Hope for the blues..
I suppose if I spent time on Youtube, I'd be hip to soo many talents... This American kid should get together with the Brit and form a supergroup. May not work though....Cream,Zep, Sabath,Who all had ONE guitarist! Conflicting creativity? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IUQ87Al-huo |
The problem is that most people who start out in the blues feel the need to grow and make their own music. That’s not a criticism, the blues players from the 60s and the players from the Stevie Ray fueled blues revival of the 80s did the same thing. Also, the original black blues masters, the keepers of the flame, are just about all gone. There aren’t many musicians willing to devote a lifetime to mastering the blues. That’s OK, there is always someone making good blues records. I hope that sometime in the future we will have a full blown blues revival, but I doubt I’ll be around to see it. |
Considering Blind Lemon Jefferson, for one, was recording 100 years ago I'd say the original black blues masters are already long gone. But there are always some new ones that get it right. I remember when Keb Mo' and Corey Harris were the new kids on the scene (hell, actually I remember when Taj Mahal was just starting to record). Now we have Chris Thomas King and Gary Clark, Jr., to name a couple. It's a style that will always attract kids with talent and passion so I wouldn't worry about the blues fading into oblivion. |
It may be just me, but I don’t believe it is advanced technical ability that makes for a great blues player (in regard to speed, in particular), certainly not that alone. Jazz perhaps, but blues to me is about phrasing, melodicism, lyricism, and an individual, identifiable style. Plus "good" tone, of course. Same with singers. There are "hotter" guitarists than Ry Cooder, but none better. |
