Piano blues
Encyclopedia
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 played the blues. Notable blues pianists include Roosevelt Sykes
, Memphis Slim
, Otis Spann
, Sunnyland Slim
, Pinetop Perkins
, Dr. John
, and Ray Charles
.
Piano Blues
is also the title of an episode of Martin Scorsese
's documentary series The Blues
. The episode was directed by Clint Eastwood
, himself an avid piano blues enthusiast and one-time jazz pianist. Eastwood interviews several blues and jazz pianists, including Marcia Ball
, Pinetop Perkins
, Dave Brubeck
, Jay McShann
, Ray Charles
, and Dr. John
. More information is available on the episode's website.
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...
styles, sharing only the characteristic that they use the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
as the primary musical instrument. Boogie woogie is the best known kind of piano blues, though barrelhouse
Barrelhouse
Barrelhouse can refer to:*A "juke joint", a bar or saloon. Originates from the storage of barrels of alcohol.*An early form of jazz with wild, improvised piano, and an accented two-beat rhythm ....
, swing, R&B, rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
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...
are strongly influenced by early pianists who played the blues. Notable blues pianists include Roosevelt Sykes
Roosevelt Sykes
Roosevelt Sykes was an American blues musician, also known as "The Honeydripper". He was a successful and prolific cigar-chomping blues piano player, whose rollicking thundering boogie-woogie was highly influential.-Career:Born in Elmar, Arkansas, Sykes grew up near Helena but at age 15, went on...
, Memphis Slim
Memphis Slim
Memphis Slim was an American blues pianist, singer, and composer. He led a series of bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump blues, included saxophones, bass, drums, and piano. A song he first cut in 1947, "Every Day I Have the Blues", has become a blues standard, recorded by many other...
, Otis Spann
Otis Spann
Otis Spann was an American blues musician, who many consider the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist.-Career:Born in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, Spann became known for his distinct piano style....
, Sunnyland Slim
Sunnyland Slim
Albert "Sunnyland Slim" Luandrew was an American blues pianist, who was born in the Mississippi Delta, and later moved to Chicago, Illinois, to contribute to that city's post-war scene as a center for blues music...
, Pinetop Perkins
Pinetop Perkins
Joseph William Perkins , known by the stage name Pinetop Perkins, was an American blues musician, specializing in piano music...
, Dr. John
Dr. John
Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. , better known by the stage name Dr. John , is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as Zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll.Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he came to wider...
, and Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
.
Piano Blues
Piano Blues (film)
Piano Blues is a 2003 documentary film directed by Clint Eastwood as the seventh installment of the documentary film series "The Blues" produced by Martin Scorsese. The film features interviews and live performances of piano players Ray Charles, Dave Brubeck, Dr. John and Marcia Ball.In the...
is also the title of an episode of Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
's documentary series The Blues
The Blues (film)
The Blues is a 2003 documentary film series produced by Martin Scorsese, dedicated to the history of blues music. In each of the seven episodes, a different director explores a stage in the development of the blues...
. The episode was directed by Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
, himself an avid piano blues enthusiast and one-time jazz pianist. Eastwood interviews several blues and jazz pianists, including Marcia Ball
Marcia Ball
Marcia Ball is an American blues singer and pianist, born in Orange, Texas but who grew up in Vinton, Louisiana. She was described in USA Today as "a sensation, saucy singer and superb pianist.....
, Pinetop Perkins
Pinetop Perkins
Joseph William Perkins , known by the stage name Pinetop Perkins, was an American blues musician, specializing in piano music...
, Dave Brubeck
Dave Brubeck
David Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...
, Jay McShann
Jay McShann
Jay McShann was an American Grammy Award-nominated jump blues, mainstream jazz, and swing bandleader, pianist and singer....
, Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
, and Dr. John
Dr. John
Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. , better known by the stage name Dr. John , is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as Zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll.Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he came to wider...
. More information is available on the episode's website.
Notable artists
- Albert AmmonsAlbert AmmonsAlbert Ammons was an American pianist. Ammons was a player of boogie-woogie, a bluesy jazz style popular from the late 1930s into the mid 1940s.-Life and career:...
- Leroy CarrLeroy CarrLeroy Carr was an American blues singer, songwriter and pianist, who developed a laid-back, crooning technique and whose popularity and style influenced such artists as Nat King Cole and Ray Charles. He first became famous for "How Long, How Long Blues" on Vocalion Records in 1928.-Life and...
- Ray CharlesRay CharlesRay Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
- James CrutchfieldJames CrutchfieldJames Crutchfield was an American St. Louis, Missouri based, barrelhouse blues singer, pianist, and songwriter, whose career spanned seven decades...
- Charles "Cow Cow" DavenportCow Cow DavenportCharles Edward "Cow Cow" Davenport was an American boogie woogie piano player. He also played the organ and sang.-Career:...
- Blind John DavisBlind John DavisBlind 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:...
- Fats DominoFats DominoAntoine Dominique "Fats" Domino, Jr. is an American R&B and rock and roll pianist and singer-songwriter. He was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Creole was his first language....
- Champion Jack DupreeChampion Jack DupreeWilliam 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:...
- Cecil GantCecil GantCecil Gant was an American blues singer and pianist.-Biography:Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Gant worked local clubs through the mid 1930s up until the Second World War, when he enlisted in the United States Army. Though his piano was blues-based, vocally he was a crooner of considerable...
- Dr John
- Henry GrayHenry Gray (musician)Henry Gray is an African-American blues piano player and singer. He has been playing for more than seven decades, and has played with a multitude of artists including Robert Lockwood, Jr., Billy Boy Arnold, Morris Pejoe, the Rolling Stones, Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf among many others...
