June 24, 2008Hubert Sumlin, Howlin' Wolf, Janiva Magness, Sean Costello
Annie Leibovitz/Hubert Sumlin This isn't really a random thought, but it's not music news, either. I don't want to make a category called etc., or something stupid like that. But when it's over, it will explain why I didn't go to the Gemini Fest shindig last weekend. Last week, it was all about Hubert Sumlin. The 76-year-old, Mississippi-born, Arkansas-bred, Chicago-schooled longtime lead guitarist for Chester "The Howlin' Wolf" Burnett, is the subject of my story on the Extra front today. But first, check out this page -- myspace.com/theseancostellofoundationforbipolarresearch. And listen to the music while you're there. I have to admit something -- I hadn't listened seriously to the Wolf in years. I love hard Chicago-style blues, but as a guitar student, I'm still in the Delta and the Piedmont, with occasional "trips" to Kansas City. I knew Wolf was awe-inspiring and that Sumlin played hellacious blues, but I'd never really sat and listened as someone who knows a little guitar. I didn't even have any Wolf music, though I'm sure I used to have a nice, single-disc compilation. Who knows what happened to that ... So I went to Plan 9 and bought another single-disc compilation. You can hear samples of it in the story at roanoke.com. It is amazing music. (Excerpts from our recorded interview are streaming from the site, too.) The one that has stuck in my head the most is "Spoonful." After a slinky blues intro, Wolf's voice is all gravel and warning as he sings about the thing's people do for relatively little. Sumlin makes the absolute most out of just a few notes, perfectly answering Wolf's cautionary tale. Even after the story was already sent to press, I couldn't get enough of listening. I basically spent all weekend with the Wolf and Sumlin -- with some seasoning courtesy of the recent CDs from Janiva Magness and the late Sean Costello. It's a shame for me to miss a show like Gemini Fest. I'm really into Sol Creech Band, Alliens and some of the other local and regional acts. I dig Creech's latest record so much I listened to it last time I drove over the mountains to Black Mountain, N.C., to visit my grandmother. But sometimes, you just have to be alone, or in a car, with some music you have rediscovered blasting out. By the time I was able to pull away from that and do something else with my weekend, it was too late for Gemini Fest.  That's What Love Will Make You Do | I Want a Love I wish I could post some of the guitar breaks. Take my word for it -- the cats she hired to play on her record are tasteful beasts. The CD full of classic and contemporary roots tunes is just killer, and it's a shame that she's not a household word. Not that she would expect it, given her interpretation on "You Sound Pretty Good," a direct pow! at any artist-and-repertoire and/or management jackass who ever dismissed a good demo tape. But Magness comes with a reputation. She has been known to be brutal with sidemen, cursing them and threatening to fire them right on stage. (Haha! Hubert Sumlin would know about that, but he said that Howlin' Wolf firing him onstage was the "best firing" he ever had, because he learned better.) She admits on a youtube.com video that it's hard to make her happy, and she looks a little sheepish about it. But would you avoid a Ray Charles show because he might've fussed at the drummer? No. So, I hope someone books her in Roanoke, because I am all over that show. For now, the closest she'll come is Annapolis, July 7 at Ram's Head On Stage. Magness, who spent years as a foster child, had a tough childhood. These days, she is an advocate for Casey Family Programs' fostercaremonth.org. Read more about her younger days here. In May 2007, she won the Blues Music Award for Contemporary Female Artist of the Year. It was her second consecutive win. I've been so busy on this Wednesday (the day after I started this item), that I've not had time to write anything sufficient in my mind about my feelings toward Sean Costello's music. I'll get to that after I edit some audio files, but for now, read this piece from Atlanta's Creative Loafing. It's a controversial article among his friends and family, and some people posting on the message board that follows take the paper to task for focusing less on him in life -- he was an Atlanta guy -- than it did in death. Anyway, I've read the piece, and it does what good reporting does at times like these: It leaves you more informed, but also with empathy for a tortured guy like Costello. Before I get back to the audio editing, let me say that "We Can Get Together," is a great achievement. Buy it here -- http://www.deltagrooveproductions.com/music/releases/wecangettogether/main.html. More to come ... |
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Comments
[June 24, 2008 2:56 PM]
Sol : →http://www.Sol-Roots.comawesome articles on Hubert Sumlin, Tad!- Extra article & here- hope lotta people show up for his show at 202! He's a legend- I'll be giggin in NC festival but sending best wishes- peace PS thanks for talking about Sean Costello too
[June 24, 2008 4:21 PM]
Tad : →http://www.roanoke.com/entertainment/insideout/musicLadies and gentlemen, Sol Creech!! Love this guy -- great player, good singer. Check out my review of his latest CD. Then go add him on myspace.com/solcreechband.
