CW: Race, racism and black culture representation. All the blues was born and developed following the slavery of black communities, and it was only almost three centuries later that it became possible to hear the voice of this human mass, uprooted from their land, frustrated in the most elementary expectations of life, desperate in anContinue reading “Alan Lomax: the man who recorded the world… not always with the best practices.”
Author Archives: Bibi
Great Depression, City Blues & St. Louis
The Great Depression of the 30s was devastating for America. It incorporated all the elements of a material, spiritual and moral disaster, impacting on the lives of millions of people. In only a few month , starting from 1929, the whole country had to face the biggest social disaggregation in its history, going from aContinue reading “Great Depression, City Blues & St. Louis”
CHICAGO AND THE CHESS RECORDS
In April 2018 I went to Chicago for the first time. I went there with my bag full of dreams and ready to experience the blues in one of the places where it had lived, developed… I wanted to breathe the blues. So in this post today I want to share a tiny bit ofContinue reading “CHICAGO AND THE CHESS RECORDS”
BLUES POETRY: STERLING A. BROWN AND THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE
Despite its humble origins and its often formulaic and repetitive nature, the blues has represented one of the most flourishing resources and one of the most important deposits for African American culture. Poets and writers have turned to it in search of powerful tools and symbols, shapes and figures suitable to describe a peculiar andContinue reading “BLUES POETRY: STERLING A. BROWN AND THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE”
BLUES LEGENDS: MEMPHIS MINNIE
For my new blog post I have decided to talk a bit about one of my personally favorite blues legends… a woman who has shaped blues history in many different ways, bringing a unique touch and a clear view of artistry through her music. Let me introduce you to Memphis Minnie! She is defined asContinue reading “BLUES LEGENDS: MEMPHIS MINNIE”
Cos’è il BLUES?
Oggi voglio affrontare una domanda la cui risposta potrebbe sembrare scontata, ma, a mio avviso, non lo è… Che cos’è il BLUES? Dalla mia esperienza, ogni volta che dicevo di ballare blues, le risposte che ricevevo erano quasi sempre un mucchio di commenti stereotipati che potrei semplicemente riassumere in “oh, roba lenta, triste e sexy,Continue reading “Cos’è il BLUES?”
What is BLUES?
Today I want to address a question whose answer might seem obvious, but, in my opinion, it is not… What is BLUES? From my experience, whenever I said I am a blues dancer, the replies that I got were almost always a bunch of stereotyped comments that we could simply sum up in to “oh,Continue reading “What is BLUES?”
BLUES STORIES: Barrelhouse Blues, pianos and women in the 20s and 30s.
For this first blog post I felt like starting with something that I am curious about and that is currently in my “I wanna know more” list, so please be aware that this is just a starting point and not at all a complete and exhaustive read. Still, I hope it will give you someContinue reading “BLUES STORIES: Barrelhouse Blues, pianos and women in the 20s and 30s.”
Bibi 