whether to use the key of E or E flat, Mahal played the melody through once in E. Then the other two began playing an accompaniment with Bibb sometimes singing some lines. During the instrumental breaks, the men took turns playing lead, but during the verses, Mahal transposed the music into jazz and then blues variations.
Mahal said when they started, he had never heard Hopkins play "Needed Time." I haven’t seen anything that indicated why it was selected as the theme song for Sounder, or, for that matter how Mahal became involved in the project. Another composer, Alex North, wrote an initial score that was rejected. [5]
Performers
Vocal Soloist: Eric Bibb
Vocal Group: none
Instrumental Accompaniment: Taj Majal, Eric Bibb, acoustic guitars; Clive Barnes, acoustic slide guitar.
Rhythm Accompaniment: none
Credits
None provided
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Verses: fragments of "come if you don’t stay long" and "now is the needed time"
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: Lightnin’ Hopkins
Tempo: moderate
Basic Structure: repetition of basic melody with variations
Notes on Performance
Occasion: Clive Barnes was touring with Eric Bibb in France.
Location: back stage following a performance
Microphones: none
Clothing: casual
Notes on Movement
The three were seated on folding chairs. Taj Mahal either tapped his left foot or nodded his head to mark time.
Audience Perceptions
Sounder introduced Hopkins and "Needed Time" to a new audience. Marc Nerenberg, a Toronto banjo player, wrote:
"learned this from Taj Mahal’s playing of this tune in the soundtrack of the movie ‘Sounder’ in 1972. His version showed up on the radio for a few days. Imagine that: clawhammer banjo on pop music radio! I actually learned it from the radio - the only song I’ve ever done so with." [6]
A couple people who learned the song from Daddy Stovepipe commented they were motivated by Sounder, [7] [8] while another discovered the song was more widely known than a film tribute. He remembered:
"First heard this on the ‘Sounder’ film soundtrack. Much later, playing it on a blues harp on a late night Cambridge MA subway platform, a Bahamian preacher approached me, telling me he knew that tune (with different words) from his own gospel tradition. Amen!" [9]
Notes on Performers
Mahal was born in 1942 in Harlem. His father, Henry Saint Clair Fredericks, was a West Indian jazz musician who moved his family to Springfield, Massachusetts. Young Fredericks adopted his stage name around the time he entered the University of Massachusetts to study agriculture. [10]
In 2008, Jimmy Leslie asked him what was "the most interesting guitar culture?" He responded
"Recordings by Lightnin’ Hopkins, Skip James, and John Lee Hooker are amazing because two-thirds of what they’re playing is in the African mold, and one-third articulates the American experience. The density of African music without blues notes is incredible, because it wasn’t disconnected by slavery." [11]
When Leslie asked him how he felt about becoming an elder statesman for the blues, he answered:
"None of that means anything. What matters is that I can pick up my instrument and use it to go wherever I want with the music. There was a time when some nights the music would play me, and I couldn’t do anything wrong. There were other nights when I couldn’t buy a vibe. Now it’s consistent. The instrument sings every time I pick it up because I stopped wrestling over who’s in charge. It’s the music. She is in charge." [12]
Availability
Film: Sounder. Directed by Martin Ritt. Twentieth Century Fox. 24 September 1972.
Album: Sounder. Columbia S31944. 1972.
YouTube: Sounder album. Lightnin’ Hopkins. "Needed Time." Uploaded by Sony Music Entertainment on 13 February 2017.
YouTube: Sounder album. Taj Mahal. "Needed Time (Hummin’ and Pickin’)." Uploaded by Sony Music Entertainment on 25 August 2016.
YouTube: Sounder album. Taj Mahal. "Needed Time (Guitar)." Uploaded by Sony Music Entertainment on 13 February 2017.
YouTube: Sounder album. Taj Mahal: "Needed Time (Banjo and Hand Clapping)." Uploaded by Sony Music Entertainment on 25 August 2016.
YouTube: Clive Barnes, Eric Bibb, and Taj Mahal. "Needed Time." Uploaded by Clive Barnes on 16 March 2010.
End Notes
1. Wikipedia. "Taj Mahal (Musician)."
2. Alan B. Govenar. Lightnin’ Hopkins: His Life and Blues. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2010. 194.
