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Re: [ARSCLIST] Obscure Geniuses/ASCAP
on 8/2/07 11:17 AM US/Central, Malcolm Rockwell at malcolm@xxxxxxxx wrote:
> Tops Professor Longhair any day of the week, IMNSHO.
While Booker was very versatile and fluid on the piano, Longhair had a much
more powerful attack, albeit with a limited repertoire.
When Booker tried to play piano in Longhair's style, it came off as a weak
imitation. Booker's vocal power and range were somewhat limited, especially
when compared to Longhair's (who could also whistle beautifully).
They were very different.
Not generally well known is the fact that Longhair's 'Latin tinge' actually
came from him being in the Civilian Conservation Corps/WPA along the
Mexican-American border in the 1930s. Powerful Mexican AM radio stations
blanketed the area, and Longhair incorporated the local rhythms to please
his audiences.
Others have attributed his Latin tinge to Caribbean influences, but this is
not correct. It's a more romantic image, but it didn't happen that way.
Unlike Booker, who could be difficult to work with, Longhair had a wonderful
personality; however, he was a shy person. Some would mistake that for
something else.
He was endlessly inventive on the piano, even incorporating an occasional
mistake which he would build upon to provide another theme variation. I
really preferred his solo work to anything else he did, but because he was
basically shy, he didn't like performing solo at all.
In my opinion, GONE SO LONG, which was recorded in Baton Rouge at Deep
South, is one of his best works to illustrate this. The pads on his fingers
were extremely swollen after that session; it was too dark in the car to see
if he was actually bleeding.
--
Parker Dinkins
MasterDigital Corporation
Audio Restoration + CD Mastering
http://masterdigital.com