Embedded Files
The Blues
The Blues
I believe it is my work to express in the Music the pain of loss, and injustice, and to give expression to the victory of outlasting our losses and to our facing down adversity. And in the Music I feel it a duty to remember the struggle and the overcoming, and to express faith, forbearance and hope in a better world.
I believe it is my work to express in the Music the pain of loss, and injustice, and to give expression to the victory of outlasting our losses and to our facing down adversity. And in the Music I feel it a duty to remember the struggle and the overcoming, and to express faith, forbearance and hope in a better world.
As a child growing up in the rural South, I went to church on Sunday and heard the choir sing. These old men and women sounded unlike any voices or music that I heard all the previous week on the radio or TV. It was at times music of joy and at other times of pain and suffering with the release of hope for what was possible for the future. These were people not trained in formal ways of creating music. But they were in tune to the ways and experiences of life and often spoke of what they had learned from those who had gone before.
As a child growing up in the rural South, I went to church on Sunday and heard the choir sing. These old men and women sounded unlike any voices or music that I heard all the previous week on the radio or TV. It was at times music of joy and at other times of pain and suffering with the release of hope for what was possible for the future. These were people not trained in formal ways of creating music. But they were in tune to the ways and experiences of life and often spoke of what they had learned from those who had gone before.
When I asked Ms. Sally Jones about a particular inflected harmony she sang on “Sweet Hour of Prayer,” she said that it was her mother, Ms. Mary Comer's line. When I asked Ms. Mary why she sang it that way, she said, “Honey, it just feels right.”
When I asked Ms. Sally Jones about a particular inflected harmony she sang on “Sweet Hour of Prayer,” she said that it was her mother, Ms. Mary Comer's line. When I asked Ms. Mary why she sang it that way, she said, “Honey, it just feels right.”
I often had to accompany the choir on piano. But to do it always seemed wrong. They never sang in pitch with the piano. They had their own internal tonalities going on. What I heard on those Sunday mornings more than 60 years ago was a community with a strong sense of identity and purpose.
I often had to accompany the choir on piano. But to do it always seemed wrong. They never sang in pitch with the piano. They had their own internal tonalities going on. What I heard on those Sunday mornings more than 60 years ago was a community with a strong sense of identity and purpose.
For me there is the problem of Blues being defined by nature of form and structure– blue notes, 12 bars, 8 bars, 16 bars, or other structural devices like harmony or melody line. These kinds of analysis come from academic Euro-centric thinking as opposed to “groove,” “swing,” and “emotion” which have for centuries been the underpinnings of the Music we play originating from Africa.
For me there is the problem of Blues being defined by nature of form and structure– blue notes, 12 bars, 8 bars, 16 bars, or other structural devices like harmony or melody line. These kinds of analysis come from academic Euro-centric thinking as opposed to “groove,” “swing,” and “emotion” which have for centuries been the underpinnings of the Music we play originating from Africa.
Sunday August 27th,
Sunday August 27th,
Manna House Workshops,
Manna House Workshops,
338 East 106th Street,
338 East 106th Street,
East Harlem NYC,
East Harlem NYC,
at 2 & 3pm
at 2 & 3pm
$20
$20
Limited space
Limited space
for Reservations
for Reservations
text or leave message
text or leave message
1-646-770 -1712
1-646-770 -1712
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