3. Eric Bibb and Needed Time. Spirit and The Blues. Opus 3 Records CD 19401. Recorded and released in Sweden in 1994. (Discogs website)
4. Clive Barnes was an Irish guitarist who worked with Bibb in 2005 and 2006. (Press release for Clive Barnes’ The Ghost Country. 2009.)
5. Alex North Music uploaded part of his score for Sounder to YouTube on 11 July 2014.
6. Marc Nerenberg. "Needed Time." Uploaded to YouTube on 20 September 2014
7. Pelu Maad commented on the first Daddy Stovepipe lesson discussed in the post for 4 February 2018. In 2011 he asked: "Didn’t anyone see ‘Sounder’ with Taj Mahal’s soundtrack? I’ve wanted to learn this song ever since. Thanks Daddy..."
8. In 2009, HOTROD74GremlinX wrote on Daddy Stovepipe’s first lesson "Fantastic sir.Thank you so much for posting this lesson.This is a song I’ve ALWAYS loved from the movie ‘Sounder’ and from one of my fav Blues musicians ‘Lightnin Hopkins’."
9. Comment by MrMusicguyma uploaded to this video in August 2017.
10. Wikipedia.
11. Taj Mahal. Quoted by by Jimmy Leslie. Guitar Player website. 31 October 2008.
12. Taj Mahal, quoted by Leslie.
Thursday, February 8, 2018
Orfeó Enric Morera - Kumbaya (Come By Here, Lord)
Topic: Seminal Influences - Tribute
The immediate impact of seminal arrangements of songs is imitation. Later, once artists have absorbed their innovations and created their own styles, they pay tribute to those who influenced them. In 1967 the Orfeó Enric Morera recorded some songs popularized by Joan Baez.
Manuel Oltra’s a capella arrangement of "Kumbaya" alternated a burden sung by the entire group with verses sung by a soprano accompanied by the group. During the first verse, the group hummed while a few men sang a rhythm. In the second verse, the tenors took over the melody and the women sang another part. In the final stanza the group sang a counter melody with "oh oh" to the female solo. The burdens relied upon parallel harmony that diverged toward the ends of each line.
Baez’s influence was less in the way the song was sung, than in the mere fact it was sung at all. Catalonia had been invaded by Francisco Franco’s troops toward the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939. After the war, "thousands of Republicans were imprisoned and at least 30,000 executed." Others fled to France or Chile. [1]
The chorale group was organized in a small town near Barcelona in 1951. Leonardo Balada remembered:
"I was a member with my friends, a group of idealistic individuals, of an amateur chorus, the Orfeó Enric Morera, where classical music and folk-inspired Catalan compositions were sung. Belonging to that choral group was also for us a defiant expression against the repressive regime of the dictator Francisco Franco, who had prohibited any free press or liberal expression. Franco, a shrewd politician, did not forbid the existence of those musical organizations which were harmless to his regime and worked as a release valve to minimise political upheaval." [2]
The other three songs on the Baez album included a joyous "Battle Hymn of the Republic," disguised as a traditional Irish "Himne" or hymn. [3] The Child ballad "Geordie" narrated a woman’s failure to save her lover from being hung for poaching the king’s deer, while "Once I Had a Sweetheart," translated as "Un Amor Tenía," was a lament for a lover who never returned.
If "Kumbaya" contained any political connotations, they must have come from the association of the song with the Civil Rights and peace movements in the United States. The verses were sung in Catalan with senyor for Lord. [4] I’m fairly sure the last verse was "cántame" or "sing to me." Another may have been "I sing of God" or "Canto de Déu." The other may also have begun with the word "sing." They were not straight translations of Baez’s "crying" and "praying."
Performers
Vocal Soloists: soprano and group of tenors
Vocal Group: Orfeó Enric Morera
Vocal Director: Antoni Coll
Instrumental Accompaniment: none
Rhythm Accompaniment: none
Credits
(C) 1967 Picap [5]
Cant Espiritual Negre
Arrangement: Manuel Oltra [6]
Notes on Lyrics
Language: Catalan
Term for Deity: senyor
Basic Form: verse-burden
Verse Repetition Pattern: AxAxAxA
Ending: none
Unique Features: none
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Tempo: moderate
Basic Structure: alternated strophic repetitions of the burden with harmonic variations in the verses.
