Wednesday, September 29, 2010

The Riverfront Times Best of St Louis awards the Best Book by a Local Author to Devil at the Confluence by Kevin Belford.



"Maybe St. Louis will finally get its due as the music town that it always was. And if you aren't aware that St. Louis was an influential music city, you're not alone. Our city's musical history has not been well documented — until now. Last year Kevin Belford published Devil at the Confluence, a masterfully illustrated and documented book about the history of St. Louis blues. A graphic artist by trade, Belford lovingly lays out each beautiful printed page like a work of art. The book is dense with anecdotes and history about the bluesmen and -women who made St. Louis their home. If you have the slightest interest in our city's musical legacy, get a copy of Devil at the Confluence — it is quite possibly one of the most beautiful history books you'll ever find."

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Nat Hentoff gets the St Louis blues.


Mr. Nat Hentoff is one of the founding fathers of jazz scholarship. He is a pioneer of jazz history, appreciation and journalism. (And for those stubborn "The blues aren't jazz" folks, Hentoff recorded sessions with Otis Spann, Memphis Slim and Lightnin’ Hopkins. So he's got major blues cred as well.) Hentoff knows all about, and is a part of, American jazz and blues music history. He was there. He was on the front lines as a correspondent. Starting out as associate editor of Down Beat magazine in the 1950s, he has published many books on jazz, biographies and novels, as well as a career of journalism and critique at the Washington Post, the Village Voice, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the New Republic, Commonweal, the Atlantic and more than 25 years on staff at the New Yorker

When I began to dig up information on the original St Louis blues musicians, I found that many area artists were not included in the story of American music. In their time their music was very popular and their styles were influential but of the few names from the city that did get mentioned, they were not listed as St Louisans. The history of St Louis' arts had not been documented. The facts about the St Louis artists weren't available to music writers and fans and so the American music story was told without identifying them or their city.

Artists from places like New Orleans, Memphis, or Chicago were written about and categorized by the cities they lived in and those cities were credited with the art that their resident creatives made.

So that's what made me realize that a book had to be made. St Louis, the artists and the cultural achievements - and the familial bond between all of them - were unrecognized and unrepresented in history.

And now comes Mr Hentoff's insightful review of Devil At The Confluence in October's JazzTimes magazine where he says, "Never before have I learned so much about St. Louis’ powerful and influential role in the blues and American music.

Thank you, sir. It's both wonderful and amusing that he appreciates the book Devil At The Confluence as an heirloom that he is thinking of putting in his will, but most importantly, his appreciation is affirmation of what I realized about St Louis and why I created a book. 

And it is something that St Louisans (and many visitors) understand: the cultural arts of the area are a part of a strong legacy that is vibrantly alive today with progressive creativity.
So often St Louisans wonder why the amazing talent that we have appreciated for generations and can be found in all corners of the city every day isn't recognized in the national arena.
Well, the book answers that question - it's because of the Devil at the Confluence.
And now, thanks to Mr Hentoff, that just might change.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Devil At The Confluence uncovers a forgotten era" Living St. Louis, KETC

"Silvercloud's style and repertoire was in keeping with an older generation of St Louis blues artists whose names and achievements were largely forgotten."
Ruth Ezell.
From "Devil At The Confluence uncovers a forgotten era" Living St. Louis, KETC, airs Sept - Dec 2010.

Devil At The Confluence uncovers a forgotten era" Living St. Louis, KETC


The Devil At The Confluence exhibit at the Illustrated Art Museum in the ArtSpace at Crestwood Court. 37 Crestwood Court, Crestwood, MO, 314-941-2097.
From "Devil At The Confluence uncovers a forgotten era" Living St. Louis, KETC, airs Sept - Dec 2010.

Devil At The Confluence uncovers a forgotten era" Living St. Louis, KETC

"I came up in the punk rock scene and quickly discovered blues. Not only was I interested in their playing, but the actual content of the songs. [The Rum Drum Ramblers,] everything we record is all originals - our take on that music, but it's new. That's our way of carrying it forward."
Mat Wilson.
From "Devil At The Confluence uncovers a forgotten era" Living St. Louis, KETC, airs Sept - Dec 2010.

Devil At The Confluence uncovers a forgotten era" Living St. Louis, KETC

"St Louis superstar artists were recording through the Depression, when 75 cents was a lot for someone to spend for a record and bringing an artist in to record them and make a record and market it cost the companies a lot of money. During the Depression they didn't do that with just anyone and St Louis artists were recording through the Depression decade like there was no Depression. That says a lot about the talent in St Louis."
Kevin Belford.
From "Devil At The Confluence uncovers a forgotten era" Living St. Louis, KETC, airs Sept - Dec 2010.

Devil At The Confluence uncovers a forgotten era" Living St. Louis, KETC

"There were blues clubs all over the city. All the way out to the city limits and even to the county - Northside, Southside, Midtown... it was like a circuit in itself."
Bernie Hayes.
From "Devil At The Confluence uncovers a forgotten era" Living St. Louis, KETC, airs Sept - Dec 2010.

Devil At The Confluence uncovers a forgotten era" Living St. Louis, KETC

"I went looking for the names and the biographies of St Louis blues musicians and started looking at the traditional books on the blues, They are all about the guys in the Delta, Memphis or Chicago. It's like,"Well where's St Louis?" There's a paragraph here and there. No list of names, no biographies and everyone knows St Louis had a really strong tradition of blues."
Kevin Belford.
From "Devil At The Confluence uncovers a forgotten era" Living St. Louis, KETC, airs Sept - Dec 2010.

Devil At The Confluence uncovers a forgotten era" Living St. Louis, KETC


"St Louis has been a major influence in the evolution of several forms of music, not the least of which is the blues. But few among us knew the extent of that influence until a forgotten chapter in the history of the St Louis blues was rediscovered."
From "Devil At The Confluence uncovers a forgotten era" Living St. Louis, KETC, airs Sept - Dec 2010.