Nick Katzman
Encyclopedia
Nick Katzman is an American
blues
musician
. Katzman was born in New York City
, and lives in both Manhattan
and Berlin
, Germany
. He plays in a variety of musical genres, including Chicago blues
, Mississippi blues, Texas blues
, and ragtime
.
and jazz
at Antioch College
in Ohio
.
Katzman cites amongst his teachers the blues masters Mississippi John Hurt
, Mance Lipscomb
, Reverend Gary Davis
, Stefan Grossman
and Rory Block
.
About 40 years ago, Katzman moved to Germany to live, tour and perform.
, country blues
, folk music
and hokum
ragtime
. His music has been described as a "wide range of blues from Delta to Gary Davis." Katzman's music has been compared to Tom Ball and Rich Stein. He has also been compared favorably with his blues forebears Blind Blake
and The Rev. Gary Davis.
Katzman has collaborated with a number of senior Blues musicians, including Champion Jack Dupree
, Carey and Lurie Bell, Louisiana Red, and Guitar Crusher.
Katzman also has mentor
ed a number of younger musicians, including Thomasina Winslow
. He continues to learn to play new instruments, including the lute
.
In the United States, Katzman often plays at The Good Coffee House at the Ethical Culture Society meeting house in Brooklyn
, New York, New York. He has been based (and currently as of 2007) in Germany
. In May and June 2007, Katzman toured Europe
with Winslow, including a headlining appearance at the Stamford, England at the Stamford Arts Centre. He returned to the Good Coffee House in April 2008, with "special guests Paul Handelman on harp and Thomasina Winslow on guitar and vocals."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. Katzman was born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and lives in both Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. He plays in a variety of musical genres, including Chicago blues
Chicago blues
The Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
, Mississippi blues, Texas blues
Texas blues
Texas blues is a subgenre of blues. It has had various style variations but typically has been played with more swing than other blues styles....
, and ragtime
Ragtime
Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...
.
Biography
As a teenager in the 1960s, Katzman saw many of the surviving country blues guitarists who travelled north to play their music in clubs and at the folk festivals. He studied classical musicClassical 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...
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...
at Antioch College
Antioch College
Antioch College is a private, independent liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio, United States. It was the founder and the flagship institution of the six-campus Antioch University system. Founded in 1852 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1853 with politician and...
in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
.
Katzman cites amongst his teachers the blues masters Mississippi John Hurt
Mississippi John Hurt
John Smith Hurt, better known as Mississippi John Hurt was an American country blues singer and guitarist.Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself how to play the guitar around age nine...
, Mance Lipscomb
Mance Lipscomb
Mance Lipscomb was an American blues singer, guitarist and songster. Born Beau De Glen Lipscomb near Navasota, Texas, United States, he as a youth took the name of 'Mance' from a friend of his oldest brother Charlie .-Biography:Lipscomb was born April 9, 1895 to an ex-slave father from Alabama and...
, Reverend Gary Davis
Reverend Gary Davis
Reverend Gary Davis, also Blind Gary Davis, was an American blues and gospel singer and guitarist, who was also proficient on the banjo and harmonica...
, Stefan Grossman
Stefan Grossman
Stefan Grossman is an American acoustic fingerstyle guitarist and singer, music producer and educator, and co-founder of Kicking Mule records.-Early life and influences:Born in Brooklyn, New York, to Herbert and Ruth Grossman...
and Rory Block
Rory Block
-Festival appearances:*Long Beach Blues Festival - 1993*San Francisco Blues Festival - 1999*Notodden Blues Festival - 2006-See also:*List of blues musicians*List of contemporary blues musicians*List of Austin City Limits performers-External links:****...
.
About 40 years ago, Katzman moved to Germany to live, tour and perform.
His music
Katzman discussed his musical influences as a mix of various strains of the blues, including Delta bluesDelta blues
The Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from Memphis, Tennessee in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south, Helena, Arkansas in the west to the Yazoo River on the east. The...
, country blues
Country blues
Country blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
, folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and hokum
Hokum
Hokum is a particular song type of American blues music - a humorous song which uses extended analogies or euphemistic terms to make sexual innuendos...
ragtime
Ragtime
Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...
. His music has been described as a "wide range of blues from Delta to Gary Davis." Katzman's music has been compared to Tom Ball and Rich Stein. He has also been compared favorably with his blues forebears Blind Blake
Blind Blake
"Blind" Blake was an American blues and ragtime singer and guitarist.-Biography:...
and The Rev. Gary Davis.
Katzman has collaborated with a number of senior Blues musicians, including Champion Jack Dupree
Champion Jack Dupree
William Thomas Dupree, best known as Champion Jack Dupree, was an American blues pianist. His birth date is disputed, given as July 4, July 10, and July 23, in the years 1908, 1909, or 1910. He died on January 21, 1992.-Biography:...
, Carey and Lurie Bell, Louisiana Red, and Guitar Crusher.
Katzman also has mentor
Mentor
In Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcimus or Anchialus. In his old age Mentor was a friend of Odysseus who placed Mentor and Odysseus' foster-brother Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus, and of Odysseus' palace, when Odysseus left for the Trojan War.When Athena visited Telemachus she...
ed a number of younger musicians, including Thomasina Winslow
Thomasina Winslow
Thomasina Winslow is an American blues musician from the Albany, New York area, and the daughter of folk musician Tom Winslow. As a toddler, she sang back-up on her father's folk music classic Hey Looka Yonder ; also singing a solo version of One-Two-Three, another version of which she produced on...
. He continues to learn to play new instruments, including the lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
.
In the United States, Katzman often plays at The Good Coffee House at the Ethical Culture Society meeting house in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York, New York. He has been based (and currently as of 2007) in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. In May and June 2007, Katzman toured Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
with Winslow, including a headlining appearance at the Stamford, England at the Stamford Arts Centre. He returned to the Good Coffee House in April 2008, with "special guests Paul Handelman on harp and Thomasina Winslow on guitar and vocals."
Discography, solo, acoustic
- "Mississippi River Bottom Blues" (Kicking Mule KM 111) (1975)
- "How to Play Delta Blues Guitar" (Kicking Mule/Sonet SNKF 112) (1976, UK issue of KM 111)
- "Panic When the Sun Goes Down" (Kicking Mule/Sonet SNKF 112 (197?, UK re-issue of KM 111)
- "Sparkling Ragtime and Hardbitten Blues" (Kicking Mule KM 167) (1980)
Discography, producer and compilations
- Guitar Crusher's "Googa Mooga" CD (Blue Sting Records) (producer, player)
- Eb Davis's "Good Time Blues" (Acoustic Music) (producer)
- Played with Ruby GreenJoy of Cooking (band)Joy of Cooking was an American folk-rock band formed in 1967 in Berkeley, California. It was led by two women, pianist Toni Brown and guitarist Terry Garthwaite . The rest of the band consisted of bass guitarist David Garthwaite , drummer Fritz Kasten and percussion player Ron Wilson...
on the two-volume "The Best Of Kicking Mule" CD (Laserlight label) and "Sparkling Ragtime & Hardbitten Blues", see above - "Guitarist - Composer Sampler" (Kicking Mule 1997)
- Artist Direct Artist Direct web page
- He is producing, as of 2009, a duo CD with Thomasina Winslow.