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Topic: New HSGA Tune - St. Louis Blues - Kay Das |
Gerald Ross
From:
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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Kay Das
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 9 Jan 2007 12:33 pm Background Notes |
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This classic blues number by W.C. Handy written over 80 years ago, probably the most famous of all blues, needs no introduction. Much about St. Louis Blues has been written and played, has almost taken a life of its own. See also related art (http://www.stlouisbluesart.com/gallery.html). Handy found his inspiration for this song while wandering the streets of St. Louis and meeting a black lady tormented by her husband’s absence. He said he tried “to combine ragtime syncopation with a real melody in the spiritual tradition.”
This version on steel guitar takes off from where the late Garney Nyss, who was himself influenced and taught by the great Tau Moe, left off and you can hear the original Garney Nyss recording from the shellac 78 record in the beginning...
Kay |
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Chuck S. Lettes
From:
Denver, Colorado
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Posted 9 Jan 2007 2:02 pm
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Hi Kay,
Good job as always. You sure play a variety of music on your steel guitars. Putting the orignal at the beginning was a nice touch.
Chuck |
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Gary Lynch
From:
Creston, California, USA
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Posted 9 Jan 2007 4:40 pm
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| Sweet and low down. |
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Tracy Sheehan
From:
Fort Worth, Texas, USA
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Posted 13 Jan 2007 12:48 am St Louie blues
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A little OT maybe but thje St Lousi blues is the first instrumental I ever played at a dance when i was very young and years before i took up steel. I played fiddle and i sure learned something.No one danced.On break the old kindly band leader took me off to the side and said don't pick that song and jazz it up.If you want to play jazz pick a fastr song.Be careful of your tempos.And a very slow bluues or sone bacame difficult later in yeras when so many bands depended on rushing and volume to try and get Drive.I have seenn very few band that can Play a Ray Price sone with out speeding.I suppose it is mostly all a free for all now.. |
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Kay Das
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 13 Jan 2007 8:03 am St Louis Blues is an institution to itself
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| I found St. Louis Blues an absolute delight to play as it gives so much room for improvisation and imagination...it is not a jazz tune, not a dance tune...but an institution to itself. My version very closely follows the Garney Nyss version recorded around 1958. Does anyone know of other steel guitar versions? |
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Mike D
From:
Phx, Az
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Posted 13 Jan 2007 8:14 am
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Beautifully done Kay!
Tracey, I agree with your comment about tempos and what you said about Ray Price tunes. Same thing holds true with Muddy Waters, very few can get that achingly slow 'draggy' feeling. |
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