Some Thoughts about the Blues, Buddy Guy and a Track
It is Saturday morning. It is a good morning for me because I have found some new music to love. You see, and as you may have noticed, I am more of a jazz guy than a blues guy. Why? Well, I fell in love with jazz first because of the time I spent at a college radio station that played jazz. I have tried to get into the blues, but something never quite clicke with me. It was OK, I appreciated it, I liked songs and parts of it, but something about it never quite grabbed me.
One thing is for sure, the jazz people seem to have things together a bit more than the blues people. For example, there are several websites that I can go to in order to get the latest news on jazz, jazz musicians, new releases, CD reviews and whatever. There is AllAboutJazz.com and the JazzReview.com, for example. There is also WDCB and other radio stations around the country that are dedicated almost exclusively to jazz music. That is just not the case with the Blues.
I have looked in order to make, or attempt to make, this blog balanced, for a Blues News website. I have continually come up empty. There are many radio stations, including WDCB, that play Blues in addition to some other format, but there aren’t radio stations dedicated solely to the blues. I have no idea why, but that’s just a fact of life.
So, I haven’t been able to keep up on the blues as much as I would have liked. So, I recently had dinner with a friend of mine. She mentioned she had always wanted to get more into jazz and I mentioned I had always wanted to get more into the blues. She is a big fan of the blues. As you know, I am a big fan of jazz. Before you could say “burn” we were exchanging CDs and making copies for each other.
So, I finally had a chance to sit down and listen to a Buddy Guy CD she gave me last night. It is not a new one. It is from 2001 and called “Sweet Tea.” Now, I love Buddy. I have since I saw him inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and saw him perform live. He blew me away. He may be the greatest modern, living blues guitar player out there. Maybe about as close as Hendrix as you can get and considering Jimi cited Buddy as a major inspiration to him, that gives you some idea.
One song in particular blew me through the back of the chair. It is the second song on the album. It is called “Baby Please Don’t Leave Me.” Buckle up and enjoy.
1 Comment
Thanks for touching on the blues Bryan – I am looking forward to learning more about Jazz myself. I will check out some of the links you provided. Seeing any live music makes it so much more powerful than just hearing it. I can’t wait to hit some clubs and go to the Chicago Jazz & Blues festivals – keep on jammin!