- West Coast blues
Infobox Music genre
name= West Coast blues
bgcolor=#0000E1
color=white
stylistic_origins=Blues ,Jazz blues ,Jump blues
cultural_origins=Texas
instruments=Piano ,Guitar
popularity= flagicon|USAUnited States
1940s — Present
derivatives=
subgenrelist=
subgenres=
fusiongenres=
other_topics=The West Coast blues is a type ofblues music characterized byjazz andjump blues influences, strongpiano -dominated sounds and jazzy guitar solos, which originated fromTexas blues players relocated toCalifornia in the 1940s. [Vladimir, Bogdanov. "All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues", Backbeat Books, page xii, (2002) - ISBN 0879307366] West Coast blues also features smooth, honey-toned vocals, frequently crossing into urban blues territory.Texas and the West Coast
The towering figure of West Coast blues may be guitarist
T-Bone Walker , famous for the song "Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just As Bad) ", a relocated Texan who had made his first recordings in the late 1920s. During the early 1940's Walker moved toLos Angeles , [Obrecht, Jas. "Rollin' and Tumblin': The Postwar Blues Guitarists", Backbeat Books, page 7, (2000) - ISBN 0879306130] where he recorded many enduring sides for Capital, Black & White, and Imperial. Walker was a crucial figure in the electrification and urbanization of the blues, probably doing more to popularize the use of electric guitar in the form than anyone else. Much of his material had a distinct jazzy jump blues feel, an influence that would characterize much of the most influential blues to emerge fromCalifornia in the 1940s and 1950s. OtherTexas bluesmen followed: Pianist/songwriterAmos Milburn , singerPercy Mayfield , famous for the song "Hit the Road Jack ", and Charles Brown moved toLos Angeles . GuitaristPee Wee Crayton divided his time betweenLos Angeles andSan Francisco , whileLowell Fulson , fromTexas by way ofOklahoma , moved to Oakland. Through the effort of Tom Mazzolini, producer of the legendarySan Francisco Blues Festival , founded in 1974, and with the presence of excellent recording companies like Arhoolie and HighTone, the West Coast is one of the most important blues areas in the country. [Herzhaft, Gérard. "Encyclopedia of the Blues", University of Arkansas Press, page 32, (1997) - ISBN 1557284520]Artist/Musicians
Footnotes
External links
* [http://www.bayareabluessociety.net/newhome2.html Bay Area Blues Society]
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