American Blues Exchange

This program offers three lively, colorful, and captivating orchestral works by two United States composers, born almost a century apart. These pieces exhibit the fruitful exchange and flow of musical material between North and South America that has long played a role in popular music, apparent not only in commercial song and dance music using Latin American melodies and rhythms but also in early jazz and blues where tango rhythms are so often heard, as in W. C. Handy's St. Louis Blues. And both Gottschalk in the 1850s, close to the beginning of a creative American musical tradition, and Gould in the 1950s, when such a tradition had flowered considerably, show a combination of seriousness of approach with a popular touch.

"Jon Irabagon releases the latest installment of his I Don't Hear Nothin' but the Blues series, adding rising star Ava Mendoza to his no-frills, brutal ensemble.

From pioneering guitar legends Blind Lemon Jefferson & Blind Willie Johnson to pre-blues songsters and field holler-inspired singers, the state of Texas has long played a key role in the evolution of the blues. This Rough Guide charts the many different facets to this incredibly rich and diverse of early blues genres.

Any time two greats who admire each other and are musically compatible team together, the results are usually mutually beneficial. That was true for Bill Monroe and Doc Watson, whose spirited union on this 17-song disc is a sampler of American musical styles. They ripped through bluegrass, folk, blues, spirituals, mountain tunes, work songs, reels and breakdowns. Monroe's mandolin and Watson's guitar playing were masterful, wondrous and performed without any trace of self-indulgence. Their vocals were also delivered with ease, fluidity and conviction, the product of two performers completely at ease with themselves and only interested in spotlighting the material.

From the pioneering string bands and old-time banjo maestros to country music’s first superstar Jimmie Rodgers, this Rough Guide features many of the trailblazing artists who paved the way for the country music explosion to come.

A remarkable phenomenon in the history of the blues was the vast contribution made by blind musicians, whose legacy left a lasting impact on American music to this day. From ‘The Father Of The Texas Blues’ Blind Lemon Jefferson to slide guitar evangelist Blind Willie Johnson, this Rough Guide highlights the blind blues pioneers who, against all the odds and in the face of incredible adversity, were responsible for a musical revolution.