Singing Style: simple harmony with no ornamentation; when a syllable was sung on several notes it was sung by the entire group.
Notes on Performers
The chorale group was organized in Sant Just Desvern and named for Enric Morera i Viura, a friend of one of the organizers. [7] Morera was born in Barcelona in 1865 and became "prominent in the movement Catalan Musical Modernism." [8]
Antoni Coll i Cruells, the director when the recording was made, came from the Catalan village of Centelles. He studied in Barcelona and Rome, before becoming a music teacher. Simultaneously, he directed several choral groups.[9]
The album’s chorale arranger was born in Valencia to parents who moved to Barcelona when he was young. Manuel Oltra i Ferrer became a professor of harmony and counterpoint at the Conservatori Superior de Música. He also was active in folklore organizations and "developed a remarkable work in which popular influence predominates, in the form of harmonization of traditional songs (interpreted by most Catalan choral formations)." [10]
Leonardo Balada Ibáñez studied piano at the Conservatori Superior de Música, before immigrating to the United States in 1956. He now teaches at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Balada wrote Guernica for orchestra in 1966, and since has combined folk dance rhythms and folk harmonies with atonality. [11]
As mentioned in the post for 9 October 2017, Baez did not perform in Barcelona until after Franco died in 1975.
Availability
EP 45: Els Èxits De Joan Baez. Edigsa CM 182. 1967. [12]
YouTube: uploaded by Altafonte Music Distribution S.L. on 23 June 2015.
End Notes
1. Wikipedia. "Spanish Civil War." Quotation from Giles Tremlett. "Spain Torn on Tribute to Victims of Franco." The Guardian, 1 December 2003.
2. Leonardo Balada. Note on a recording of "No-res" and "Ebony Fantasies." Translated by Susannah Howe. Naxos Records website.
3. "Orfeó Enric Morera - Els Èxits De Joan Baez." Discogs website.
4. Catalan spelling and translations from Google Translate.
5. YouTube notes.
6. Discogs.
7. "Orfeó Enric Morera." Sant Just website.
8. Wikipedia. "Enric Morera i Viura."
9. "Antoni Coll i Cruells." Sant Just website.
10. "Manuel Oltra i Ferrer." Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana website. Quotation translated by Google Translate.
11. Wikipedia. "Leonardo Balada."
12. Discogs.
The immediate impact of seminal arrangements of songs is imitation. Later, once artists have absorbed their innovations and created their own styles, they pay tribute to those who influenced them. In 1967 the Orfeó Enric Morera recorded some songs popularized by Joan Baez.
Manuel Oltra’s a capella arrangement of "Kumbaya" alternated a burden sung by the entire group with verses sung by a soprano accompanied by the group. During the first verse, the group hummed while a few men sang a rhythm. In the second verse, the tenors took over the melody and the women sang another part. In the final stanza the group sang a counter melody with "oh oh" to the female solo. The burdens relied upon parallel harmony that diverged toward the ends of each line.
Baez’s influence was less in the way the song was sung, than in the mere fact it was sung at all. Catalonia had been invaded by Francisco Franco’s troops toward the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939. After the war, "thousands of Republicans were imprisoned and at least 30,000 executed." Others fled to France or Chile. [1]
The chorale group was organized in a small town near Barcelona in 1951. Leonardo Balada remembered:
"I was a member with my friends, a group of idealistic individuals, of an amateur chorus, the Orfeó Enric Morera, where classical music and folk-inspired Catalan compositions were sung. Belonging to that choral group was also for us a defiant expression against the repressive regime of the dictator Francisco Franco, who had prohibited any free press or liberal expression. Franco, a shrewd politician, did not forbid the existence of those musical organizations which were harmless to his regime and worked as a release valve to minimise political upheaval." [2]
The other three songs on the Baez album included a joyous "Battle Hymn of the Republic," disguised as a traditional Irish "Himne" or hymn. [3] The Child ballad "Geordie" narrated a woman’s failure to save her lover from being hung for poaching the king’s deer, while "Once I Had a Sweetheart," translated as "Un Amor Tenía," was a lament for a lover who never returned.
If "Kumbaya" contained any political connotations, they must have come from the association of the song with the Civil Rights and peace movements in the United States. The verses were sung in Catalan with senyor for Lord. [4] I’m fairly sure the last verse was "cántame" or "sing to me." Another may have been "I sing of God" or "Canto de Déu." The other may also have begun with the word "sing." They were not straight translations of Baez’s "crying" and "praying."
