H’Sao – musical bridges from the deserts of Chad to Montreal

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a capella, Canada, Chad, gospel, H'Sao, jazz, Montreal, nomads, R&B, singing, traditional

I first caught the magic and creativity of H’Sao, in 2000,  at the consultative meeting for nomads “Séminaire sous-regional sur l’éducation de base en milieu nomade de l’Afrique Sahelo-Saharienne, held in N’Djamena, Chad. Guests included representatives of nomadic communities from as far away as Mauritania.

H'Sao Chad

I met ‘the family of friends, H’Sao, while helping to organise the meeting with the UNICEF representative Daniele Brady. We wanted a dramatic start to the meeting and had asked our singing friends to sing a song. With ten minutes before the start, we asked what would they sing? They were not sure, but in a couple of minutes they had made up a song linking the beauties and hardship of nomadic life  as well as welcoming the guests in their own traditional way.

Half of the group came in from one doorway the other half from the other and as their voices rose they met in the middle of the room, greeting the guests with a chorus that stunned everyone. What a welcome and what a future they heralded for themselves!

Who are they?

H’Sao is a six-member family musical group from Chad whose music combines the rhythms of traditional Chadian music with western styles like jazz, gospel and R&B. Many of their songs are sung a cappella.

Caleb, Mossbass, Israel and Taroum RIMTOBAYE and their childhood friends, brothers Charles and Service LEDJEBGUE although originally from Chad, are now living in Montreal, perform original music inspired by Chad’s tradition, transmitting the sensitivity inherent in the melodies (N’Djamena) and the dances (Sai and N’Dala)

H’Sao embodies a blend of cultures and influences in outstanding performances. Their most striking feature lies in the stellar quality of their singing, their unified choir of voices, and the charming complicity between the performers.

After winning over audiences in the Francophone Games, they have toured extensively. With a first release on Quebecois label Mille-Pattes (Bottine Souriante), have performed worldwide, including in the United States, South Africa, Europe, Australia and New Zealand

Their self-titled debut album was released in 2003.H’Sao have evolved into an act renowned for filling concert halls.

It all started, seriously, for them in 2000

In October 2000, H’Sao is invited to the Fest’ Africa, at Pas-de-Calais (France). Here the group records their first demo. H’Sao is selected to represent their country at the Francophone Games held in Ottawa in July 2001. This event is an assembly of the top talents in sports and culture within the francophone worldwide community. H’Sao wins a bronze medal.

Caleb recalls:
« It was unimaginable, all the things that were happening to us. In Chad, being an artist is considered a minor trade. So, the fact that our music has been recognized internationally is a great accomplishment!

One of our biggest challenges as a group is to restore hope to young people in Chad, whose lives are undermined by constant wars. We want to prove to some of them that they can follow in our footsteps and to others that they can be touched by our music.

After the success of launching their first record at the Montreal International Jazz Festival:

It doesn’t get any tighter than family, and this band from N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, is a mariage of two : the Rintobayes, of the Sara people, and the Ledjebgues, of the Kabalaye group. Singing in dialect as well as French, Arabic and English, they thrilled a reviewer at a Montreal show last year. Their music is sacred, traditional, Afro-American and most of all, tight.

Listen for yourself:

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How to become a New Photographer..PBase, Adam Warmington and more..

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Adam Warmington, landscapes, Mic Warmington, new photographer, PBase, photographer, Photography, surf, surfing

How to become a ‘New Photographer’ ?     Open your eyes, Specialise and love the medium

You could already be lucky enough to be listed on  Getty Images New Photographers.

AnnieColinge

If not, then how do get yourself noticed?

Be like Adam Warmington and specialise.

Who is he?

Originally from Bristol, UK, San Francisco based photographer, Adam Warmington has always been fascinated by images. He has spent 10 years in the film industry (even helping to make Aardman films) yet his true passion lies in stills, where he finds a greater challenge – to tell a story in one fraction of a second.
As a young traveler and observer he documents his own and others’ lives:

As a warm hearted people watcher he has also got his photographic eye open to breathtaking landscapes

So what about specializing?

