Ben Webster and Teddy Wilson, Old Folks

Denny Zeitlin, Quiet Now

Old Maxwell Street in Chicago, Home of the Chicago Electric Blues

Click here to learn more about Maxwell Street (and see many B&W photos)

Daddy Stovepipe Plays and Teaches the Blues

So, it was just a matter of time before high quality guitar lessons appeared on the web for free, right? I don't know who Daddy Stovepipe is (but see here and here), but his lessons are damned good. This is obviously a labor of love.

Here's his lesson on Lonnie Johnson style blues guitar. Don't forget to drop your tuning to DGDGBE ....



Here's a link to a page containing all 91 videos (as of today). There are lessons in the styles of Rev Gary Davis and Lightnin Hopkins (to name just a few), as well as a lot of really nice performances (and beautiful guitars).

Mickey Baker

Over on the Jazz Guitar Forum a poster writes:

"It was probably close to 40 years ago that I got my first introduction to jazz guitar courtesy of Mickey Baker's jazz guitar method book. The book was first published in 1955 and is currently still in print (just like me, LOL). I've always wondered about whatever happened to the guy since then. Well I found out today. I was thumbing through the latest copy of Fretboard Journal in a bookstore and read a piece that they did on him. Turns out he has been living in France since the early sixties. They've got a current picture of him holding a nasty looking gun. Looks more like a Mafia hit man than a jazz guitarist, LOL. Interesting family history too. Apparently his grandmother ran a bordello and put her 12-year old daughter to work in the family business. Mickey was the product of one of those business transactions with a Caucasian guy. The rest, as they say, is history. An interesting comment from Mickey was that he wrote the method book before he really knew what he was doing."

Yeah, me too. Mickey Baker's jazz guitar books ("Complete Course in Jazz Guitar" ) were my introduction to the art as well. I've kept my original copies, and I find them as difficult and inscrutable today as I did then.

Goin Down Slow

Lightnin' Hopkins

LIGHTNIN' HOPKINS - Goin' Down Slow
Uploaded by soulpatrol

Ahh ... How Does He Do That?

Andreas Oberg




And one more ...

Barry Green's YouTube page ....

Letter From Evans - All Issues

With Win Hinkle's permission, I have uploaded all of the LFE issues to scribed.com. They are available here.

Here is a description of this material from the Bill Evans Webpages:

Between autumn 1989 -1994, a (hard copy) newsletter dedicated solely to the music and the life of Bill Evans was published by well-known Evans historian and bassist Win Hinkle. (Those who have appreciated Bill's work since that time may have seen references about Win and his published materials included in both the Peter Pettinger and Keith Shadwick books) "Letter From Evans" was available by subscription only back then, but now Win has made all twenty-six issues available online in .pdf files-- and it's all free!

During it's five-year run, LFE featured Evans news, album reviews, commentary, analysis, transcriptions and many exclusive interviews done mostly by Win with some folks you just might have heard of: Keith Jarrett, Marc Johnson, Steve Allen, Earl Zindars, Joe LaBarbera, Henry Mancini, Chuck Israels, Mundell Lowe, Jimmy Rowles, Denny Zeitlin and many others!

Some rare interviews with Bill himself from various sources appeared in LFE too, as did a number of nifty transcrptions of Evans solos -- many that were not available elsewhere. Just a few of those who contributed articles or reviews included musicians like Jack Reilly, Hal Galper, Kenny Werner, Richie Bierach, Evans archivist Ron Nethercutt and, in fact, yours truly (Jan Stevens).

For those Bill Evans fans and jazz listeners who haven't seen any issues of "Letter From Evans", you're in for quite a treat. They are all filled with loads of unique material-- and some related jazz reviews and comentaries from that time - that you just won't find anywhere else. Once again, the files of all issues are now free (though Win has mentioned at his blog that those who may wish to can contribute, just to help defray all the expense).

Obviously, if you're an Evans aficianado, or even a casual fan, this is big news. asdf

Again, click here to read these newletters.

A link to Vol. 1, No. 1 is here:

Letter From Evans, Vol 1, No 1 - Upload a Document to Scribd

Read this document on Scribd: Letter From Evans, Vol 1, No 1

BilEvansWebpages.com - Very Nice Bill Evans Tribute Site

Of particular interest:

. . . between Autumn 1989 and the summer of 1994, a (hard copy) newsletter dedicated solely to the music and the life of Bill Evans >was published by well-known Evans historian and bassist Win Hinkle. (Those who have appreciated Bill's work since that time may have seen references about Win and his published materials included in both the Peter Pettinger and Keith Shadwick books) "Letter From Evans" was available by subscription only back then, but now Win has made all twenty-six issues available online in .pdf files-- and it's all free!

Click the image below to continue reading ...