Performers
Vocal Soloists: soprano and group of tenors
Vocal Group: Orfeó Enric Morera
Vocal Director: Antoni Coll
Instrumental Accompaniment: none
Rhythm Accompaniment: none
Credits
(C) 1967 Picap [5]
Cant Espiritual Negre
Arrangement: Manuel Oltra [6]
Notes on Lyrics
Language: Catalan
Term for Deity: senyor
Basic Form: verse-burden
Verse Repetition Pattern: AxAxAxA
Ending: none
Unique Features: none
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Tempo: moderate
Basic Structure: alternated strophic repetitions of the burden with harmonic variations in the verses.
Singing Style: simple harmony with no ornamentation; when a syllable was sung on several notes it was sung by the entire group.
Notes on Performers
The chorale group was organized in Sant Just Desvern and named for Enric Morera i Viura, a friend of one of the organizers. [7] Morera was born in Barcelona in 1865 and became "prominent in the movement Catalan Musical Modernism." [8]
Antoni Coll i Cruells, the director when the recording was made, came from the Catalan village of Centelles. He studied in Barcelona and Rome, before becoming a music teacher. Simultaneously, he directed several choral groups.[9]
The album’s chorale arranger was born in Valencia to parents who moved to Barcelona when he was young. Manuel Oltra i Ferrer became a professor of harmony and counterpoint at the Conservatori Superior de Música. He also was active in folklore organizations and "developed a remarkable work in which popular influence predominates, in the form of harmonization of traditional songs (interpreted by most Catalan choral formations)." [10]
Leonardo Balada Ibáñez studied piano at the Conservatori Superior de Música, before immigrating to the United States in 1956. He now teaches at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Balada wrote Guernica for orchestra in 1966, and since has combined folk dance rhythms and folk harmonies with atonality. [11]
As mentioned in the post for 9 October 2017, Baez did not perform in Barcelona until after Franco died in 1975.
Availability
EP 45: Els Èxits De Joan Baez. Edigsa CM 182. 1967. [12]
YouTube: uploaded by Altafonte Music Distribution S.L. on 23 June 2015.
End Notes
1. Wikipedia. "Spanish Civil War." Quotation from Giles Tremlett. "Spain Torn on Tribute to Victims of Franco." The Guardian, 1 December 2003.
2. Leonardo Balada. Note on a recording of "No-res" and "Ebony Fantasies." Translated by Susannah Howe. Naxos Records website.
3. "Orfeó Enric Morera - Els Èxits De Joan Baez." Discogs website.
4. Catalan spelling and translations from Google Translate.
5. YouTube notes.
6. Discogs.
7. "Orfeó Enric Morera." Sant Just website.
8. Wikipedia. "Enric Morera i Viura."
9. "Antoni Coll i Cruells." Sant Just website.
10. "Manuel Oltra i Ferrer." Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana website. Quotation translated by Google Translate.
11. Wikipedia. "Leonardo Balada."
12. Discogs.
Tuesday, February 6, 2018
The Revival Band - Kumbaya
Topic: Seminal Influences - Imitation
Individuals and groups often learned "Kumbaya" from Joan Baez or The Seekers without being influenced by the way each sang it. After all, if one didn’t have Baez’s vocal range, all one could do was sing the words and melody. The same held for The Seekers if one was not part of a vocal group.
The Seekers’ version was distinguished by the three men repeating the last line during the pause between verses sung by Judith Durham. Durham often sang "Lord" in the third line on a high pitch, and always used only one note in the last line. In addition she went high on the final "yah" of "kumbaya." [1]
Baez used the minor melody in the second line every time, while the Seekers only used it with the kumbaya verse. She sometimes ornamented "bye" in the third line, went higher on the minor line in the later repetitions in 1962, and also went high on the final "yah." [2]
The Revival Band performed The Seekers’ version at their tenth anniversary concert in Budapest in 1994. They are the only group I’ve observed on YouTube who sang only The Seekers’ version with no bits borrowed from Baez.
Two men played guitars and a third played string bass while a woman sang the lead part. The video camera did not pick up the men as well as the woman, so it was hard to tell if they copied the introduction or played something less ambitious. They did repeat the final line as an interverse interlude.
