Thursday, July 31, 2014

Chicagosax Brings Coffee, Tea or Blues to Cat's Art MusikCircus

Chicagosax (George Buetow) has been playing blues in Chicago since the last 50's so that makes he and I two of the old goobers of Second Life but there is coolness in this as we survived it and both of us are still playing, albeit with a bit of whingy crap from me about my own circumstance.

He brings his sax ... or his flute ... or his guitar ... or his Hammond B3 and, I believe you get it already ... he plays whatever he likes.  He covers standards as you want he should learn to cover Justin Bieber.  He plays standards because people know them.  What he does with them is the trip.

In a lot of lead work it's all the same.  Trill, trill, trill, move, trill, trill, trill, blah, blah.  Do this in front of a jazz guy and he will laugh silently at you.  Do it in front of a blues guy and he will laugh out loud.  (That's because the blues guy has been shooting down Jack Daniels all night)

Lead guitar is leading the band and it's also playing that splashy lead with all that trill, trill, trill out where the girls can see you.

But that isn't what George does.  (He doesn't have to as the sax guy always gets the girl anyway!)

When George plays a lead line, it's not something he memorized but rather he is taking the steps, each one leading to another but not necessarily leading to the same other as the last time.  This is the jazz in which, to some extent, the music makes itself as you are tuned right to it as you are with the people around you making it.  George will use tracks to back himself but you'll notice he knows everyone in them.  It's not just some guy playing a guitar, George knows him and has played with him.

You can just relax and let George's blues carry you away if you like, he doesn't make an aggressive sound, it's not like that.  You can also come in close and listen to that lead line, go on all the pathways with him and let him surprise you.

At a certain point, you realize that the mind will complete things.  If a word is missing then your mind will put there.  The same thing happens with music and a musician can play to this in creating musical expectations ... and then doing something else, all during the course of a single lead.  I'm not going to go at length on this as you'll need to play for yourself to see what I mean.  I know this much:  George already knows.

This music is why Cat's Art MusikCircus exists and is why I do not try to alter in any small way Cat Boucher's musical design goals.  I could try to teach her this or that but there's something else where I know this much:  Cat already knows too.  Cat is as much of a musician as one can be without actually putting your fingers to the keys.

(Cat will protest that's flattery.  It's not.  Anyone else who plays there can tell you this.  Cat knows music.)


(Ed:  don't tease me with coffee and then fail to deliver it)

Right you are!

There will be "Coffee with Chicago" coming up soon and he will open a mike to talk to people rather than to play.  People will be invited to come to ask questions about Chicago blues.  Think about it as Chicagosax is a walking, talking, and definitely jamming Chicago blues encyclopedia.  This man has opened for the Stones.  Do believe he has some stories.

More coolness comes from this as he suggested last night he would bring some guests to talk also.  It's your guess who he means but the man has been around.  I'd make a point of attending one of his coffee sessions as I've no doubt it would be fascinating, mesmerizing, in fact.

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