|
| |
|
|
Ivory-tower blues
|
|
|
|
|
|
There’s been a buzz in the local music scene about Charles Sawyer’s class on "Urban Blues" at Harvard this semester, mostly because of its musical guests, a collection of respected New England–based performers including guitarist Debbie Davies, pianist David Maxwell, and the guitar and harmonica duo Paul Rishell and Annie Raines. A week ago Tuesday, the "headliner" in Sawyer’s series of musician lecturers appeared. Amid a series of concerts in the region, B.B. King found time to park his tour bus next to Lowell Lecture Hall for the night, and he spent roughly two and a half hours explaining the roots of his guitar technique, spinning the tale of his transition from farm boy to musical giant, and taking questions from the audience. For Sawyer’s students and the crowd who got wind of the appearance, which was open to the public, it was a chance to hear King play and talk in a very intimate setting, surrounded by a band much smaller than his usual orchestra — just two guitars, piano, and drums. Sawyer — a harmonica player, a historian, an educator, a musicologist, and the author of, among other things, 1980’s The Arrival of B.B. King (Da Capo) — was a genial host, and he seemed to have alerted many of the city’s more prominent blues musicians and DJs about the event. Rishell and Raines, Nicole Nelson, Chris "Stovall" Brown, Maxwell, WBOS’s Holly Harris, WMFO’s Jim Carty, and many others were present. King, a gregarious man at ease with the largest of audiences, was surprisingly tongue-tied for the first hour or so of what was billed as a 45-minute appearance. He spoke in circles and paused often to collect his thoughts; he admitted that he was a bit cowed by Harvard’s ivory tower reputation, alluding to his "Mississippi accent" and rural upbringing as the antithesis of its institutional polish. In truth, he needn’t have worried. B.B King is an unfailingly erudite, generous, sincere, and impressive man, as those in attendance witnessed. Although he never did complete a story about learning to fly an airplane, he did emphasize some basics in blues musicianship, demonstrating the importance of understanding the chord structure and the rhythm of tunes as a means of communicating with other players, and stressing the value of developing a personal style, like the ringing, vibrato-laden single-note guitar lines that are his trademark. King also offered two songs. Having summoned Sawyer and his harmonicas to the stage, he honored a request from guitarist Chris Brown for Sonny Boy Williamson’s "Eyesight to the Blind." Sawyer capably traded licks with King on the number, each repeating the other’s melody lines. The professor also lent his harp tone to King’s signature hit "The Thrill Is Gone," which was the event’s musical highlight, punctuated by an expressive guitar solo that in itself was an education in blues economy and expression.
BY TED DROZDOWSKI
|