The woman sang the verses in the same order The Seekers used in their 1993 concerts. The
She always sang the final Lord on one note and sang the word on a higher note in the third lines. Her second line became more minor with each repetition.
The group’s only divergence from The Seekers was tempo. They performed it faster.
Performers
Vocal Soloist: female
Vocal Group: three men
Instrumental Accompaniment: two guitars
Rhythm Accompaniment: string bass
Credits
None given.
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Pronunciation: koom BYE yah
Verses: kumbaya, praying, crying, singing
Vocabulary
Pronoun: someone
Term for Deity: Lord
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: three-verse song framed by repetitions of kumbaya
Verse Repetition Pattern: AxxxAA
Ending: repeated last verse
Unique Features: none
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Tempo: fast; last line slow
Basic Structure: strophic repetition
Singing Style: dominant female soloist with men singing some lines with her.
Notes on Performance
Occasion: tenth anniversary concert, 1994.
Location: Kispesti Vigadó, a community center in Budapest
Microphones: she held a hand mike; floor mikes were set in front of the men near their mouths, not their instruments.
Clothing: the woman wore a long denim skirt, white blouse, and narrow black scarf; she had long brown hair. The men wore light colored slacks and shirt-sleeved white shirts without ties.
Notes on Movement
They stood several feet apart from one another and looked at the audience. One man bent his knees to keep time and the women used her left hand to mark time in the last two iterations of kumbaya when the tempo was faster.
Notes on Audience
Applause at the end.
Notes on Performers
I could find nothing on the group or the person who uploaded the video, since both names were common.
The other songs uploaded from the 1994 concerts had been recorded by artists like Baez, Peter, Paul and Mary, and the Carter Family. Béla Várkonyi also had created play lists for The Seekers, Peter, Paul and Mary, and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
If the group began performing in 1984, they had then spent their entire lives under the communist rule of János Kádár. He had introduced some liberal reforms after the suppression of the 1956 revolt. Living standards were better in Hungary than elsewhere in eastern Europe. The economy began to deteriorate after they began performing, and was in recession by the end of communist rule in 1991. At the time of their concert, the country was still suffering from austerity measures imposed by the neo-liberal government. [3]
Availability
YouTube: uploaded by Béla Várkonyi on 30 August 2013.
End Notes
1. Joan Baez’s version was described in the post for 9 October 2017.
2. The Seekers’ version was described in entries posted 29 January 2018, 31 January 2018, and 2 February 2018.
3. Wikipedia. "Hungary."
Individuals and groups often learned "Kumbaya" from Joan Baez or The Seekers without being influenced by the way each sang it. After all, if one didn’t have Baez’s vocal range, all one could do was sing the words and melody. The same held for The Seekers if one was not part of a vocal group.
The Seekers’ version was distinguished by the three men repeating the last line during the pause between verses sung by Judith Durham. Durham often sang "Lord" in the third line on a high pitch, and always used only one note in the last line. In addition she went high on the final "yah" of "kumbaya." [1]
Baez used the minor melody in the second line every time, while the Seekers only used it with the kumbaya verse. She sometimes ornamented "bye" in the third line, went higher on the minor line in the later repetitions in 1962, and also went high on the final "yah." [2]
The Revival Band performed The Seekers’ version at their tenth anniversary concert in Budapest in 1994. They are the only group I’ve observed on YouTube who sang only The Seekers’ version with no bits borrowed from Baez.
Two men played guitars and a third played string bass while a woman sang the lead part. The video camera did not pick up the men as well as the woman, so it was hard to tell if they copied the introduction or played something less ambitious. They did repeat the final line as an interverse interlude.
The woman sang the verses in the same order The Seekers used in their 1993 concerts. The
She always sang the final Lord on one note and sang the word on a higher note in the third lines. Her second line became more minor with each repetition.
The group’s only divergence from The Seekers was tempo. They performed it faster.
Performers
Vocal Soloist: female
Vocal Group: three men
Instrumental Accompaniment: two guitars
Rhythm Accompaniment: string bass
Credits
None given.
