wow - again i can contradict the common rumors, or even advices, that bernd should abandon "mmeff", "my music events for friends". gentler tales say it will of course continue. and yes it does this year!
so, what kind of music style will be on? oh oh that's not easy to epitomize ... well, it won't be african, calypso, flamenco, indian, opera, pop, punk, rap, reggae, rock, samba, tango, zydeco - but dazzling music will surely truly happen, promised! eggshelly it may be "seulb" - gosh ...
and which instruments? archtop guitar? yes. electrical guitar? yes. violoncello? yes. and above all: voice! the ixcillint musos will give their best to get the unique and so very rich "seulb" music, as well as classical music, in your ears and eyes.
furthermore, there will be an old chap to lagshare, oops, to lecture a bit about the history of "seulb" music and its link to jazz and folk, and why it became an own sphere of marvelous music. moreover, we will be honoured by a distinctive guest musician, out of the long chronicle of "mmeff".
finally, a pretty unexpected deed is due - - a lottereee - as chase for luck!
and this was bernd rohrmann's invitation to ... to his twenty-first music night!
of course some wondered, what on earth is seulb-music?
well once these two played & sang it became certainly apparent!
the 2018 music night had a large program, consisting of 6 parts:
1 = music by two musicians - set 1
2 = essay-a by bernd, about early blues history, with many pic's
3 = surprise! true honour guest -- a classical musician
4 = essay-b by bernd, about modern blues history, many pic's
5 = music by two musicians - set 2
6 = super-surprise, a lottery
all this took place between 7:30 pm and 11:30 pm - which means, the whole evening!
invited were 18 people, friends and friends of friends, and the two + one = three musicians.
the musicians were placed at the southern section of the venue, and all the guests were sitting at a set of tables around them.
given the immense agenda, the "captain" of the event (yes, this was indeed bernd) had to look sanguine, using sometimes a little memo booklet, and presented essential pictures in large frames. this task was then mostly done by lady dawn kennedy though.
this year's core musicians were the two "sons of the blues", john phillips and patrick byrne, who play different guitars and sing - - here they are:
bernd's extensive discourse about the history of blues - dealing with its history and the modern era - was illustrated with many musician pic's, all framed, in a3 or a4 size. these pic's were shown piece by piece by dawn. this essay -- vital for mmeff-2018 -- was presented in two parts.
>>> part a <<<
<> what's blues? blues is a type of music created by african-americans in the deep south of usa at the end of the 19th century. its roots are african musical traditions, african-american work songs, spirituals, and the folk music of white people with european heritage. all songs included texts as vital feature.
<> the emergence of the blues is linked to the ending of slavery. it eventually got a firm structure, and in 1908 the first blues sheet music was published. the lyrics often relate to the manifold troubles experienced within african american society, and therefore are essential.
<> blues is an essential part of jazz, and soon became popular in social events, pubs, festivities and so on.
<> the essential instruments: guitar, harmonica, piano, and drums. first records of blues songs were made in 1912, however, there are many photos of the early time.
<> because of historic reports and special records, crucial musicians are clear, such as robert johnson and little walter:
<> the most famous women were memphis minnie and bessie smith.
<> around 1920, jazz bands started to include blues pieces, such as the king oliver band and louis armstrong's bands.
integrated into bernd's talk, 3 historic blues records were played, on a yamaha tool, by sir simon palmer.
these were records by prof longhair, by the kansas city kitty, and by armstrong's hot five (armstrong et al.) lady anoo bhatia presented the linked pic's:
>>> part b <<<
<> blues nowadays: from 1930 onwards, jazz has changed immensely, and some people even thought it would eventually die. it didn't though! and that's true for blues too!
<> after world war 2 the transition from acoustic to electric blues happened and blues music reached a much wider audience. many modern blues musicians came up, like: memphis slim, b b king, muddy waters, otish rush, henry butler, sonny terry, steve ray vaughan - and so on...
<> in the 1960s and 1970s, a hybrid form was named "blues rock". actually a lot of famous rock musicians have always played blues tunes as well, such as these two,:john mayall and eric clapton.
<> and here are two very well-known ladies who included blues into their music, deborah coleman and bonnie raitt.
<> surprise surprise, or may be not, even the most famous rock band, the rolling stones, has recorded quite a few blues pieces!
<> and then bernd became personal and certainly subjective - his own favorites are - rosie flores and mike rudd. highly impressive rosie unfortunately lives far away, in texas - yet mike a kiwi, and he lives indeed right here in melbourne! and he has honoured us with his unique combo "spectrum" on mmeff-2009.
three newer blues records, taken from cd's, were again played by simon. these were by henry butler, the rolling stones, and the combo spectrum. anoo presented thepic's of them:
yes, "my music events for friends" is going for 21 years now, gosh.... so bernd fell to the temptation to present a mini-review, presenting many pictures, and a few comments as well.
here is an extract: 1998: first event. 2001: only mmeff with classical string quartet. 2006: the freely moving stiletto sisters. 2007: flamenco music plus, first time, a dancer. 2009: first rock band. in 2011 an (almost) ladies group. 2012: unique south-african musicians. 2013: the only event in which a book was presented, celeste's "a certain music". 2014 tango music with tango-dancing couple. 2015: a surprising scottish concert. and 2017, last year, zulya the russian artist
celeste's famous book actually deals with beethoven and elise. celeste was the honour guest.
so this gave a brief review of half of the bands so far playing in "my music events fro friends".
may be this idea was a bit eccentric? anyway, bernd decided once more to invite musicians from earlier events as honory guests. and this time it was helen, from mmeff-2011, the unique cello player.
and she enjoyed to present three songs, own ones, as pleasure for the audience, and her own amusement.
as the finale of mmeff-2018, bernd conducted a lottery, sending dawn with the box, and telling about the three wins to get. each guest could pick one ticket out of the lottery box.
The wins, submitted by anoo, were:
| *** | "gold" win: cd by helen mountfort (new one from 2018) |
| ** | "silver": essay about the history of guitars (by bernd rohrmann) |
| * | "bronze": little arty guitar model |
and that ended "my music events for friends" in 2018 - - - possibly this was the final "mmeff"?
this wasn't easy, given the many issues to be covered between 7:30 and 11:30. so bernd had to stay in line with the pertinent agenda structure, and regularly looking at the clock as well!
to steer the rather complex event, bernd created his own "attention-please-bell" and certainly used it through the whole evening.
the venue was the same as last year, the "rhapsody café". it is managed by roula lostrom and her team.
this included to provide dinner, and lots of drinks (certainly not just coffee...)
so, at the end of the event. bernd thanked the 'chief waitress', and of course roula, and for her he even had a gift, designes as a framed picture.
here they are, all four - anoo, simon, dawn, lisa - helping with showing pictures, with playing special records, with running the lottery, and with photographing at the event (that's actually lady klug) -- thanxxxxx!
and, by the way, this report wouldn't be without all the pics by two so brave photographers!
that's it - a thorough report with very many pictures about mmeff-2018 - cheerio & aufwiedersehen (perhapsilee) & bye byye byyye !