Thanks, Sol. I hope North Carolina is treating you well.
[June 24, 2008 9:00 PM]
MollyHey! Awesome article on Hubert - he's always been a favorite of my husband and I and we just saw him play at a local festival. He was even more on fire than I'd seen him these last few years! Every time I see him play I feel really blessed!
I also wanted to thank you for the nod to Janiva Magness. I recently fell in love with her stuff. I was unaware, until your article, of her history as a "child of the system." I work as a drug and alcohol counselor with teens and many of my clients are children who are in "state custody" or in foster care.
I love Janiva's Redbook article and plan to share both your article and the Redbook story with my coworkers and clients.
Also, I await what you have to say about Sean Costello. We were fans of his ever since we first saw him play live when he was a teen. I was just saying to my husband the other day how much Sean reminded me of Hubert. I know that the two of them played together through the years and feel blessed to have been able to see that as well. Please remember to include in your article about Sean, that his family and girlfriend have established the Sean Costello Fund for Bi-polar Research.
The MySpace website is: profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=376654285
Raising awareness of Bipolar Disorder and advancing research on the treatment of is brain disorder is part of the mission of this fund.
Sean, like many other artists and certainly many of my clients, lived with his Bipolar Disorder for years. As is so often the case with the current treatments available, some days are better than others and some times nothing much helps.
Thanks for hitting home for me in so many ways with your article.
Peace ~ Molly Pellettiere, Kansas City, MO
[June 25, 2008 11:39 AM]
Tad : →http://www.roanoke.com/entertainment/insideout/musicThanks for the kind words, Molly. And thanks for posting the Sean Costello link.
I was just listening to "We Can Get Together" in the car as I ran errands, and again was amazed. His playing had reached such depth, and he appeared to have come very close to mastering what he wanted to do vocally.
Sounds like you and your husband have a great musical listening life together. That is so cool.
Stay in touch with us!
[June 25, 2008 2:15 PM]
PeteNice article on Hubert, Tad. That's the biggest headline size I've seen in Extra for awhile, and I totally agree that it's justified. Wolf's records are certainly the kind that endure as good return listening. Many folks start out expecting it to be the caustic Chicago blues sound they associate with Muddy, Jimmy Rogers, and so many others, which Wolf could do well, but much of Wolf's music rocked AND swung, and of course Wolf's vocal persona was captivating and unique.
There are several stages of Wolf's recordings; some people prefer the (pre-Sumlin) Memphis Sun Studio cuts with Willie Johnson's raunchy guitar, while the Sumlin stuff devides between the earlier ('56-60) and the mature stuff. The sound of these evolved with the evolution of Chess' studio sound; "Killing Floor" surely stands as the epitome, with it's savage chordal attack and the mind bending solo. No wonder it was a favorite of Hendrix, who played it on his return to America at Monterrey Pop. Hubert's influence can be heard in Hendrix, but was so uniquely his own that Clapton, Page, Vaughn, et al used it as more of an inspiration than a prototype. (Hubert somehow got a "Wah Wah" sound on "Taildragger" several years before the pedal was invented)! My personal favorites are in the 60's stereo era, and include "Louise", "Shake For Me", and especially "My Mind Is Ramblin'" where the interplay with Wolf is amazing!
Liquid, darting, surprising, all describe the qualities that make Hubert's lead playing unique. He is the master of glisses and pull-offs, but always uses them in his phrasing, not just to add flash.
Hubert's very first show after his stroke was with the Nighthawks here in Roanoke, and as noted in the book "Incurable Blues", Hubert's biography by Will Romano, Hubert was jumping up and down with delight at playing again, and he and the band really burned. I'm stoked to see him again...