Ma Rainey: Mother of the Blues

Gertrude Pridgett "Ma Rainey: Mother of the Blues" died at the age of 53 in 1939.  Ma was born and raised in Columbus, Georgia.  She was the first, the grande dame, a savvy business woman, "the boss of it all"(as Honeyboy Edwards relayed it to me) and most definitely a pioneer blues artist.  In 1902 it was Ma who introduced 'the blues' to as part of her travelling minstrel act although WC Handy is credited with this honor.  (He actually 'discovered' the blues in 1904 in Tutwiler, Mississippi.) Whatever the case, blues music was born from the time of slavery and prison work songs.  However, it was Ma who took the true experiences of the 'folk' and gave it back to them through 'the blues'.  By all accounts she was loved and admired by everyone and Honeyboy related that "when Ma played for you, you felt like the only one she was singin' too.  And could she sing the blues". 

At the age of 14 she joined her first minstrel troupe "The Blackberry Bunch" and spent the next 30 years of her life performing and making a major contribution to popular music.  She made 97 blues records for Paramount before 1928 and at least 47 were her own contributions.  Some of the musicians who worked with Ma included Louis 'Satchmo' Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, Bessie Smith, Tampa Red, Lovie Anderson, Blind Lemon Jefferson and Thomas Dorsey.  She has been inducted into the following Halls of Fame:  Blues Foundation, Jazz, Rock & Roll, Georgia Music, Georgia Women of Achievement and the Grammy.  In addition, there has been a US postage stamp issue and the listing of her song See See Rider Blues at the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress.

The Ma Rainey Blues House & Museum was fought for by the people of Columbus, Georgia and funded by the City of Columbus: Friends of Ma Rainey.  I haven't posted the photos of the kind of shape this home was in but as you can tell from this photo of the finished product, it has been a job well done.  Indeed curator Fred Fussell has done a marvelous job of creating a place for people like me to find a piece of the magic in her old records, her piano (all the keys work by the way) and in the sparse memorabilia that remains of her musical life.

Columbus is an absolutely beautiful city with lush forest lining the Chatahoochie River.  The people are very welcoming and friendly much like the Mississippi.  One restaurant owner asked "ware ya frome?" and when I indicated that I was from Canada his response was "oh main, I sho do wish I leeved somewheres liberal leek Canada".  We had broad conversation about my experiences listening to both Neo (and I mean Neo) Conservative talk radio as well as PBS talk radio over the last couple days of travel.  He said "oooohhhh, ya done wanna do that naw.  Juice torn that oweff and have some tay".  I wholeheartedly agreed and on we went to other discussion over sweet tea.  

Ma Rules!!!

Ooot and Abooot eh?

K

Cajun Salve

In 1755 the Governor of Nova Scotia expelled approximately 10,000 Acadian's (say it fast and with a Francois accent and you'll hear "Cajun").  The French speaking Catholics of Nova Scotia refused to dedicate their political and religious allegiance to Protestant Britain.  The expulsion occurred quickly (the painting above) and many Acadian people died en route from Nova Scotia to the lands now known as Louisiana.  (Louisiana is the only state which divides itself by 'parrish'es not counties.  In fact, Lafayette is part of the parrish of Evangeline.)   

The poet Longfellow wrote a beautiful poem, Evangeline, about the journey of the Acadian people and the cultural values and principles that kept this  rich community of Cajuns alive to be enjoyed by me and countless others who visit here and take the time to understand an important part of Canadian history and the history of the Acadian people.     

Last December when I realized that I needed to make this journey I never realized at the time what magic was occurring in my life.  Shortly after making the financial commitment (prior to knowing about the grant monies) I received many new songs.  One of them, Passin' Time, was a beautiful gift to write.  Prior to writing this song I was not aware of the story of Evangeline, the first time I had the blues, my connection to Acadiana or the memories of waiting outside the bar for hours as a child while my father got drunk.

The lyrics are these:

First time I had the blues I was the age of nine

My father flipped me a nickel, flipped me a dime

Said "stay with the car child, I won't be a short while"

Passin' time

Chips with the nickel, cold pop with the dime

Got my very own jukebox I jus' spin the dial

Minutes to hours I go travellin' in my mind

Passin' time

Emmylou singin' 'bout Evangeline 

An' I hop on board that Mississippi Queen

Sweat rolls down my neck in the Delta heat

Blues was sent to save me

Folks stop and stare I tell 'em my father's gone blind

Truth is he done drank a tub of that Beausejour wine

I could...but I ain't gonna cry

Passin' time

This ol' Ford's my Mississippi Queen

I hold sorrows in my heart jus' like Evangeline

My mouth might but my eyes don't lie

Passin' time

The power of music in my life is a healer, a salve.  It is a way to begin to understand my childhood experiences in balance.  Passin' time is perhaps the most healing song I've ever written and reading Longfellow's poem Evangeline in the Acadian Village amidst antique images of my own story on the farm in Saskatchewan was spectacular!

