Blues

“The impact of blues and jazz on racial and sociocultural implications to me, by simple observation, traditionally comes from people of color. Throughout history we have many people with different shades of skin coming out with the blues, like myself.”

Mysti Mayhem:

Global Hippie from the Hood

“What I miss about that music from the past—and even more so today, in the age of AI where more and more music is created by robots—is, first and foremost, the human element. It was music made by real people. That implies a dynamic quality and a vitality that a robot simply cannot achieve. The mood during a recording session, imperceptible little ...

“Klezmer and Chassidic music, much like the blues, often possess a bittersweet quality. Even the most joyous melodies can carry an undercurrent of sadness, longing, or pain. Without getting too technical, many klezmer melodies draw on scales that feature a flatted fifth, echoing the “blue note” so characteristic of the blues. This note can be bent...

“We need blues music! We need county music! We need Jazz music! We need Soul music! We can communicate through the above… It’s a sense of the inner being excited of something beyond what we can explain.”

Mark Feltham: Harmonica Gentleman

Mark Feltham is an English professional musician, best known for playing harmonica with several arti...

“Therefore, I believe the true appeal of the blues lies in its freedom, its spontaneity, and its inventiveness. It blends the spontaneous expression of African culture with European musical structure. Think about it: if you go to a gospel church service, everyone stands up and yells "Amen!" whereas in a traditional European Christian service, peop...