On the Road - Jamming Sessions

It is amazing just how many encounters develop into a full blown jamming relationship, once you meet a guy or a girl with a guitar on the road. I carried, sometimes dragged, my guitar through many countries.

In ISRAEL I met this guy who was looking for an accompanist on guitar and we played the restaurants and busking spots in Haifa, becoming acquainted with restaurateurs who funded our stay and filled our stomachs.

In PRAGUE (especially St Charles Bridge) I encountered the most talented and willing-to-jam musicians in the whole of Europe.

In the USA it seems that just about everyone (especially the kids) can play the guitar. No wonder they produce the best rockers in the world! The kids are also willing to go to Rock concerts with their parents - when I saw the Ullman- Brothers in concert; I noticed that it was a two-generation crowd.

Although I had my guitar with me for most of my travelling, I was also fortunate to find a few unattended pianos in smaller bars around the West Coast of the USA, which really added flavour to my trip.

On my second trip through Argentina, I stumbled upon a Tango pianist, who was playing in a corner bar in San Antonio de Areco. After some encouragement, I did a small blues set. I could not believe just how many notes were not working. I could manage with some effort, and the Tango must have known exactly how to avoid them, for he sounded greatly sophisticated.

In the same bar on the same evening I was introduced to a very talented guitarist that invited me to his studio where we jammed all night on guitar and drums,swopping instruments every now and then.

In the Pampas on a Gaucho farm, myself and a few local musos jammed a traditional Afrikaans number, which they executed quite well without any prior knowledge of the chords.

Musical Encounters Abroad

There were many musical encounters during my travels, of which I'll mention only a few highlights.

In LONDON (being a South African not used to that many international acts) it was amazing to simply pick up a TNT-magazine and choose between gigs in venues such as the Royal-Albert Hall, Hammersmith Apollo, Earls Court, Milton Keenes and many more. I really enjoyed Eric Clapton's Concert in the Royal Albert Hall and the Blind Blues man Jeff Healy's exploding guitar in Hammersmith Apollo.

Blues Acts from all over used to perform at a place called 'Bob's Good Time"; a blues bar that became a regular hangout for me.

In SPAIN I was very impressed with the Latin-Style talent and, of course, the rhythm. The quality of music (especially flamenco guitar) you encounter from ordinary folks in village bars and the pumping rhythm in the beach-bars of the Costa del Sol was in itself worth the visit. And their women know how to move to these rhythms...

In CAROLINA, USA, by fortunate consequence of events, I met the bassist of rock band AC/DC, Cliff Williams. They happened to be on the USA leg of their World Tour "Ballbreaker" and his wife, George-Anne, organized me a prime spot to see their concert in Raleigh, North Carolina. Considering that AC/DC is my favourite rock-outfit of all time the experience was amazing, and so was their performance. I also managed to see them a few years later in LONDON. Angus Young is a blues man!

In NASHVILLE I was truly impressed with the way Blue-grass music fused with the Blues and Jazz (Bella Fleck style). According to the locals, Blue-grass music moved down from the mountains of the Carolinas (Mountain Music), which was brought there by the Irish. IRELAND'S musicians seemed to be in a class of their own - I think it had something to do with the Celts and all that green.

In the MISSISSIPPI DELTA I encountered the heart and origin of the Blues. It was from Clarksdale (home of the Delta-Blues Museum) where the Blues travelled on the Rail tracks to Chicago, became electric and changed the world. It's a small town in the Cotton-Fields and, if you believe the power-myth of the Crossroads and Robert Johnson, this will be the place...

These days you will find the best blues performances on Beale Street, MEMPHIS. There was also a lot of Jazz to pick from in Bourbon Street, NEW ORLEANS.

Argentina is really a spectacular music paradise. From Tango acts in Buenos Aires, and brilliant musicians in the streets of San Telmo to the more traditional Folklore in the Pampas and the country. From old school blues–Argentinean Spanish style-in and around the cities, to superb solo pianists, hammering out the rhythms and melodies of the tango. Not to miss out on the new age-dance beats of Tango/folklore combinations as heard in Balofondo Productions. The Hip-hop and Rock scenes are also huge.

It seems that this music haven is created through an interwoven network of styles and traditions that have been passed on previously, and then incorporated into a current stream of music that is forever adjusting and shifting boundries, without losing sight of those authentic traditional styles.