Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton -Play the Blues.

[Rajiv]

Hi,

Saw the DVD at a friends place a few days ago.

Superb.:clapping:

Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton - Corrine, Corrina - YouTube


Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton - Layla (DVD Rip) - YouTube

Regards
Rajiv

 

[moktan]

thanks for the links...however here is my two pence on Clapton and the blues...

someone said blues is more than music it is a state of being and that state has something to do with being short on cash and long on melanin...
going by that definition of the blues with which i tend to agree with (perhaps being short on cash and long on melanin myself) i cant stomach this notion of Clapton being a blues guy...he is too white, successful, rich and his blues a little too slick, with no earthy hard edges to it ...i think this observation in a review about the man hit it spot on..

"Johnson (Robert Johnson) was one dark dude; when he sang, "There's a hellhound on my trail," you believed him. When Clapton sings the same line, you wonder if the hound's name is Patches. The only genuine emotion Clapton musters is reverence."

 

[doors666]

clapton in not a blues guy, at best you can call it bluesy rock. if you want real blues guys, check out the blues hall of fame. even for a rocker, i dont have such a great opinion of him. some of his old 60s stuff was good though.

 

[moktan]

i think the earlier Clapton (of Cream- Fresh Cream, Diserali Gears and definitely when he was with John Mayall ) was very much a blues guitarist..however my comment was based more on his recent forays into hardcore blues especially as a singer..attempts like From the Cradle and that other one that he did with BB KIng..(could be Riding With the King)...i find all of them slick efforts that take the hard edge and grit out of the blues if you know what i mean....

 

[Bluu]

I see what you mean and agree with you Moktan. However, I still think some of his slick guitar-work is very good. I enjoyed his collaboration with Waters in The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking though that may be because I'm biased

While we are on the topic of blues, has anyone heard Martin Scorcese Presents the Blues with Jimi Hendrix? Jimi is a God and this album makes for great driving music. Raw and pure.

 

[doors666]

For the true blues fans, here's the blues hall of fame. list taken from wiki.

1980

Big Bill Broonzy
Willie Dixon
John Lee Hooker
Lightnin' Hopkins
Son House
Howlin' Wolf
Elmore James
Blind Lemon Jefferson
Robert Johnson
B. B. King
Sam Lay
Little Walter
Memphis Minnie
Muddy Waters
Charley Patton
Jimmy Reed
Bessie Smith
Otis Spann
T-Bone Walker
Sonny Boy Williamson I
Sonny Boy Williamson II

[edit] 1981

Bobby "Blue" Bland
Roy Brown
Blind Willie McTell
Professor Longhair
Tampa Red

[edit] 1982

Leroy Carr
Ray Charles
Big Walter Horton
Freddie King
Magic Sam

[edit] 1983

Louis Jordan
Albert King
Robert Nighthawk
Ma Rainey
Big Joe Turner

[edit] 1984

Otis Rush
Hound Dog Taylor
Big Mama Thornton
B.B. King

[edit] 1985

Chuck Berry
Buddy Guy
J. B. Hutto
Slim Harpo

[edit] 1986

Albert Collins
Tommy Johnson
Lead Belly
Sonny Terry

[edit] 1987

Percy Mayfield
Eddie Taylor

[edit] 1988

Mississippi John Hurt
Little Milton
Jay McShann
Johnny Winter

[edit] 1989

Clifton Chenier
Robert Lockwood, Jr.
Memphis Slim

[edit] 1990

Blind Blake
Lonnie Johnson
Bukka White

[edit] 1991

Sleepy John Estes
Billie Holiday
Fred McDowell
Sunnyland Slim

[edit] 1992

Skip James
Johnny Shines
Big Joe Williams

[edit] 1993

Champion Jack Dupree
Lowell Fulson

[edit] 1994

Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup
Wynonie Harris

Non Performers:

Bill "Hoss" Allen
John Lomax
Alan Lomax
John Richbourg
Gene Nobles

[edit] 1995

Jimmy Rogers

Non Performers:

Leonard Chess
Phil Chess

[edit] 1996

Charles Brown
David "Honeyboy" Edwards

Non Performers:

Bob Koester
Pete Welding

[edit] 1997

Brownie McGhee
Koko Taylor

Non Performer:

Bruce Iglauer

[edit] 1998

Luther Allison
Junior Wells

Non Performers:

Lillian Shedd McMurry
Sam Phillips

[edit] 1999

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown
Roosevelt Sykes

Non Performers:

Lester Melrose
Chris Strachwitz

[edit] 2000

Johnny Otis
Stevie Ray Vaughan

Non Performer:

Dick Waterman

[edit] 2001

Etta James
Little Junior Parker
Rufus Thomas

Non Performers:

Theresa Needham
Robert Palmer

[edit] 2002

Ruth Brown
Big Maceo Merriweather

Non Performer:

Jim O'Neal

[edit] 2003

Fats Domino
Pinetop Perkins
Sippie Wallace
Dinah Washington

Non Performer:

Ralph Bass

[edit] 2004

Bo Diddley
Blind Boy Fuller

Non Performer:

J. Mayo Williams

[edit] 2005

Walter Davis
Ike Turner

Non Performer:

H. C. Speir

[edit] 2006

Paul Butterfield
James Cotton
Roy Milton
Bobby Rush

Non Performers:

Bihari Brothers
Bobby Robinson
Jerry Wexler

[edit] 2007

Dave Bartholomew
Dr. John
Eddie Guitar Slim Jones
Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Non Performers:

Ahmet Ertegn
Art Rupe

[edit] 2008

Jimmy McCracklin
Mississippi Sheiks
Hubert Sumlin
Johnny "Guitar" Watson
Peetie Wheatstraw
Jimmy Witherspoon

Non Performers:

John Hammond
Paul Oliver

[edit] 2009

Reverend Gary Davis
Son Seals
Taj Mahal
Irma Thomas

Non Performers:

Clifford Antone
Mike Leadbitter
Bob Porter

[edit] 2010

Lonnie Brooks
Gus Cannon
W. C. Handy
Amos Milburn
Charlie Musselwhite
Bonnie Raitt

Non Performers:

Peter Guralnick
"Sunshine" Sonny Payne

[edit] 2011

Big Maybelle
Robert Cray
John Hammond, Jr.
Alberta Hunter
Denise LaSalle
J. B. Lenoir

Non Performers:

Bruce Bromberg
Vivian Carter & Jimmy Bracken
Samuel Charters
John W. Work III

 

[gobble]

thanks for the links...however here is my two pence on Clapton and the blues...

someone said blues is more than music it is a state of being and that state has something to do with being short on cash and long on melanin...
going by that definition of the blues with which i tend to agree with (perhaps being short on cash and long on melanin myself) i cant stomach this notion of Clapton being a blues guy...he is too white, successful, rich and his blues a little too slick, with no earthy hard edges to it ...i think this observation in a review about the man hit it spot on..

"Johnson (Robert Johnson) was one dark dude; when he sang, "There's a hellhound on my trail," you believed him. When Clapton sings the same line, you wonder if the hound's name is Patches. The only genuine emotion Clapton musters is reverence."

Now you are talking stuff I used to breathe decades back when I was a loafer err... in college.

Another paleface who came a little closer to being bluesy than Clapton was John Mayall although he still sounded white. I still have the Bluesbreakers album lying around somewhere for nostalgia sake although I never played it in the last many years.

Then I have singles of many of the greats listed by doors666 above as well, will pull out those CDs this week and give them a spin...


--G0bble

 

[santhosh]

I recently picked up Wynton Marsalis Quartet - The Magic Hour. Must have for Jazz-lovers ... amazing skills with the trumpet

 

[moktan]

Wynton Marsalis evokes strong opinion amongst jazz aficionados and critics...sibling Branford on the other hand has played with everyone from Phil Collins to the Dave Matthews band...deadheads of course will remember him for the sax solo in Eyes of World (Without a Net)

 

[musicbee]

Another paleface who came a little closer to being bluesy than Clapton was John Mayall although he still sounded white. I still have the Bluesbreakers album lying around somewhere for nostalgia sake although I never played it in the last many years.

I was listening to that album just yesterday (dug it out after reading this thread). Still a good listen.

 

[himadri]

Nice Combo. Wynton is a virtuoso. Good to see him follow his less illustrious brother Branford in experimentation.(Actually Branford is one of my favorites- a genuine all round musician.)
Clapton generates curiosity as usual.Smooth or not, his string bends are still one of the best - if only he had not overdone it producing a large body of not so impressive music.
cheers

 

[grubyhalo]

...someone said blues is more than music it is a state of being and that state has something to do with being short on cash and long on melanin...going by that definition of the blues with which i tend to agree with (perhaps being short on cash and long on melanin myself) i cant stomach this notion of Clapton being a blues guy...he is too white, successful, rich and his blues a little too slick, with no earthy hard edges to it ...i think this observation in a review about the man hit it spot on...