Notes on Lyrics
Language: English
Pronunciation: koom BYE yah
Verses: kumbaya, praying, crying, singing
Vocabulary
Pronoun: someone
Term for Deity: Lord
Special Terms: none
Basic Form: three-verse song framed by repetitions of kumbaya
Verse Repetition Pattern: AxxxAA
Ending: repeated last verse
Unique Features: none
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Tempo: fast; last line slow
Basic Structure: strophic repetition
Singing Style: dominant female soloist with men singing some lines with her.
Notes on Performance
Occasion: tenth anniversary concert, 1994.
Location: Kispesti Vigadó, a community center in Budapest
Microphones: she held a hand mike; floor mikes were set in front of the men near their mouths, not their instruments.
Clothing: the woman wore a long denim skirt, white blouse, and narrow black scarf; she had long brown hair. The men wore light colored slacks and shirt-sleeved white shirts without ties.
Notes on Movement
They stood several feet apart from one another and looked at the audience. One man bent his knees to keep time and the women used her left hand to mark time in the last two iterations of kumbaya when the tempo was faster.
Notes on Audience
Applause at the end.
Notes on Performers
I could find nothing on the group or the person who uploaded the video, since both names were common.
The other songs uploaded from the 1994 concerts had been recorded by artists like Baez, Peter, Paul and Mary, and the Carter Family. Béla Várkonyi also had created play lists for The Seekers, Peter, Paul and Mary, and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
If the group began performing in 1984, they had then spent their entire lives under the communist rule of János Kádár. He had introduced some liberal reforms after the suppression of the 1956 revolt. Living standards were better in Hungary than elsewhere in eastern Europe. The economy began to deteriorate after they began performing, and was in recession by the end of communist rule in 1991. At the time of their concert, the country was still suffering from austerity measures imposed by the neo-liberal government. [3]
Availability
YouTube: uploaded by Béla Várkonyi on 30 August 2013.
End Notes
1. Joan Baez’s version was described in the post for 9 October 2017.
2. The Seekers’ version was described in entries posted 29 January 2018, 31 January 2018, and 2 February 2018.
3. Wikipedia. "Hungary."
Sunday, February 4, 2018
Daddy Stovepipe - Needed Time
Topic: Seminal Influences - Imitation
The influence of a seminal recording of "Come by Here" or "Kumbaya" can be seen in several ways. In the most obvious, a musician simply copies a performance note by note. This, after all, is how one learns the craft. All that’s changed in the last century is technology: Lightnin’ Hopkins was able to watch Blind Lemon Jefferson play in Texas, while those who learned after Hopkins and Jefferson died could only listen to their recordings. [1]
Later, musicians who had absorbed older performances, transcribed them. Their tablatures used six lines to represent the six strings on a guitar with numbers of the frets to indicate which chords were used. Other symbols were added to indicate rhythm and musical attributes, much like they were on musical staffs. Tyros still needed to hear a recording to grasp the style.
YouTube has restored the visual dimension that existed when one was watching a performer or had an instructor. Carl Bludts probably learned to play guitar from recordings, but now, using the name Daddy Stovepipe, he sells his tab books and uploads videos that illustrate the more difficult parts.
His two videos of "Needed Time" assumed a student already had studied his tab book. In the first one he played a line, then replayed part of it to illustrate how to hammer a string or slide a finger between chords. At the end, he replayed the first section slowly while singing a verse so the viewer could coordinate the two.
The second video was devoted to the instrumental break. At one point he repeated a section so the student could see how he damped the strings with his right hand. In another, he showed how he quickly moved his left rapidly between a chord high on the neck and one lower down.
Bludts’ pedagogical skill becomes obvious when his tab is compared with one produced by Eric Gombart. The latter’s rendition of Eric Bibb’s version added a transcription of the notes on the G-clef and the images of the chords. While this was useful information, it made the tab itself harder to read by a beginner. [2]
Bibb’s accompanying DVD had two videos of "Needed Time." One showed both hands playing the guitar, and the other used a split screen with close-ups of each hand. Again this was very good, but with no comments on technique it was up to the viewer to recognize things like hammering and damping.
Country Blues suggested Bloudts’ importance by noting his website was viewed 3,000 times a day. [3] A more important measure is the videos posted by individuals who indicated they had learned "Needed Time" from him.
In one, a young man who called himself bostonteabagger had mastered most of Bludts’ arrangement but still had problems with small sections which he played a tad slower as he concentrated on them. Sometimes the tension in his left hand or a furrow in his brow indicated he still wasn’t completely sure of himself.
