Gentle Bluesman, Blues Gentleman

The Mississippi John Hurt disc I just ordered was a direct result of attending a tribute to his work, part of the annual New York City Guitar Festival. The small concert (at Merkin Hall near Lincoln Center, a nice venue for this type of event) featured old folkie Bill Morrissey, who has done a John Hurt cover album, and starred Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplane/Hot Tuna fame, working with (“accompanied by” is not accurate) Barry Mitterhoff. Also appearing were Brandon Ross, an interesting performer (and producer of artists like Cassandra Wilson), and the Jen Chapin Trio (I hate to say “coasting on her father’s rep”, but her group was not impressive).

The music of John Hurt is gently propulsive, a country-blues style that wraps a certain sweetness around its sometimes provocative and occasionally violent lyrics. It’s never cloying (even in a song like “Creole Belle”), and the unique 3-finger picking style he developed has that old-school ragtime strut running underneath it all. Bill Morrissey pointed out that only Mississippi John Hurt could write a perky song about an axe murder.

The story of Hurt’s brief rise (in the late 20’s), long disappearance into rural Mississippi, and rediscovery in the early 60’s during the resurging folk scene, is well known – and his renaissance was certainly deserved. His musical output wasn’t vast, but its style is unmistakable, and while not as influential as the equally small oeuvre of Robert Johnson, many folk guitarists owe part of their picking technique to him. Jorma, for example (I can call him “Jorma” because a guitar playing friend of mine goes regularly to one of his Fur Peace workshops), pointed out that he was far more influenced directly by the work of Rev. Gary Davis, but that when he paid more attention to Hurt’s music, found that he had been influenced by it without being conscious of it.

This was a fine concert over all. Morrissey is a skilled pro, with a real affinity for Hurt’s music (he also does a great impression of the old master), and Brandon Ross’ unusual interpretations brought out the modal quality of the songs. A group of adults and kids did a very charming version of “Creole Belle”, and the show concluded with a long set by Kaukonen and Mitterhoff (who reminds me of David Bromberg in his ability to pick up any stringed instrument and make it sing) which rambled a bit and went off on a few musical tangents (concluding with Jorma’s JA signature piece, “Embryonic Journey”), but which was never boring and was occasionally brilliant.

If you’ve never heard Mississippi John Hurt, pick up a set. Don’t bother with the Avalon Blues tribute album; go for his Okeh original recordings (also titled Avalon Blues), the complete studio recordings, or the live set he did in the 60’s (under the misleading title of The Best of Mississippi John Hurt), when his playing was as strong as ever, and his gentle, soulful voice reached right into your heart.