I wonder if you think of B.B. King's music as blues. It's much more smoother and less edgy than E.C's. If it was not for Clapton, I would've never discovered Howlin' Wolf, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, B.B. King and pretty much a large chunk of what I listen to. Ofcourse, I consider Clapton to be a dyed-in-the-wool bluesman...

P.S: Loved the Marsalis/Clapton combo! Thanks Rajiv!

 

[christian paul]

This is one of the excellent live recordings (may be not on technical terms), where the musicians as well as the audience are having a good time. In this album Taj Mahal has contributed his vocal in two of the tracks. He is one of my favourite artists. He too, like EC, had ventured into many branches of contemporary popular music.

ECs music was the reason I got into Blues. During the 90s till 2003-04, Mumbai had Groove music store (located at Eros Theatre complex), where they had superb Blues collection. Most of my blues collection came from the Groove.

As far as EC being not a Blues artist, I strongly disagree. Agreed, he has vocal limitations, however, one cannot dispute his mastery over the instrument and he is one of the best in the business. Black musicians are naturally endowed with singing and no-one on earth can compete with that. Like other branches in music business, Blues has been evolving over the years. Nowadays, blues connoisseurs may not accept some of the current music peddled as blues. However, one should recognise the fact that next generation of music lovers ears are tuned differently. I, for one, like all kinds of blues music, even the newly evolved strains.

EC is one of the few white-artists who single-handedly got new listeners of my generation involved in blues music, thereby made blues more accessible. Even most black blues musicians acknowledge this fact and some of them are indeed grateful to him for helping them out during their most difficult times. His contribution to drug- rehabilitation is well known, if one follows the Cross-roads concerts that he organises from time-to-time.

Last but not the least, EC is one of the finest human beings, who is a great ambassador of music, especially the Blues.

 

[jls001]

The blues have been warmly embraced by people of other enthnicities. So is jazz. And so is hip hop (Eminem - a white, and a certifiable misogynist - is perhaps the biggest star in the genre), or reggae (think The Police singing "So Lonely" or UB40 crooning away at "Red Red Wine"). Good things can't be confined.

Whether blues performed by people of other ethnicities is as visceral as those by the originators, is another question. But may be toning things down a bit brings in a wider audience (think gangsta rap versus the radio-broadcastable rap) and better chances of commercial success (think Sir Mix A Lot's blatantly carnal "Baby Got Back" versus any number by Jay Z).

I don't know what Clapton qualifies as, but the majority of his work is certainly tinged with the blues. An art form goes through the cycle of genesis (perhaps in the dumps and chain gangs), acceptance, popularity, and maybe decline and revival. At any stage in its life, that art form could be hybridised, and may produce newer forms. Whether being true to the art form or finding innovative branches to the tree is a virtue or not is for the beholder to decide. There will always be those who prefer Muddy Water's version of hard-core blues to Clapton's tamer blues (or blues tinged rock), and vice versa.

 

[doors666]

i club eric clapton in the classic rock genre. Thats where he belongs. the entire classic rock is pretty much based on blues. EC is just like a floyd, doors, led zep, jimi hendrix, ccr, dead, steely dan, santana etc.

 

[gobble]

Did anyone else notice or feel that the Clapton of the 80s was just a poor imitation clone of JJ Cale? He just seems to have lost his originality for a long time in the interim before he discovered himself again with some unplugged albums.

-G0bble

 

[moktan]

I wonder if you think of B.B. King's music as blues. It's much more smoother and less edgy than E.C's. If it was not for Clapton, I would've never discovered Howlin' Wolf, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, B.B. King and pretty much a large chunk of what I listen to. Ofcourse, I consider Clapton to be a dyed-in-the-wool bluesman...

P.S: Loved the Marsalis/Clapton combo! Thanks Rajiv!

depends on which BB King you are talking about.
the one who collaborated with EC to make Riding with the King , had lost a lot of his mojo by them.
amongst palefaces, i think Papa Doc Watson famous for his flatpicking guitar , sings a mean St.Louis Blues.

 

[moktan]

Last but not the least, EC is one of the finest human beings, who is a great ambassador of music, especially the Blues.

i think that is the point. he is an 'ambassador' of the blues. one could never call robert johnson the ambassador of the blues.

 

[captrajesh]

@Rajiv, loved the tracks, especially the latter.

@all other FMs who have posted on this thread, I'm truly humbled by the knowledge you guys have. I don't even know 1/100 of what you guys know about music in general and blues in particular but hey, can't we just enjoy music for what it is rather than get so judgmental!

 

[jls001]

can't we just enjoy music for what it is rather than get so judgmental!

+10 to that.