- Booker T. LauryBooker T. LauryBooker T. Laury was an American boogie-woogie, blues, gospel and jazz pianist and singer. Over his lengthy career, Laury worked with various musicians including Memphis Slim and Mose Vinson...
- Meade "Lux" Lewis
- Professor LonghairProfessor LonghairProfessor Longhair was a New Orleans blues singer and pianist...
- Willie LoveWillie LoveWillie Love was an American Delta blues pianist. He is best known for his association with, and accompaniment of Sonny Boy Williamson II.-Biography:...
- Jay McShannJay McShannJay McShann was an American Grammy Award-nominated jump blues, mainstream jazz, and swing bandleader, pianist and singer....
- Big Maceo MerriweatherBig Maceo MerriweatherBig Maceo Merriweather was an American Chicago blues pianist and singer, active in Chicago in the 1940s.-Career:...
- Amos MilburnAmos MilburnAmos Milburn was an African American rhythm and blues singer and pianist, popular during the 1940s and 1950s...
- Little Brother MontgomeryLittle Brother MontgomeryEurreal Wilford "Little Brother" Montgomery was an American jazz, boogie-woogie and blues pianist and singer....
- Pinetop PerkinsPinetop PerkinsJoseph William Perkins , known by the stage name Pinetop Perkins, was an American blues musician, specializing in piano music...
- Henning Pertiet
- Buster PickensBuster PickensBuster Pickens was an American blues pianist. Pickens is best known for his work accompanying Alger "Texas" Alexander and Lightnin' Hopkins, although he did record a solo album in 1960.-Biography:...
- Boogie Woogie RedBoogie Woogie RedBoogie Woogie Red was an American Detroit blues, boogie-woogie and jazz pianist, singer and songwriter. He variously worked with Sonny Boy Williamson, Washboard Willie, Baby Boy Warren, Lonnie Johnson, Tampa Red, John Lee Hooker and Memphis Slim.-Biography:He was born Vernon Harrison in Rayville,...
- Memphis SlimMemphis SlimMemphis Slim was an American blues pianist, singer, and composer. He led a series of bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump blues, included saxophones, bass, drums, and piano. A song he first cut in 1947, "Every Day I Have the Blues", has become a blues standard, recorded by many other...
- Sunnyland SlimSunnyland SlimAlbert "Sunnyland Slim" Luandrew was an American blues pianist, who was born in the Mississippi Delta, and later moved to Chicago, Illinois, to contribute to that city's post-war scene as a center for blues music...
- Otis SpannOtis SpannOtis Spann was an American blues musician, who many consider the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist.-Career:Born in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, Spann became known for his distinct piano style....
- Pinetop SmithPinetop SmithClarence Smith, better known as Pinetop Smith or Pine Top Smith was an American boogie-woogie style blues pianist...
- Willie "The Lion" Smith
- Roosevelt SykesRoosevelt SykesRoosevelt Sykes was an American blues musician, also known as "The Honeydripper". He was a successful and prolific cigar-chomping blues piano player, whose rollicking thundering boogie-woogie was highly influential.-Career:Born in Elmar, Arkansas, Sykes grew up near Helena but at age 15, went on...
- Henry TownsendHenry TownsendHenry Townsend may refer to:*Henry Townsend , early American colonist born in Norwich, Norfolk, England*Henry Townsend , American colonist born in Oyster Bay...
- Mose VinsonMose VinsonMose Vinson was an American boogie-woogie, blues and jazz pianist and singer. His best known recordings were "Blues With A Feeling" and "Sweet Root Man". Over his lengthy career, Vinson worked with various musicians including Booker T. Laury and James Cotton.-Biography:Vinson was born in Holly...
- Jimmy YanceyJimmy YanceyJames 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"....
- Kenny "Blues Boss" WayneKenny "Blues Boss" WayneKenny "Blues Boss" Wayne is an American blues, boogie-woogie and jazz pianist, singer and songwriter...
- Silvan ZinggSilvan ZinggSilvan Zingg is a Swiss boogie woogie, blues and Jazz pianist and founder in 2002 of the International Boogie Woogie festival in Lugano, Switzerland.- Musical career :...
- Jerry Lee LewisJerry Lee LewisJerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
- Moon MullicanMoon MullicanAubrey Wilson Mullican , known as Moon Mullican, was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and pianist. However, he also sang and played jazz, rock 'n' roll and the blues...
- Merrill Moore
- Joe PullumJoe PullumJoe Pullum was an American Texas blues singer and songwriter.-Biography:Pullum, a Houston-born nightclub singer, was one of the more obscure blues stars. He was accompanied on his few recordings by two pianists; Rob Cooper on his earlier discs, and Andy Boy on his later efforts...
- Piano RedPiano RedWilliam "Willie" Lee Perryman , usually known professionally as Piano Red and later in life as Dr. Feelgood, was an American blues musician, the first to hit the pop music charts. He was a self-taught pianist who played in the barrelhouse blues style...
- Speckled RedSpeckled RedSpeckled Red was born Rufus Perryman in Monroe, Louisiana. He was an American blues and boogie-woogie piano player and singer, most noted for his recordings of "The Dirty Dozens", with exchanges of insults and vulgar remarks that have long been a part of African American folklore.The family moved...
- Little Willie LittlefieldLittle Willie LittlefieldLittle Willie Littlefield is an American R&B pianist and singer.-Career:By 1947, at the age of sixteen, Littlefield was already a local attraction on many of Houston's Dowling Street Clubs and was recording for local record shop proprietor Eddie Henry who ran his own label "Eddies".Influenced by...
- Chuck MillerChuck Miller (musician)Charles Nelson "Chuck" Miller was an American singer and pianist who had a US top ten hit in 1955 with his version of "The House of Blue Lights".He was born in Wellington, Kansas, and learned to play piano as a child...
External links
- [ Piano blues] on Allmusic