I know that I've been really deep in this blog but I wanted you to know the importance of today.  Picture it in your mind...the film is rolling and the image is me looking in the mirror as a child.  Then from out of nowhere a stone is thrown against the mirror.  It cracks, fragments, splinters and some pieces fall off completely.  If you reverse these images...the film rewinds...then I am looking at myself in the mirror as a child, as an adult.  Complete, whole, beautiful and precious.  It feels as though I have turned back time so that I can now move forward into the life I was meant to live...this one!  Maybe this is why the Zydeco and Cajun traditions have so much joy in their music...because it healed them too...who knows?  C'est possible!

Bon nuit mes amis,

KD xo

Acadiana Beauty

Festival International de Louisiane - Day 2

Ville Platte about an hour of Lafayette is home to Floyd's Record Shop.  I got a chance to practice my very poor french is but he was patient.  I had been looking and holding the idea that I would find a scrub board (you know the silver percussive chest plate looking instrument in zydeco music) and it was there.  And...it was mine.  Floyd was pumped because I dropped a load of cash but it was so worth it.  I even bought a Cajun triangle.  Apparently I have aspirations to learn a bit more about percussion.  

After the swamp, the scrub board buy, fried alligator and boudin I settled in for an evening of fine music with Rosie Laddet (la-day) and Her Playboys.  Some of the top photos of are the characters doing the fais-do-do a Cajun dance.  It was awesome to watch!  Rosie hardly had her accordion on when the dance floor filled in 2.5 seconds...literally.  People of all ages dancing, switching dance partners and visiting.  Finish the evening off with Habib Koite and there you have it.  From Africa, to the Delta, to Louisiana and back to Africa again.  A blues trip around the world!

I am very, very, very taken with Louisiana.  Not the first person to feel that way but it is the sheer spirit of the music in the hot sun, the community and all the trials of preserving the Acadian culture (with roots in  Nova Scotia no less).  There's history here which I will explain when it's not 11pm.

Full on Life...

Kat xoxo

I Can't Even Make This Shit Up!

I can't even make this shit up that's just how good it is!!!  When I was a very young child I created my own little bayou.  A slough in tall grasses, murky water and a turtle.  Now I did go and drill a hole in the outer shell of the turtle, hooked a small, long chain to it and spiked the other end of the chain in the ground so I could play with the turtle whenever I wanted.  I know, I know...but I was just a child exploring my environment let's say ;-).  We didn't have trees rooted in that water or 15 foot alligators but today really brought back a flood of memories I'd had as a child.  

An air boat skirted us across the black, calm waters of the Achafalala Basin Bayou this morning.  It was cool (26c), cloudy and calm...the perfect day for photos because the colors are so brilliant.  It was no time at all and I spied this alligator, the Egrets, Mallards and a flower that reminded me of the Wild Rose of Alberta.  Apparently the gator was a small one and definitely wanting to avoid us but I caught this one shot.  As it is above so it is below with the trees of the swamp and the blown moss gave it mystery.  The boat just skims the water and my arm literally a couple inches from the water's surface.  Let me just say that I made very sure to keep my hands in given the first alligator sighting.  Wanna keep these fingers for all the future playing I need to do!  

Then I ate fried gator for dinner...mastery of the environment...NOT!

Kat

It's All Comin' Together in Lafayette

Aaaaoooo! from Lafayette (la-fee-ette) for bayou virgins.  :-)  I won't lie to you but I haven't been my usual joyful Kat since being in Lafayette.  Being sensitive on ALL levels this bod had some trouble adjusting to the climate change.  Delta heat is blazing, no question.  Dry heat and 30c is really different from 38c and 92% humidity here in the swamp lands of Louisiana.  I've been a little grumpy but a trip to Baton Rouge this mornin' really changed my mood.  I mean, who's stoppin' me from taking some lunch in Baton Rouge...no one.  Po'Boy Lloyd's treated me well and it was sittin' along side the Mighty Mississippi that really brought me here.  To see the rails and the river together at the end of the journey was terrific!  Waldron, Saskatchewan, Canada...hop the rails.  Ride them tracks to join with the 'little muddy' in Lake Itasca, Minnesota, USA.  Ride the river and rails through the Delta of Mississippi and have it all end together in Baton Rouge, Louisiana...a thrill beyond compare!!!  Aaaaooooo!!!

