TOM COPI/MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES
40 • UNCUT • OCTOBER 2019
REISSUE
OFTHE
MONTH
9/10
F
IFTYyearson,it canbehard
tograspthepurchasethe
blueshadonAmerica’s
countercultureinthe’60s;
thewayyounglisteners
andartistswerebeginningto
understand,ina muchbroader
way,howthebluesreallywasthebedrockof
muchofthemusictheyloved,fromrock’n’rollto
psychedelicrocktojazz.Blueslegendswerebeing
rediscovered,careerswerebeingreignited.Inthe
midstofallthistherewas1969’sAnnArborBlues
Festival– thefirst,andstillthebest,todrawtogether
blueslegendsfora three-dayconferenceonexactly
whatthismusiccouldbe,whenplayedatitspeak,by
playerswhoknewtheirhistoryinsideout.
Theeventcameaboutthankstotheenergies
ofa numberofUniversityofMichiganstudents,
includingJohnFishel,whowastheco-chairofthe
entertainmentcommitteeoncampus,andfestival
directorCaryGordon. Throwing around ideas for a
festival– early
suggestions
included
bringingover
groupssuchas
CreamorThe
RollingStones
toheadline–
Fishelarguedfor
a blueslineup
thatbrought
originators of
thegenretogetherunderthesameroof
fora three-daycelebrationbothofthe
music’shistoryanditssignificancetothe
contemporarycounterculture.
Gordon,Fishelandtheircollaborators
soonfoundthemselvestravellingtoChicago,
formanythecurrenthomeoftheblues,ona
semi-regularbasis.Whileinthecitythey’dcatch
a numberofshowsandspendtimewithBobKoester,
whoranthelocalrecordstoreJazzRecordMartand
recordlabelDelmarkRecords.By1969,Delmarkhad
branchedoutintoreleasingfreejazz,buttheblues
wasstillcoretothelabel’scatalogue;Koesterwas
theperfectguideforsomeyounguniversitystudents
whosenascentyetdeeploveoftheblueshadthem
searchingforartistswhowerecoretothegenre,
whilekeepinganeyeopenfornewdevelopments and
upcomingplayers.
Approachingtheprogrammingwitha rare
combinationofdesires– enthusiasm,learning,aneye
for detail, a respect for history, anopennesstothenow
- ledtoa festival
that,inretrospect,
is almostanindex
ofthegreatest
bluesplayers
aroundinAmerica
inthelate’60s.The
committee’s
programmingwas
smartenoughto
bringinplayers
who were
O C O B E R 2019
TAKE 269
1 PETERLAUGHNER(P44)
2 THECULT(P45)
3 LINDAMcCARTNEY(P4 6)
4 MANUCHAO(P48)
5 THEVU(P50)
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Ann Arbor BluesFestival 1969
THIRDMAN
The legendary blues festival, rediscovered and compiled.By Jon Dale
REISSUES | COMPS | BOXSETS | LOST RECORDINGS
“Every day I have the blues”
