Satchelmouth

There’s a sound that takes me

Other places, it is a sound I know

When that trumpet plays and

The melody sways, it’s the only Satchmo

It transports to other destinations

That I wouldn’t have gone before

The music?  Well, it’s timeless

That should be underscored

His horn it conjures pictures

Of Amsterdam, New Orleans & Paris

It’s as constant as the Northern

Star the one known as Polaris

The man he blazed a thousand trails

And opened many a mind

This ambassador of music

Simply cannot be maligned

So go now and discover

What Louis Armstrong has

The magic of the music

His life, his art, the Jazz

LeRoi Moore

It has been said whenever a musician dies that “Heaven must have a swingin’ band.” Well, the band just got a great saxophone player. LeRoi Moore, the saxophone player from the Dave Matthews Band passed away due to complications from an ATV accident. Here is the full story from the bands web site: http://www.dmband.com/ and here is what Yahoo has to say: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080820/ap_on_en_mu/obit_leroi_moore. He was 46.

For my birthday one year I received tickets to see DMB at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. Mother Hen and schlepped over the Walt Whitman Bridge and saw the show. Bela Fleck and the Flecktones opened the show and let me just say that “electric banjo” is a lot cooler than it sounds. It was a great evening although we did feel that we (MH and I) were on the other side of the bell curve because of our age. No that’s not the right word – maturity maybe? ...No... I was right the first time.

Oh well. Such is the way of things.

Any way, there is a lot to like when you consider the Dave Matthews Band. They are a solid group of Jazz-fusion musicians who have made some beautiful and groundbreaking music together. The albums, sorry – I mean CDs, are solid. I’ve always been partial to “Under the table and Dreaming” and “Crash” but there is a lot great music to discover in their library. One of the most wonderful things about the Dave Matthews Band is how they play live; DMB is a jam band and dependent on each of its musicians to bring something to the table. Mr. Moore always delivered. He always brought something to the party. He will be missed.

My thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Moore’s friends, family at this time and the rest of DMB at this time. He was one of the founding members I hope that they continue to make beautiful music together.

Memphis Minnie McCoy-Lawler – I Owe You an Apology

I recently credited one of my favorite bands, Led Zeppelin with writing the song, “When the Levee Breaks.” I was wrong. As it turns out according to http://www.songfacts.com/ (main site and most certainly worth investigating if you are a music fan), or more specifically, http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=335, “The lyrics to this song (written by Memphis Minnie in 1927) are based on The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. African-American plantation workers were forced to work on the levee at gunpoint, piling sandbags to save the neighboring towns. Hence the lyrics, "I works on the levee, mama both night and day, I works so hard, to keep the water away." After the levee breached, blacks were not allowed to leave the area, and were forced to work in the relief and cleanup effort, living in camps with limited access to the supplies, which were coming in. Many left at the first chance since there was no work in the Delta after the destruction of all of the plantations; hence the lyrics, "Oh cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do no good" and "I's a mean old levee, cause me to weep and moan, gonna leave my baby, and my happy home”.

Wow.

Rock, blues, and jazz – we really owe a debt to untold thousands of African American musicians. There is an article by Barry Lee Pearson at All Music that you should check out (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:kiftxq95ld0e~T1). Of course there is always my favorite second brain too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis_Minnie.

I’m sorry Memphis Minnie; I didn’t know. I look forward to discovering you for myself.