In another a teenager calling himself oggendoggen admitted he’s still learning, but "it’s getting better." He turned his head from side to side as he concentrated on one hand or the other, but only betrayed his difficult passages with facial grimaces.
Both were able to maintained the rhythm, but neither attempted to sing as he played.
Performers
Vocal Soloist: Carl Bludts
Vocal Group: none
Instrumental Soloist: Carl Bludts, acoustic guitar
Rhythm Accompaniment: none
Credits
Tab book: Lightnin’ Hopkins arranged by DaddyStovePipe.
Notes on Lyrics
In the first video, Bludts sang one verse with the lines "needed time" and "Jesus will you come by here."
Notes on Music
Time Signature: 4/4
Tempo: quarter note = 116 beats per minute
Tuning: standard
Key Signature: E
Guitar Chords: E-A-B7
Basic Structure: verse and break
Notes on Performance
Occasion: the camera was aimed at his hands, and showed nothing more. One reviewer noted "videos are professionally produced, with good lighting and clear sound." [4]
Clothing: tan slacks and ivory-colored mock turtle-neck shirt, with brown overshirt.
Notes on Movement
His left hand was on the neck of the guitar and his right over the sound hole, with the instrument resting on his right thigh. In the first lesson, his left knee moved up and down to mark the rhythm.
Audience Perceptions
Bludts must have monitored the comments he received on YouTube. One person wrote:
"One note: i was a little confused at first because flor some reason your your fret marker is on the 10th fret instead of the 9th ...you might want to mention this." [5]
The second video now appears with an added display box that says:
"I’m playing an old Supertone from the 1920ies. It has a FRETMARKER ON THE 10th FRET instead of the more current place, the 9th fret."
Notes on Performers
These two videos and his website provided no information about Bludts. A website it linked to indicated he was a "retired shopkeeper in Belgium," and more specifically that he was Flemish. [6]
His nom de plume was used by Johnny Watson who played guitar in a number of styles, from mariachi to cajun. Wikipedia said the Mobile-born African American "may have been the earliest-born blues performer to record." [7]
Availability
Daddy Stovepipe
Tab book: Lesson Pack TABS Volume 1, Part 1. PDF sold by his website.
YouTube: Guitar Lesson 1. Uploaded by daddystovepipe on 3 January 2008.
YouTube: Guitar Lesson 2. Uploaded by daddystovepipe on 3 January 2008.
Adolescent Student
YouTube: uploaded by oggendoggen2 on 29 January 2009.
Young Male Student
YouTube: uploaded by bostonteabagger71739 on 25 October 2009.
End Notes
1. Lightnin’ Hopkins version was discussed in the posts for 21 August 2017 and 23 August 2017.
2. Eric Bibb. Guitar Tab Songbook, Volume 1. Tab and standard notations by Eric Gombart. DixieFrog DFGCD8778. 2015.
3. "Carl Bludts (daddystovepipe)". The Country Blues website.
4. Country Blues.
5. Joseph LeBlanc. Comment posted to Lesson 2 in 2012.
6. Country Blues.
7. Wikipedia. "Daddy Stovepipe."
The influence of a seminal recording of "Come by Here" or "Kumbaya" can be seen in several ways. In the most obvious, a musician simply copies a performance note by note. This, after all, is how one learns the craft. All that’s changed in the last century is technology: Lightnin’ Hopkins was able to watch Blind Lemon Jefferson play in Texas, while those who learned after Hopkins and Jefferson died could only listen to their recordings. [1]
Later, musicians who had absorbed older performances, transcribed them. Their tablatures used six lines to represent the six strings on a guitar with numbers of the frets to indicate which chords were used. Other symbols were added to indicate rhythm and musical attributes, much like they were on musical staffs. Tyros still needed to hear a recording to grasp the style.
YouTube has restored the visual dimension that existed when one was watching a performer or had an instructor. Carl Bludts probably learned to play guitar from recordings, but now, using the name Daddy Stovepipe, he sells his tab books and uploads videos that illustrate the more difficult parts.
His two videos of "Needed Time" assumed a student already had studied his tab book. In the first one he played a line, then replayed part of it to illustrate how to hammer a string or slide a finger between chords. At the end, he replayed the first section slowly while singing a verse so the viewer could coordinate the two.
