Clark Terry and Muddy Waters

I'm a huge fan of jazz as well as blues. Clark Terry is one of the last living 'greats' of jazz...legendary sessions like the one with Coleman Hawkins when they recorded Stardust or with Oscar Peterson are tremendous examples of improvisation and musicianship. For giants like Miles Davis and even Quincy Jones, Clark Terry was their mentor.

I often struggle to mingle my love of jazz with my love of country blues. Though they can have their stark differences, it makes it all the more exciting when there are crossovers between the two genres. Some moments that come to mind are Lead Belly with early New Orleans legend Bunk Johnson, (one of the greatest phrasers of the blues) Sidney Bechet with Josh White, T-Bone Walker with Jazz at the Philharmonic, etc. So, when I found this gem, which might be the finest crossover example, I had a nerdy little freakout. Clark Terry with Muddy Waters...man, that's great stuff.

RIP Doc Watson

Very sad past few days...first Duck Dunn, then Robin Gibb, and now one of the greatest folk musicians to ever live, Doc Watson. We all know he was a tremendous flatpicker and he certainly set the standard for incomparable musicianship. He lived a long and fulfilling life - the loyalty of Doc's fans will definitely keep his music alive for many, many years to come!

As Bela Fleck put it, "there will be another like him..."

Lesson on Make Me A Pallet On the Floor

Here's a lesson on Willie Brown's great rendition of one of my favorite songs. On the original recording, his picking is a big ragged at times which makes things a little more forgiving if you'd like to go for it note for note! I think this is a really underrated piece in terms of the fantastic guitar work that was done.

Based on his sound (the way he picks the strings, bends the notes, etc) and his gravelly voice, I really do think that this IS the Willie Brown who recorded Future Blues and M & O Blues...not to mention that I'm pretty sure Son House was at the session to confirm this (fact check?).

Playing Slide Like A Singer

You'll notice that the great slide players, Charlie Patton, Fred McDowell, Blind Willie Johnson, Derek Trucks, etc, make their bottleneck playing sound like a voice. Hopefully, with this lesson you'll get some ideas for how to practice this!

Using Vibrato With the Slide

I know from experience how vibrato can start out as a painful ordeal with improper technique. The tensing of the shoulder and muscles in the arm can be pretty bothersome and might even discourage using vibrato, at times! So, I thought I'd make a short little video to illuminate how to fix this...it's all about the thumb-planting.

Chet Atkins, Leo Kottke, and Doc Watson Jamming

This might be what you'd call a must-see video. Chet Atkins, Doc Watson, Leo Kottke playing a tune by John Fahey! 'Nuff said there...

Leo Kottke's pretty young in this video - it's cool to see that he's enjoying the experience just as much as we, as the listeners, enjoy it. This sort of coming-together of greats doesn't happen TOO often...it reminds me of the Billie Holiday session where the jazz greats came together to play Fine and Mellow, or when John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins crossed paths to play Tenor Madness. Even better, though, with this video you actually get the organic, backstage eavesdrop experience! It's a good one.

Starting Out With Slide Guitar

I thought I'd start a series of videos outlining a lot of what is important to know if you'd like to to start playing slide in the blues idiom. Maybe, if you've thought a bunch of times about dipping into this style but haven't had the chance, this video might give you a decent start!

If the old Delta Blues musicians is what you prefer, slide guitar is practically a must-learn style. B.B King once said that he developed his vibrato technique because he wanted to play slide but he couldn't! Thus he did his cool vibrato to compensate...but, unlike B.B., we've all got Youtube so there's no excuse!