Ever stumbled upon an unexpected treasure that stirred your soul in ways you never imagined? Spare me from mundane and usher me into the realm of blues, where sorcerers of this genre weave enchanting spells. Bestow upon me the gift of acute hearing and open my heart to a profound appreciation of the mother of music!
I found myself in a Frederick P Rose Hall (Jazz at Lincoln Center) initially quite as comfortably as in a cozy music corner – a place like a snacks-beer type of booth. There, you sit on the weekends with your friends relaxing with the blues. At some point, you start realizing that they play the song that is touching your inner-self and you pay attention to nothing else but it!
Priceless city view from Frederick P. Rose Hall venue.
Shemekia Copeland – she was the first guest on stage that night and how she confronted me with the power of blues from her second song, turned my thinking about it upside down in a very pleasant way. I must admit that I knew about the genre only as much as I had to, to understand its basic significance in culture. There was Adam, Eva, and the Blues – the family of everything, which after committing a sin (a snake comes in), were evicted from paradise. Blues used to be questioned by regressive conservationists, banned in communist countries, and hated by those who wanted to belittle the history of black Americans. Ultimately, it bravely and peacefully settled in culture as the mother of modern music genres. Shemekia was its great ambassador:
Shemekia and her amazing band felt the blues very well!
Her voice was very strong, at times raspy, sometimes velvety, with a characteristic vibrato which she can interestingly sustain. I loved this authentic storytelling in “On Fire”, “Ain’t got time”, “I’m Gonna Walk ‘til I Ride”. I was constantly asking myself how was this possible to contain with one-self so many contrasting emotions. This is why blues is life, pain, forgiveness, and hope gifted to the audience. Shemekia beautifully interacted with us and finished her show with “Ghetto Child” – an emotional statement that evoked goosebumps. Now, when I am listening to this take from Rava Blues Festival (my home country!) – I can’t get enough of it!
After a short break, Bobby Rush entered the stage. Oftentimes, when I go to music events, I like not to do too much of research to stay uninfluenced in my judgment. When Bobby entered the stage, all I knew about him was that he had the same color jacket as my dress.
Bobby Rush – master musician with amazing artistic legacy.
Soon it turned out that he is an extremely gifted storyteller not only because next year he will be 91, but also because he gives the audience attention and shows respect. He gave me lesson 2. of blues that night. A chair, acoustic guitar, his melo declamation, and a left foot stomping. He knocked us out. I knew right away that I was looking at a musically historical show. In a glimpse of an eye, there will be no more artists with first-hand stories from plantations, unfortunate to know the burden their parents had to carry.
Bobby was born in Louisiana and started his official career in 1951 recording 429 songs. As he summarized a couple of times, he felt blessed by “(…)remembering so much shit (…)” with which he was successfully provoking the audience to bursts of laughter. He was flirting with us, dialoging, dancing, and trying to get to know some of us in the audience asking quick-witted questions.
We were carried away by his young soul and I-sing-it-I-mean-it style of performance: love, hate, sorrow, “Garbage man” who took his place seducing his woman, “Coochie coochie man” who takes what he wants, and then “Baby child” where a character is trying unsuccessfully satisfy a young woman but the trying itself is the most exciting thing. He could easily shower us with his life anecdotes until breakfast time. He was teasing us that this might be his last meeting with us but I believe Bobby will make it as I want to listen to the authentic live blues for the rest of my life!
Edit: After this article was still maturing to be published here, Bobby received his 3rd Grammy Award! Congratulations, Master!
photo credits: Sylwia Ogrodniczak
More about the artists:
https://www.bobbyrushbluesman.com
The venue: https://rb.gy/wkls00
jazzova.com 