Bob Seeley

Bob Seeley (born c. 1930) is a boogie woogie pianist.

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Bob Seeley has been a fixture at the piano bar at Charlie's Crab in suburban Troy, Michigan, just outside of Detroit, where he entertained the locals and visiting dignitaries for over 32 years. He has played Carnegie Hall several times and most of the major venues throughout Europe. He has released five CDs and is working on a sixth with Boogie Bob Baldori.

His most conspicuous influence was Meade Lux Lewis, one of the three giants of boogie woogie (along with Albert Ammons and Pete Johnson), and a great friend of Seeley's. Bob first met the maestro during a Detroit gig in the late 1940s and a longstanding friendship in the 1950s and 1960s developed, which influenced Seeley's piano styling and has resulted in a very rhythmical form of boogie woogie. He also had a chance to chauffer and play piano with none less than Art Tatum, who reportedly was duly impressed with the music of the relative youngster. Eubie Blake was also among Seeley's circle of friends and mutual fans.

Well versed in classic blues, Seeley worked for a while as accompanist to Sippie Wallace, the Great blues vocalist who was rediscovered in the 1980s and would eventually be nominated for a Grammy. Seeley is an all-around pianist whose interest and repertoire span piano music from the entire twentieth century. It includes the music of Kern, Gershwin and Debussy as well as the standard works of ragtime, stride, blues and of course boogie woogie.

Peter Silvester writes: "His solos are notable for their coherence and logical progression, which propels them to a satisfying climax. Of all the contemporary pianists, Seeley reproduces the sound and spirit of Meade Lux Lewis with the most conviction and sometimes even surpasses the master" (p. 247-248).

References

* Peter Silvester, "A Left Hand Like God" (1988): history of boogie-woogie music

External links

* [http://www.boogiebob.com Seeley/Baldori music site]