Although he was always active in surfing circles it was the move to Ocean Beach,California, that acted as the catalyst for Adam’s career in surf-photography.

The combination of a close proximity to consistent waves and a gradual but warm welcome from the very tight-knit local community has allowed Adam to capture some unique and beautiful moments over the past few years. That, combined with frequent travel has let to his work being published in Surfer, The Surfers Path, Transworld, Water, Line Up, and Surfline amongst others.

So , a good eye, a passion or interest, and some determination to get up early, to grab the right light, to brave the  cold wet days  can all  lead to specialising and getting noticed.

If you want to know  more about Adam..and even his dad..here they are:

Support our young photographers!

Adam’s photos are on PBase and while there you might like to check out their magazine

Chicago blues – 10 essential albums

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Buddy Guy, Chicago blues, Howling Wolf, Jimmy Rogers, little walter, muddy waters, Otis Rush, Sonny Boy Williamson

Although I have a penchant for early acoustic blues recordings, Chicago blues, with the likes of Muddy Waters and Little Walter, can also thrill.

Do you agree with the ’10 essential albums’ listed below?

Instant Record Collection: Chicago Blues

Ten Essential Chicago Blues Albums

By Reverend Keith A. Gordon, About.com

Blues music may have been forged in the Mississippi Delta, but Chicago is where the music put on a shirt and tie, subsequently achieving commercial respectability. The period between 1950 and 1970 was the prime era for Chicago blues music, when giants like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and Junior Wells ruled the roost. Although the music slumped somewhat during the late-1960s, it remains a strong presence today. If you’re looking to start a blues collection, these are the ten Chicago blues albums to begin with…an instant record collection!

1. Muddy Waters – At Newport 1960 (Chess Records, 1960)

Photo courtesy Geffen Records

The greatest Chicago blues album ever recorded was made in Rhode Island and not in the studios of Chess Records. Muddy Waters’ explosive 1960 appearance at the Newport Folk Festival, backed by a band that included the talents of harp player James Cotton, guitarist Pat Hare, and pianist Otis Spann, put the Chicago blues on the map and helped bring an entirely new audience to the music.

2. Howlin’ Wolf – Howlin’ Wolf / Moanin’ In The Moonlight (Chess Records, 1962)

Photo courtesy Geffen Records

Wolf’s first album, Moanin’ In The Moonlight, was released in 1959 and gathers songs that he cut for Chess between 1951 and ’59, while the self-titled 1962 album (often known as “The Rocking Chair” album for its cover), featured songs recorded in 1961 and ’62. Put together on a single CD, the songs from Wolf’s first two albums represent some of the artist’s finest work. Backed by the talents of songwriter and studio bass player Willie Dixon and the phenomenal six-string talents of guitarists Hubert Sumlin and Jimmy Rogers, songs like “Wang Dang Doodle,” “Back Door Man,” “Spoonful,” and “Smokestack Lightning” have since become blues and blues-rock standards.

3. Junior Wells – Hoodoo Man Blues (Delmark Records, 1965)

Photo courtesy Delmark Records

The first true Chicago blues album cut in the studio (others were collections of singles or recorded live) was also Wells’ first full-fledged album, and the young harpist pulled out all the stops to make it rock. Hard. Backed by friend and musical foil Buddy Guy (the guitarist listed as “Friendly Chap” on the original vinyl due to contractual legalities), Wells attempted to capture the sound and feel of a performance at a West Side blues club. The general consensus is that Wells accomplished what he set out to do; the harpist would return to Delmark for the equally raucous South Side Blues Jam album in 1970.

