The Country Blues

A new review is up– soulful San Francisco Bay area singer Rabia Yamazawa is featured.

We recently uploaded new reviews. Contributing writer Len Poche wrote a profile of Steve James, and we also featured Mississippi-to-New York transplant Lowry Hamner. Plus, we added PHOTOS of John Kay (formerly of Steppenwolf, who had always been an acoustic blues musician); Murali Coryell-son of jazz great Larry Coryell, and a wonderful blues musician on his own right; Lowry Hamner; Beale Street, Memphis, street musicians Ben Prestage and Richard Johnston, and a photo of the late folk-blues multi-instrumentalist Mindy Jostyn. Also, slide virtuoso Ed Gerhard and N’Awlins pianist Dr. John.
Coming soon: Profile of slide great Roy Rogers.

-FM

We just published an excellent article by contributing writer John Williams, “Old Time Guitar Recording,” to help aspiring musicians with the sound techniques of the original blues. We also just added full artist features for Roberto Luti, Stan Hirsch and Mary Flower.

The new Op-Ed section features various articles, opinions, reviews and other perspectives. Contributing writers are welcomed. We recently uploaded two creative pieces by Rafael Otto, who wrote an Ode to Otha Turner and a tribute to Robert Johnson. We also received an extensive article by Jim Sallis “Lonnie Johnson”.

Some of the pieces are older, but still relevant. New articles will be added constantly.

The photo gallery is now up and running. Over the past decades my wife Bibiana Huang Matheis, a professional photographer, has taken photographs of the musicians I have interviewed or played with. Here are a few of the blues musicians – along with a non-blues musicians like Pete Seeger, who is in it because, well, he’s Pete Seeger.
A few of these great musicians are no longer with us and are immortalized in these photos: John Jackson, Jesse Mae Hemphill, Otha Turner, and John Cephas.

Bibiana also photographed the covershot of this website, featuring the National El Trovador guitar. Check out Bibiana’s website at www.bibiphoto.com for more wonderful artistic photography.

The award winning radio documentary “I Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down” is a six-hour primer of the country blues from Mississippi. You can listen online or download the program in 12 sections, each between 25-30 minutes in length. This program aired in the USA, Australia and Germany. While thecountryblues.com focuses on contemporary acoustic blues, this program is a history of the blues. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

Find them at the  Podcasts page!  I hope you have high-speed connection. Otherwise, plan for plenty of download time.

-FM

Dear Friends,

Here we are out the gate. August 2009 was our launch month.
Thanks to my daughter Maya for designing and setting up this website. As you can see, we are still building the site. Before long, we will offer Podcasts. We are also still trying to get photos from all the artists.

Already, we need to offer explanations. Sadly, we lost the great Piedmont bluesman John Cephas during the time when I was writing the text for the artist features. The website is devoted to contemporary bluesmen and women, but life is not permanent, as we know. Already, with John’s passing we had to confront a policy decision : We will not remove anyone from the list once they are on it. I started to write in June 2009. Everyone included was alive when we started, as this is not a history of the country blues. But, when we lose a friend, we keep the memory alive.

Please tell your friends and come back soon!

FM