Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three---"Pack It Up"




Here's a group that plays traditional American folk and jazz music, and also comes up with original compositions like this foot-tapping tune. Hope you enjoy!

From MySpace (Pokey La Farge)

"Of the countless roots musicians traveling the world, spreading the early American music tradition, St. Louis musician and singer Pokey LaFarge is the next in line to make a significant impact on music enthusiasts everywhere. His creative mix of early jazz, string ragtime, country blues and western swing rings true and fine, making him one of the most innovative of all the purists performing American roots music today. It’s wonderfully infectious, and all laid down in front of a big, big swingin’ beat. A lot of performers are content to play old material, reworking the tunes to give them new life or to stamp them with personal style. But LaFarge both achieves timelessness with his original songs and honors the legendary songwriters and musicians of songs he covers. He uses his booming voice as an instrument with an incredible range; above his parlor guitar one moment he shouts a line and the next he croons. And while his music may be a fitting soundtrack to R. Crumb's comics, don't dare to call it “old-timey.” Whether performing solo or with his crew of painstakingly hand-picked supporting musicians, LaFarge’s extraordinary blend of raw talent and refined, idiosyncratic charm turns reviewers into poets as they attempt to label his one-of-a-kind sound."

7 comments:

  1. Love it Douglas....


    This really is good it's an early render of jazz and blue grass it seems. Regardless it's easy music and nice Doug.

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  2. Me too, Jack.



    Yes, it's great to see young musicians of such talents still making these great musical styles relevent and commercial.

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  3. It is Doug, I just stepped out and the geese are flying southbound...yet I find that there is still great music such as this and there are an array. There are so many which I have never heard before and yet music does prevail.

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  4. I guess the cooler temps of Fall are fast approaching Jack. It's great to be able to share music near and far this way.

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  5. Thanks for posting these great performances from the American roots (acoustic) scene, this is part of the world music movement I think.... Django Reinhardt meets Hank Williams and the Jug Band Stompers.

    I love this sort of music.

    In Britain the genre is known as 'skiffle' and is especially associated here with Lonnie Donegan.

    I cut my musical teeth (if there are such things?) on these sorts of sounds with their heavily syncopated folk, balled, blues and jazz roots.

    Not only wonderful musicianship here Doug but fantastic instruments too, Pokey LaFarge's guitar is a beautiful object in itself without a note being played on it. Good stuff Doug thanks for posting it.

    I expect Mr LaFarge will be appearing at a festival near to me in the near future I will look out for him, thanks for another hot tip.

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  6. Reinhardt...Hank, Sr., and the Jug Band Stompers sounds like the perfect blending for this music, AA.

    Glad I could post something of the cornucopia of music you experienced.


    Skiffle music I understand was very popular in the 50s and early 60s in port cities and northern England especially . That music blended together nicely with the American rhythm and blues records to create sounds the impetus for a distinct sound of which The Beatles of course were the most famous.

    I'll have to look up Lonnie Donegan.

    I hopw we both get a chance to see Pokey and the gang when they hit town in our respective burgs.

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