Soulful Etta James - The Blues Was Her Business
Etta James at 2006 Common Ground Festival, Lansing, Michigan
Photo:John K. Addis/Wikipedia
The Blues is My Business
I saw Ms. Etta perform at the Oasis Nightclub in 1985. A couple of her musicians were former Rufus band members and together they all rocked the house! Talk about some serious pipes! Etta James was on a mission that night to sing the audience into a frenzy of soul satisfaction. The show started just after 10pm and she was still going strong well after 1pm. The only thing I hated was that it was mid-week and I had to be at work by 8am that morning. Otherwise, I would have stayed as long as Ms. Etta sang and her band played.
It was one of the absolute best live shows I have ever been to and I'll never forget it. The audience was fun, the music was fun, the performers were fun - oh Lord! It was a blast and I'm getting worked up just recalling it from my memory bank. And to top it off the cover charge was only ten bucks! Man, those were the days! God bless you, Ms. Etta. May you and Johnny Otis walk through the pearly gates hand-in-hand with a chorus of angels as your back up singers coz heaven is in for a musical treat. Hallelujah and let the good times roll!
Read the article SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE/Legendary blues singer Etta James dies in Calif.
<>
I can't pick a favorite song of hers. There are too many. Each seemed to be a gem which had some special treat for me. She could move me to tears; she could move me to get up and move myself.
When I listen to the pop singers today (especially the American Idol/X Factor ones), I hear singers who sound almost the same as each other. Cookie cutter singers who use the same melismas as everyone else instead of finding their own sound; their own voice. It makes me cherish people like Etta James even more. When Etta James sang, you knew you were listening to Etta. And she sang from a deep, private and vulnerable place. And you were transported.
Read the article HUFFINGTON POST/Etta James Dead: Legendary Singer Passes Away At 73 Years Old
<>
RIP, Miss Etta.
A delightful woman and a tremendous, vibrant talent.
I was privileged to meet her at the late, great S.F. Blues Festival (thank you, Tom Mazzolini) in the early '90s. In successive years, Tom brought in Miss Etta, Ruth Brown, and Koko Taylor, and each magnificent star brought their "A game" to Fort Mason.
When I met each of these ladies, I was enveloped in a full-body hug. But Miss Etta was unmatched: She kissed me on the mouth.
RIP, Miss Etta. Suffer no more and fill the heavens with song.
Read the article SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE/Legendary blues singer Etta James dies in Calif.
<>
Etta James was magnificent, always. From the sassy heat of her first record to the eloquent, intimate arrangements in her later years, such as "Don't Go To Strangers" and her covers of Billie Holiday's songs, she was always supreme.
I had the extreme pleasure of seeing her perform in Palm Springs about 8 years ago - she was in a wheelchair, and looking her age, but every now and then, the spotlights and shadows would converge in such a way as to make her look like a young woman again - it sent major shivers up and down my spine. So today will be my own personal Etta marathon, from "Roll With Me Henry" to "Someone to Watch over Me". She was an R&B powerhouse, and I will always love what she gave us.
Read the article SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE/Legendary blues singer Etta James dies in Cali
<>
So, so very sad. Etta James was unique and open, full of strength and energy and not easily defined by genre. Her early recordings were phenomenal, iconic, but it doesn't get any better than Blue Gardenia, released in 2001. Etta's mature voice is simultaneously rich and raw; a deeper, velvety beauty brimming with love, wisdom and spirituality. As a special gift, you can hear her mother, Dorothy Leatherwood, on vocals in the tune, Blue Gardenia. What beauty you have left us with, Etta. RIP, my sister of soul.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/
Etta James, Powerful Voice Behind ‘At Last,’ Dies at 73
<>
'At Last' became a theme for me... and I have her to thank for the many 'At Last' moments that have happened in my life. I took great pleasure in findin lots of her original cuts in the French Quarter of New Orleans when I was there in 2004... I shared that time with a very dear friend and we're both feeling like that trip meant so much more now that she's passed on, just as we felt a deep loss as Hurrican Katrina hit there just one year later. Rest in Peace, you've earned it Etta James.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/
Etta James, Powerful Voice Behind ‘At Last,’ Dies at 73
<>
I was once working on the computer of a client in a house in southern California. I was playing "At last". Construction workers who were working outside the building, young men with limited English, came in to find out who and what it was. The power of her performance crossed the barriers of time, space and language. And she passed right after her original mentor Johnny Otis, who died two days ago. I had followed her career for decades. The movie seemed to me to be a distorted vision of the events, especially her "affair" with Leonard Chess, which, according to Leonard's son Marshall, never happened. Nevertheless, she was a physical and emotional powerhouse from her teenage years on through out her life.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/
Etta James, Powerful Voice Behind ‘At Last,’ Dies at 73
<>
Saw her live at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California on July
4th 2011 with (believe it or not) the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. Amazing
concert, and Etta James (who I had never seen before) was outstanding. There
were real fireworks at the end of the concert for Independence Day, but she
provided aural fireworks to match. I'll remember the evening for years to come.
