Sunday Morning Blues - Bobby "Blue" Bland, Charles Brown

Continuing my adventures through the ABC Of The Blues box set, Volumes 3 and 4 provide this mornings soundtrack.

Bobby "Blue" Bland
We start this volume with Blues from Beale street in Memphis, Bobby is one of the many Soul Blues singers that mixed blues music with gospel lyrics. One of the early members of the Beale Streeters, as the ad hoc musicians playing along Beale in the 1950s were known. He played Soul and R&B through the 1960s. The late 60s saw him hit some hard times, and he quit drinking by 1971. After that he had moderate success on the R&B charts, but pop-chart success eluded him despite attempts to infuse his blues with more modern sounds. By 1980 he would return firmly to his roots, and touring with B. B. King extensively. Bland never gained mass popularity or great success, but he continues to put out music and tour. One of the many musicians that other musicians look to, and often pay tribute to.

Until this box set I'd never heard any of Bland's recordings, so I don't know exactly how well this represents his body of work. But it's a good mellow, sometimes jazzy, style of blues. Bland's voice is a smooth slow style most of the time. There's a very laid back quality to a lot of these tracks, but some of them pick up a nice swing beat reminiscent of a big-band style.

Charles Brown
A Texas blues pianist from the late 1940s onward. Charles was part of a post-war movement in blues that started to add ensembles, and occasional arrangements into blues music. His style is very close to jazz, with lighter piano accompaniment, and softer sounds. As Rock'n'roll advanced in the 1950s, and blues advanced with it, Charles found his popularity in keeping with the Traditional Blues Sound, which had as much to do with stripping out the rougher elements in blues music as it did with him being 'authentic' in his blues.

If there's an original lounge-sound, it's probably found in the clubs of 1940s Los Angeles where Charles settled, becoming a fixture there. His traditional folk-blues kept him popular for sometime. This collection is even more mellow than Bland's, his voice low and smooth, the piano light. The set evokes a low light setting, candles, a quiet club. Despite the eras increasing use of bands and arrangements, there are almost none here in this selection. It also throws in, at the end, the once very popular original recording of Merry Christmas, Baby.

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown
 Another Texas bluesman, Clarence didn't stick to just blues though. Starting in 1947, getting his break as a stand in at a T-Bone Walker concert. He's been influential in fiddle circles, and often diverges to cajun, swing, and boogie, and other styles as well. He won a grammy in 1981 for Best Traditional Blues album, but has often expressed his dislike at being pegged just as a blues artist.

Picking up the pace a little from the previous volumes slower selections, but isn't quite up to close to rock, this is still a traditional folk-blues style, though a few tracks upswing and aren't completely blues, some bluegrass is always at the edges.

Blue Lu Barker
Louise Barker started her career by running away with guitarist Danny Barker in 1930 and building a reputation in New Orleans. In 1938 her career started to take off, making her an early female blues and jazz singer. Billie Holliday considered Louise her biggest influence. Coming from a pre-WWII sound, her singing - and backing band - is as much jazz as it is blues, switching between the two freely. She was a staple in the New Orleans scene for both jazz and blues throughout her entire career.

The music here is upbeat, veering well from the folk-blues of the last few artists in this collection. There's a very big jazz influence here, especially in the faster boogie songs. But when she slows down she has the now classic smoky blues voice.

Next Sunday - Big Bill Broonzy, Scrapper Blackwell, Blind Blake, Champion Jack Dupree, and Cousin Joe.