more on PAUL BUTTERFIELD
Here is a reprint of my monologue, before the live recordered tribute to Paul Butterfield (History of Blues Harmonica Concert #B3R710 Backbender Records 2009)
I vividly remember the first time I heard the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. I was my buddy's place the summer of 1973 and pulled this album from the reack and read the WARNING on the back cover. "WE SUGGEST YOU PLAY THIS ALBUM AT THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE VOLUME IN ORDER TO FULLY APPRECIATE THE SOUND OF THE PAUL BUTTERFIELD BLUES BAND". So I placed the album on the turntable and cranked it up. I blew out the speaker, but most importantly it blew my mind. I became an instant fan.
Most Butterfield aficionados are aware of Paul's singularly distinctive: in your face approach to his harmonica playing. There are numerous characteristics that create the Paul Butterfield sound, tonight you will hear examples of:
- Non repetitive type solos, also known as A-B-C phrasing in the chorus forms. This approach was distinclty different from many of the jump and swing musicians of that time.
- Paul's playing was energetic (and urgent), fused with Power and Emotion.
- For you harmonica players, listen to the slight pitch change with the use of a strong and fast vibrato; hear the power of playing two note combinations-slightly bent. Also listen to the slides and use of octaves.
- Primarily a lip blocker (pucker player), Paul Butterfield took full advantage of articulations that was available to him with this embouchure.
But I think most noteworthy is how he introduced the Chicago amplified blues sound to the masses at large. Paul was raised in Chicago's Hyde Park district, primarily a White middle class neighborhood. His passion for the Blues drove him to the Southside Ghetto; ground zero of the electric blues sound ... Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Howlin'Wolf, James Cotton ...
Now wrap you brain around the image of this young man immersing himself into this butt-kick'n environment. That bravado was what fueled the Paul Butterfield sound.
Quickly becoming proficient on the harmonica and vocals, it wasn't long before he formed a band with Elvin Bishop and became a popular act at the Blue Flame.
In 1961 Paul Butterfield received a call from Big John's, a club located in Chicago's North Old Town district to fill a vacancy left by Charlie Musselwhite and Michael Bloomfield's band.
Paul knew he needed the best rhythm section, so he recruited Sam Lay and Jerome Arnold --members of the Howlin' Wolf Band. Howlin' Wolf was a man you did not cross. He had a long memory with armed muscle to back it up. Again this illustrated Paul's boldness and "devil may care" attitude.
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band became the first racially integrated blues group in Chicago that quickly turned Big John's into the hottest club in the Windy City. From there Paul's band spiraled outward, hitting the colleges around Chicago. Introducing yet a larger audience to his music and later contributing to the evolution of Rock-n-Roll.
Twenty years ago today (recorded live May 4, 2007), Paul Butterfield was found dead in his home on May 4th, 1987. May he Rest-In-Peace as he RIPped in life.
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