Read the article BBC/Etta James: Soul legend dies in California
<>
Her music is an essential aid to get me through the heartbreak times. Beautiful
melancholy in her voice and music. I rally don't like hearing covers of her work
it should be an illegal act. No-one can do her songs justice. Thanks for the
songs Etta James
Read the article BBC/Etta James: Soul legend dies in California
Violins Old and New -- Double-Blind Test Provides Striking Note on Players' Preferences
PNAS: Player preferences among new and old violins [ Image: The Spanish Stradivarius II of c. 1687-1689, Palacio Real (Royal Palace), Madrid via Wikipedia)
I'm actually impressed by the performance of the golden age violins. Even after 250 years of wear, they performed closely to modern high quality violins. It sounds like especially if you remove the oldest, you'd get almost 50/50 choices between old and new.
That all our precision crafting technology, our ability to observe sound waves, hasn't produced a meaningful improvement over the work of these craftsmen is somewhat remarkable. That the violins can still compete 250 years later, especially so. I can certainly believe that at one time a Stradivari was head and shoulders above other violins.
Read the article ARS TECHNICA/Old, million-dollar violins don't play better than the new models
<>
I'm really surprised. On the NPR website, they posted two clips from a modern instrument and a Strad, and I thought that the difference was fairly clear.
Having actually heard a friend play a little bit on an old Italian in person (she was instrument shopping at the time and the shop owner brought out a viola from the 1600s as a comparison), I thought that the old instruments sounded noticeably different - much smoother, perhaps more mellow and less bright, but really resonant. I've also heard that some of the old instruments are much less forgiving - they reveal a lot more of the flaws in one's playing, but sound noticeably better in the hands of a top notch musician.
In fairness, not every Strad is up to the same quality - clearly Stradivarius almost made some duds that are probably worth a lot more than they should be just because of the name. But some of the best instruments (i.e. the Davidov Strad owned by du Pre and now by Yo-Yo Ma) really do sound excellent, even on recordings.
Read the article ARS TECHNICA/Old, million-dollar violins don't play better than the new models
<>
There's really no mystery: an instrument is only a supplement to the player's skill. A great violinist can make a $500 instrument sound good, and with a so-called elite instrument that violinist will sound even better. A mediocre player will sound mediocre with or without a million dollar violin. The quality of the bow matters a lot as well.
What is often overlooked is that each particular instrument has its unique attributes, its pros and cons, and it's rare that a player finds an instrument that ideally fits their interpretive playstyle, physique, and strengths. A $5,000 instrument may be a better fit for someone than say one that's $50,000. It's sort of like light sabers in SW or wands in Harry Potter, your ideal tool is specific to you.
Read the article ARS TECHNICA/Old, million-dollar violins don't play better than the new models
<>
I think it's tough for anyone to remain unbiased when it comes to an item of antiquity, let alone a collector or artist; however, it's been known for some time in archaeology that modern day craftsmanship may not always capture the fine-detail craftsmanship of old.
It's pretty obnoxious to assume that a machine or assembly line could reproduce the craftsmanship that a single individual / master spent their entire life perfecting - it was a way of life for most that was also passed down from generations before them. Likewise, it's very ignorant to think that with all the technology we have along with a master craftsman that we can't produce likewise quality.