And to top it off like whip cream on bread pudding the music of the Blind Boys of Alabama at Festival Internationale d'Louisianne here in Lafayette...killer day...and my pants weren't even backwards. 

Tomorrow the extreme swamp adventure from McGee's Landing.  Me, the gators, the egrets and the guy driving the air propelled boat deep in the swamp lands.  Stay tuned...

Over and Out,

KD xoxo

Slavery & the Blues

Amidst white fluted pillars of plantation homes, mountainous magnolia trees with sweet scents to transcend and the sheer beauty of this port city lies it's real history with these things being the glorious parts.  What isn't glorious is that the Natchez bluffs overlooked the slave ships as well as steamers.  Liberty Square, an unfortunate naming of the square where thousands of West African slaves were bought, sold and tortured is 'not discussed' as one woman told me at a local restaurant this day.  This city remains obviously sharply segregated minus the 'colored' and 'white' signs of days gone by like so many cities visited in the Old South.  

Thankfully I met Nathan, a park ranger, at the Melrose Plantation (pictured above) which is a National Park. Through frank discussion I learned for myself the realities facing this and many other towns in Mississippi.  There was a heaviness and sadness that we shared as we sat on the porch, in the shade with Wood Carver Bees flying about as we discussed issues we had concerns about. I spoke of the continued segregation I've witnessed in Greenwood, Clarksdale and throughout the Delta.  Maybe Nathan summed it up best when he said "woll Kat, theese hera is Mizza-zippi".  

This plantation is an example of the immense wealth accumulated during the centuries of slavery.  It is the only plantation home, of which there are many in Natchez, that has retained 'slave quarters' with a concise history of slavery.  This home is massive at 16,000 square feet as compared to the 300 square feet of the slave quarters.  I learned that in the area at the time there were 32,000 white people in the area and 147,000 slaves.  

It is pretty spectacular to begin to understand from first hand experiences what blues really means to me.  Yes, the birth of North American Blues is from the time of slavery,  from Africa...the work songs,  'field hollers' and prison songs.  And, yes, blues spirituals were also born from a deep wish to be free...truly free! 

Over the past century it seems to me that the strength of blues music lies in its ability to adapt..to be flexible, to change and to allow change.  My impression is that blues captures the energy of being human...facing challenges in life, holding out for better and never giving up.  This is why I am a blues musician because I can completely relate to difficulties in life and unceasing optimism for a brighter day.  

Who knows what will be next for this art form.  It continues to evolve and has already given us all forms of popular music today...gospel, jazz, country, rock 'n roll, pop, zydeco, Cajun, rhythm & blues, rap and hip hop.  I don't believe there is a limit.  It is not disappearing, it is getting stronger as it ages.  Africa, the Delta, a trip around the world and back to Africa!  How many art forms can lay claim to that?  I feel so blessed to have this passion and this creative 'calling' in my life.  

Alrighty then...deep thoughts by Kat Danser.  Fair amount of intensity today until I came upon my true mantra ..."Don't DODGE Jesus".  Ha Ha Ha Ha!!!  Now that's a 'Passion for the Christ' eh?

Soapbox Kat

Port Gibson & Vicksburg

The energy of Ma Rainey, her importance to blues music as we know it, is really starting to strengthen as I continue this journey into Louisiana and onto her home in Georgia.  Port Gibson, MS  was home to F.C. Wolcott's  Rabbit Foot Minstrel troupe which Ma Rainey was an integral part of in the Classic Blues period.  It was with this troupe that she met and mentored many young women (in more ways than one) including Bessie Smith, Ida Cox, Victoria Spivey and many others.  She worked this travelling minstrel show with Sid Hemphill, Jessie Mae Hemphill's much loved grand father.  This photo is part of the Mississippi Blues Trail markers.  Very helpful to have given that there would be no other way to mark the spot of this once thriving traveling minstrel company.

The Vicksburg murals on Willie Dixon Way were spectacular.  This town is considered the southern most part of the Mississippi Delta region.  It began in Memphis in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel and ends here in this town.  The rising Mississippi waters were very evident as flooding continues to close off many roads in the area.

I shall return dear Delta but for now the swamps are humming their tune...

Kat

Juke Joint Festival #3

Roadkill count...

397 deer

14 armadillos

2 turtles

86 opossums

1 beaver

101 cockroaches

AND...

1 pair of really ugly flip flops with socks no less.  

(Jill, are you as appalled by this fashion as I am?  What would In Style or Tyra say about this?)

Over and Out,

KD

Juke Joint Festival #2

And Watermelon Slim goes for them blue ostrich and muddy boots...

(top:  Eddie Cusic - legendary Leland, MS delta bluesman)

Juke Joint Festival #1

Honeyboy wears sensible shoes!