Erwin Helfer
Encyclopedia
Erwin Helfer is an American
boogie-woogie
, blues
and jazz
pianist
.
, Illinois
, United States
, as a child Helfer was more interested in classical music
than blues. Helfer was introduced to piano blues
as a young teenager growing up in Chicago in the early 1950s. Once Helfer discovered the blues he enrolled at Tulane University
in New Orleans, completing college with a degree in music. He spent time outside of class studying the piano style of Crescent City pianists Archibald and Professor Longhair
. Helfer began his professional career when Estelle Yancey
, wife of pianist and boogie-woogie pioneer Jimmy Yancey
, coaxed him to fill in for her accompanist, Little Brother Montgomery
. His initial performance with Yancey led to a long-term professional partnership with the singer that lasted to her death in 1986 at age ninety.
In 1982 Helfer began his own record company, Red Beans, and released albums by Estelle Yancey
, Blind John Davis
, Johnny "Big Moose" Walker, and other Chicago blues artists. He was nominated for the Blues Music Awards in 2003, for 'Comeback Blues Album of the Year', for his CD
I'm Not Hungry But I Like To Eat - Blues. Recently he has played at the Chicago Jazz Festival
, 2005–2007; Hungary
's Debrecen Jazz Festival, 2005, the Chicago Blues Festival
, in June 2010, and throughout Chicago's blues clubs
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
boogie-woogie
Boogie-woogie
Boogie-woogie has the following meanings:*Boogie-woogie, a piano-based music style*Boogie-woogie , a swing dance or a dance that imitates the rock-n-roll dance of the 1950s*"Boogie Woogie" , a song by EuroGroove and Dannii Minogue...
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
.
Biography
Born and raised in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, as a child Helfer was more interested in classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
than blues. Helfer was introduced to piano blues
Piano blues
Piano blues refers to a variety of blues styles, sharing only the characteristic that they use the piano as the primary musical instrument. Boogie woogie is the best known kind of piano blues, though barrelhouse, swing, R&B, rock and roll and jazz are strongly influenced by early pianists who...
as a young teenager growing up in Chicago in the early 1950s. Once Helfer discovered the blues he enrolled at Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
in New Orleans, completing college with a degree in music. He spent time outside of class studying the piano style of Crescent City pianists Archibald and Professor Longhair
Professor Longhair
Professor Longhair was a New Orleans blues singer and pianist...
. Helfer began his professional career when Estelle Yancey
Estelle Yancey
Estelle "Mama" Yancey was an American blues singer. She was nominated four times for the Blues Music Awards as "Traditional Blues Female Artist."-Life and career:...
, wife of pianist and boogie-woogie pioneer Jimmy Yancey
Jimmy Yancey
James Edwards "Jimmy" Yancey was an African American boogie-woogie pianist, composer, and lyricist. One reviewer noted him as "one of the pioneers of this raucous, rapid-fire, eight-to-the-bar piano style"....
, coaxed him to fill in for her accompanist, Little Brother Montgomery
Little Brother Montgomery
Eurreal Wilford "Little Brother" Montgomery was an American jazz, boogie-woogie and blues pianist and singer....
. His initial performance with Yancey led to a long-term professional partnership with the singer that lasted to her death in 1986 at age ninety.
In 1982 Helfer began his own record company, Red Beans, and released albums by Estelle Yancey
Estelle Yancey
Estelle "Mama" Yancey was an American blues singer. She was nominated four times for the Blues Music Awards as "Traditional Blues Female Artist."-Life and career:...
, Blind John Davis
Blind John Davis
Blind John Davis was an African American, blues, jazz and boogie-woogie pianist and singer. He is best remembered for his recordings including "A Little Every Day" and "Everybody's Boogie".-Biography:...
, Johnny "Big Moose" Walker, and other Chicago blues artists. He was nominated for the Blues Music Awards in 2003, for 'Comeback Blues Album of the Year', for his CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
I'm Not Hungry But I Like To Eat - Blues. Recently he has played at the Chicago Jazz Festival
Chicago Jazz Festival
The Chicago Jazz Festival is a popular and well-known four day free celebration of jazz at Petrillo Music Shell in Grant Park in downtown Chicago. It is run by the Jazz Institute of Chicago during Labor Day weekend, integrating both world-famous and local artists...
, 2005–2007; Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
's Debrecen Jazz Festival, 2005, the Chicago Blues Festival
Chicago Blues Festival
The Chicago Blues Festival is an annual event held in June that features three days of performances by top-tier blues musicians, both old favorites and the up-and-coming. It is hosted by the City of Chicago Mayor's Office of Special Events, and always occurs in early June...
, in June 2010, and throughout Chicago's blues clubs
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
.
Selective discography
| Year | Title | Genre | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Blues, Boogie Woogie Piano Duets & Solos | Blues, Boogie | Flying Fish |
| 1976 | Boogie Piano Chicago Style | Boogie | Big Bear |
| 1979 | On the Sunny Side of The Street | Blues, Jazz | Flying Fish |
| 1987 | Chicago Piano | Blues, Jazz | Red Beans |
| 2001 | I'm Not Hungry But I Like To Eat - Blues | Blues, Boogie, Jazz | Sirens |
| 2003 | St. James Infirmary (with Skinny Williams) | Jazz, Blues and R&B | Sirens |
| 2005 | Careless Love | Blues, Boogie, Jazz | The Sirens Records |