In the end it's simply a choice; if an artist "feels" that their craft is made better, which will ultimately affect their quality of output, that's all I care about.
Read the article ARS TECHNICA/Old, million-dollar violins don't play better than the new models
<>
The bottom line is really all about history and psychology. If you buy a Strat without knowing anything at all about who previously owned it, it really doesn't mean anything other than an investment.
But, when you have the history...and you find out that your instrument may have once been held by a famous person...well...then it takes on a whole new level.
I have always been a firm believer that a guitar is a guitar is a guitar when properly tuned and given proper intonation. I have played on $2,000 guitars and on $200 guitars, finding the action sometimes better on one, sometimes better on the other...the tonal qualities, etc coming down to the quality of pickup (or wood, if talking acoustic) and the strings, but not much more, really.
Then one day, I got to play a guitar that was (as the story goes) once used by a famous blues player I was familiar with. Just strumming a few chords and picking a few blues riffs transported me in such a way I'd never experienced before.
Why? Because I was thinking of those amazingly skilled fingers gliding across the very same frets I was clumsily fondling at that moment. And it was inspirational beyond measure. I swear I played better at that moment than I ever had before.
Never discount psychological effect on the performer when discussing the effect of a very old instrument vs. a modern piece
Read the article ARS TECHNICA/Old, million-dollar violins don't play better than the new models
<>
As a recording engineer for 15 years I can tell you this is a loaded test. 1. Sound is subjective. 2. In a live situation the room can determine which intrument sounds beter ( I've heard incredible $10K speakers sound 'un-listenable' in a 10X10 room ). A Trumpet, Clarinet or Violin in a 10X15 hotel room (?) has got to sound awful. 3. How many people here are listening to these audio files on $10 computer speakers with the frequency response of a telephone? And even if you had $10K studio monitors, what is this file type? mp3 or .wav. 4. The artists fingers and technique will result in radically different sounds.
Based on my experience I picked 2 as the strad, NOT based on what I though sounded better but because the second file had less treble which is what I'd expect from older wood ( I'm a classical guitarist as well ). Also using my studio monitors I found the dry/dead room made both these instrument sound less then I'd apprieciate compared to an ambient concert hall.
On a side note I can say I really appreciate the consistant sound quality of the carbon fibre cellos and violins ( and guitar ) because they appear unaffected by humidity changes!
Read the article NPR/Double-Blind Violin Test: Can You Pick The Strad?
<>
I'm a little amused at the people who proclaim "I got it right"! I have a bunch of friends with whom I regularly do double-blind wine tastings. More often than not, a $15 bottle will come out on top, and the $60 bottles are lost somewhere in the middle of the pack. At the tastings, we stress to newbies that "there are no wrong answers".
You like what you like. Yet occasionally, someone who placed the $60 bottle first will gleefully exclaim that they "got it right"! In this violin listening exercise, I preferred the first one, but I did not assume for an instant that therefore it "must" be the Strad. It's just the one I liked better. As a player, I'd be happy to own either one! By the way, there were only 2 samples here, so unless we can show that well over half the respondents said the second was better and was the Strad, we have not statistically shown anything. I bet if NPR had offered 10 samples, 9 modern and 1 Strad, then approximately 10% of us would be boasting that we "got it right".
Read the article NPR/Double-Blind Violin Test: Can You Pick The Strad?
<>
I watched a documentary which showed x-rays of Strads. Unlike many violins, there where no rings in the wood, at all. The forest he was known to get wood from, was very, very ancient. They believe that he had access to trees that had huge spaces between rings. No rings, means the vibrations can resonate unbroken through the instrument. And the trees had these large spaces due to the 'Little Ice Age'. Not just Strads, but the furniture from his town and period, also has the same 'no ring' wood.
Stradivari and Guarneri, were also neighbors. They probably used the same forest.
To really tell a Strad, you have to be in the same room, and not by recording. Listen to the lower notes.
Read the article NPR/Double-Blind Violin Test: Can You Pick The Strad?
READ MORE BEST COMMENTS: NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2011
