[Dixielandjazz] Blues - Night 2

[Nancy Giffin]

From: "Texasjazzlover" <rebecca.e.thompson at verizon.net>

>    I have been intrigued at how the sounds of Eric Clapton and Mark
>    Knopfler are reflective of those early blues players.  One of the clips
>    was of Cream and that is the band Eric Clapton started with.  I think
>    those examples only show the influence on later musicians, even
>    the "rockers" of today.

Absolutely, Rebecca.
When I voiced my dismay over the white bands shown in Part 2, I was not
speaking about Jack Bruce of "Cream," whom they showed singing "I'm So
Glad." He could actually sing well, unlike the others shown (Nick Cave, and
Lou Reed -- sorry, fans of his -- and several others the scrounged up).
Cream brought a touch of jazz to old blues standards, taking the
improvisational aspect of jazz to new levels with extended solos by three
(electric) musical virtuosos of the day. Rock n' Roll was changed forever,
even though the band lasted only three years. As a jubilant teenager, on my
*good* days, I would burst out singing "I'm So Glad," thinking it was an
original Cream song, not knowing it was originally a Skip James blues tune.

Funny how we called it the "British Invasion," when they were bringing back
something truly American to begin with -- more a "revival" than "invasion."