The second video was devoted to the instrumental break. At one point he repeated a section so the student could see how he damped the strings with his right hand. In another, he showed how he quickly moved his left rapidly between a chord high on the neck and one lower down.
Bludts’ pedagogical skill becomes obvious when his tab is compared with one produced by Eric Gombart. The latter’s rendition of Eric Bibb’s version added a transcription of the notes on the G-clef and the images of the chords. While this was useful information, it made the tab itself harder to read by a beginner. [2]
Bibb’s accompanying DVD had two videos of "Needed Time." One showed both hands playing the guitar, and the other used a split screen with close-ups of each hand. Again this was very good, but with no comments on technique it was up to the viewer to recognize things like hammering and damping.
Country Blues suggested Bloudts’ importance by noting his website was viewed 3,000 times a day. [3] A more important measure is the videos posted by individuals who indicated they had learned "Needed Time" from him.
In one, a young man who called himself bostonteabagger had mastered most of Bludts’ arrangement but still had problems with small sections which he played a tad slower as he concentrated on them. Sometimes the tension in his left hand or a furrow in his brow indicated he still wasn’t completely sure of himself.
In another a teenager calling himself oggendoggen admitted he’s still learning, but "it’s getting better." He turned his head from side to side as he concentrated on one hand or the other, but only betrayed his difficult passages with facial grimaces.
Both were able to maintained the rhythm, but neither attempted to sing as he played.
Performers
Vocal Soloist: Carl Bludts
Vocal Group: none
Instrumental Soloist: Carl Bludts, acoustic guitar
Rhythm Accompaniment: none
Credits
Tab book: Lightnin’ Hopkins arranged by DaddyStovePipe.
Notes on Lyrics
In the first video, Bludts sang one verse with the lines "needed time" and "Jesus will you come by here."
Notes on Music
Time Signature: 4/4
Tempo: quarter note = 116 beats per minute
Tuning: standard
Key Signature: E
Guitar Chords: E-A-B7
Basic Structure: verse and break
Notes on Performance
Occasion: the camera was aimed at his hands, and showed nothing more. One reviewer noted "videos are professionally produced, with good lighting and clear sound." [4]
Clothing: tan slacks and ivory-colored mock turtle-neck shirt, with brown overshirt.
Notes on Movement
His left hand was on the neck of the guitar and his right over the sound hole, with the instrument resting on his right thigh. In the first lesson, his left knee moved up and down to mark the rhythm.
Audience Perceptions
Bludts must have monitored the comments he received on YouTube. One person wrote:
"One note: i was a little confused at first because flor some reason your your fret marker is on the 10th fret instead of the 9th ...you might want to mention this." [5]
The second video now appears with an added display box that says:
"I’m playing an old Supertone from the 1920ies. It has a FRETMARKER ON THE 10th FRET instead of the more current place, the 9th fret."
Notes on Performers
These two videos and his website provided no information about Bludts. A website it linked to indicated he was a "retired shopkeeper in Belgium," and more specifically that he was Flemish. [6]
His nom de plume was used by Johnny Watson who played guitar in a number of styles, from mariachi to cajun. Wikipedia said the Mobile-born African American "may have been the earliest-born blues performer to record." [7]
Availability
Daddy Stovepipe
Tab book: Lesson Pack TABS Volume 1, Part 1. PDF sold by his website.
YouTube: Guitar Lesson 1. Uploaded by daddystovepipe on 3 January 2008.
YouTube: Guitar Lesson 2. Uploaded by daddystovepipe on 3 January 2008.
Adolescent Student
YouTube: uploaded by oggendoggen2 on 29 January 2009.
Young Male Student
YouTube: uploaded by bostonteabagger71739 on 25 October 2009.
End Notes
1. Lightnin’ Hopkins version was discussed in the posts for 21 August 2017 and 23 August 2017.
2. Eric Bibb. Guitar Tab Songbook, Volume 1. Tab and standard notations by Eric Gombart. DixieFrog DFGCD8778. 2015.
3. "Carl Bludts (daddystovepipe)". The Country Blues website.
4. Country Blues.
5. Joseph LeBlanc. Comment posted to Lesson 2 in 2012.
6. Country Blues.
7. Wikipedia. "Daddy Stovepipe."
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