4. Otis Rush – The Classic Cobra Recordings 1956-1958 (Varese, 2000)

Photo courtesy Price Grabber

The infamous West Side head-cutter recorded eight singles for Eli Toscano’s Cobra Records between 1956 and 1958, each showcasing the fiery guitarist’s innovative six-string style and mournful vocals. All eight songs are collected here, along with an equal number of B-sides, and alternate takes of classics like “I Can’t Quit You Baby” and “Double Trouble.”

5. Magic Sam – West Side Soul (Delmark Records, 1967)

Photo courtesy Delmark Records

“Magic” Sam Maghett made his bones the only way a Chicago bluesman could – performing lengthy, exhausting sets in West Side blues clubs, often times playing a total of four or five hours a night. Frustrated by a recording career that was going nowhere, with a string of unsuccessful singles under his belt, Magic Sam went into the studio to record a full-fledged album. West Side Soul was the classic result, a perfect showcase for the blues artist’s soulful vocals and expressive, fluid guitarplay. Tragically dying of a heart attack in 1969 while his fortunes were flying high, today Magic Sam is the third side of a West Side Chicago blues triangle that includes Otis Rush and Buddy Guy.

6. Paul Butterfield Blues Band – Paul Butterfield Blues Band (Elektra, 1965)

Photo courtesy Price Grabber

Harp wizard Paul Butterfield’s racially-mixed band revolutionized the Chicago blues, popularizing the music with young rock fans and introducing the talents of guitarists Michael Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop to the world. This self-titled debut would mix inspired covers of classic Little Walter, Muddy Waters, and Elmore James songs (“I Got My Mojo Working,” “Blues With A Feeling,” “Shake Your Moneymaker”) with newer material, like Nick Gravenites’ “Born In Chicago,” infusing each performance with Butterfield’s soulful vocals and growling harp playing, incendiary guitarwork, and a rock-solid rhythm provided by Chicago blues veterans Jerome Arnold and Sam Lay.

7. Buddy Guy – I Was Walking Through The Woods (Chess Records, 1970)

Photo courtesy Geffen Records

Blues guitar legend Buddy Guy recorded for Chess Records from 1960 to 1967, but it was primarily his role as a session player – adding his talents to recordings by artists like Muddy Waters and Koko Taylor – that the Chess Brothers were interested in exploiting. While Guy never had much chart success while at Chess, this collection of ten singles he recorded for the label during the 1960s perfectly frame Guy’s gospel-tinged vocal style and scorching fretwork. Guy would go on to bigger and better things, but this is where it all began….

8. Son Seals – Midnight Son (Alligator Records, 1976)

Photo courtesy Alligator Records

Son Seals is anything but your stereotypical Chicago bluesman – his vocals are raw but potent, lacking the subtlety of a Muddy Waters, while Seals’ fractured, riff-driven guitar style contrasts sharply with the surgical precision of Magic Sam or Otis Rush. With a style distinctively his own, Seals helped usher in a second Chicago blues era, one with heavier rock & roll and lighter jazz influences. Although slicker and more polished than his self-titled 1973 debut, Midnight Son compliments Seals’ staggering guitar attack with blustery horns, effectively mixing old-school Chicago with the new generation of guitar-driven, houserockin’ blues music.

9. Jimmy Rogers – Chicago Bound (Chess Records, 1970)

Photo courtesy Price Grabber

The former Muddy Waters sideman stepped out on his own in 1955 to pursue a solo career that, while short on commercial achievements, is every bit as influential as any Chicago bluesman, and displayed a longevity that stretched from the 1950s into the late-90s, halted only by Rogers’ death. Chicago Bound collects fourteen songs recorded during the early-50s by Rogers, showcasing the artist’s smooth vocals and inventive fretwork, accompanied by a veritable “who’s who” of Chicago blues, from Muddy Waters and Little Walter to Willie Dixon, Otis Spann and Big Walter Horton. An essential link in the Chicago blues story.

