Hi On Fri, 19 Feb 2010 12:16:55 -0500, theoj89...@aol.com wrote: > Robert Johnson seems to have lived mostly in the Mississippi Delta area - > one of the greatest exponents of 'delta blues'. The french settled in > Louisiana - the next state over, but didn't seem to have populated this > area of mississippi at that time. African folk music, brought over by the > slaves, is widely thought to be a major influence in delta blues, but I've > never heard that french music influenced them. The french influence is, > however, still very much alive in cajun folk traditions of Louisiana.
Well, to me the huge time span and the huge area of French influence was news to me, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Louisiana#French_exploration_and_colonization_.281528.E2.80.931756.29 which says: "The following present day states were part of the then vast tract of Louisiana: Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan[citation needed], Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota." > Robert Johnson's few blues recordings are still revered as some of the > absolute best blues recordings ever made, even though he only lived to 27 > years old. It is rumored that he sold his soul to the devil in return for > his music skill, and that a jealous husband poisoned and killed him. How > does Mouton compare to that? Well, Mouton lived a very long life. But I guess he also must have had sold his soul to the same character, considering the quality of his art. And I sincerely agree the statement that "Robert Johnson's few blues recordings are still some of the absolute best blues recordings ever made". And I still think "inegalitee" shared by blues, jazz, French baroque, Italian baroque, etc., is one necessary element in the secret of playing well... ;-) Isn't it strange/interesting/cute/important that African and European music had to go to America to meet and mix!? All the best, Arto To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