10. Little Walter – His Best (Chess Records, 1997)

Photo courtesy Geffen Records

“Little” Walter Jacobs was, undeniably, the major innovative force in blues harp, his talents effectively bridging the rural country-blues tradition of players like John Lee Sonny Boy Williamson and modern harp-blasters like Paul Butterfield and Charlie Musselwhite. Throughout the 1950s, Little Walter’s innovative and aggressive harp style helped define the sound of Chicago blues, and his talents are on full display with His Best, the album offering up 20 reasons why Little Walter is the most influential harp player in blues history.

Is your favourite player/s listed above -if not who would you include?

Rice Miller (Sonny Boy Williamson)?

Rice Miller

or Elmore James?

Elmore James

Who would be in your top 10?

More 12 string blues guitar players (2) Leadbelly. How to tune and play the twelve string guitar.

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12 string, blues guitar, guitar, Huddie Ledbetter, Leadbelly, twelve string guitar, twelve string guitar playing, twelve string guitar tuning

Sometime around 1912, a young Huddie (“Leadbelly”) Ledbetter, who was traveling with an even younger Blind Lemon Jefferson, purchased a used Stella 12-string in a Dallas pawnshop after hearing one played by a musician in a medicine show.

The young guitarist took his new instrument to a party that very night. His description of his entrance at that party was also his challenge to the world: “ I put my foot on the doorstep and my finger on the strings and said, ‘Here’s Leadbelly.’”

Like many of the first 12-string players, Leadbelly played a Stella 12-string, which he tuned down to C. The lower pitch gave the guitar a rich, booming tone. Stellas were larger than the other 12-strings being made at the time, measuring 16 inches across the lower bout. The larger body also produced the louder volume that was so important in the pre-electric guitar world.

Stella guitars

Lead Belly styled himself “King of the 12-string guitar,” and despite his use of other instruments like the concertina,

Leadbelly with Accordeon

the most enduring image of Lead Belly as a performer is wielding his unusually large Stella twelve-string.

This guitar had a slightly longer scale length than a standard guitar, slotted tuners, ladder bracing, and a trapeze-style tailpiece to resist bridge lifting.

Lead Belly played with finger picks much of the time, using a thumb pick to provide a walking bass line and occasionally to strum. This technique, combined with low tunings and heavy strings, gives many of his recordings a piano-like sound. Lead Belly’s tuning is debatable, but appears to be a downtuned variant of standard tuning; more than likely he tuned his guitar strings relative to one another, so that the actual notes shifted as the strings wore.

For tuning the twelve string guitar -you can start here:

The twelve-string guitar is an acoustic or electric guitar with 12 strings in 6 courses, which produces a richer, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Essentially, it is a type of guitar with a natural chorus effect due to the subtle differences in the frequencies produced by each of the two strings on each course.

folkofthewood.com

The strings are placed in courses of two strings each that are usually played together. The two strings in each bass course are normally tuned an octave apart, while each pair of strings in the treble courses, tuned in unison. The tuning of the second string in the third course (G) varies: some players use a unison string while others prefer the distinctive high-pitched, bell-like quality an octave string makes in this position. Some players, either in search of distinctive tone or for ease of playing, will remove some of the doubled strings. For example, removing the higher octave from the three bass courses simplifies playing running bass lines, but keeps the extra treble strings for the full strums.

Until recently, twelve-string guitars were nearly universally tuned lower than the traditional EADGBE, to reduce the stresses on the instrument. Lead Belly may have used a low C-tuning (See Julius Lester/Pete Seeger The 12-String Guitar as Played by Leadbelly, Oak Publications, New York, 1965, 6).

For step by step instructions on tuning a 12 string guitar you should read How do I tune a 12 string guitar? You might also want to check out What are some good alternate tunings for a 12 string guitar?

LEAD BELLY: NO STRANGER TO THE BLUES

32 songs by Huddie Ledbetter (Leadbelly) presented in note/tab with the complete lyrics, instructions on tuning and other background information. Songs include “Alabama Bound,” “Black Girl,”

 

 

Try this lesson on learning to play the twelve string guitar (one of a series by John Armstrong)