We won’t know the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic for many years, not least because they haven’t stopped piling up. Bodily sickness, mental illness, financial loss—everyone seems to have been afflicted differently, and the effects on our medical, political, social, and economic systems compound those individual misfortunes. New variants, vaccine updates, and long COVID are […]
Tag: boogie-woogie
Posted inMusic
Boogie-woogie torchbearer Erwin Helfer upholds the dignity, joy, and humor of an antique style
Pianist Erwin Helfer may be Chicago’s last living link to the vital boogie-woogie tradition, which arose more than a century ago.
Posted inMusic
The Reader’s guide to the 2018 Chicago Blues Festival
The fest expands its footprint in Millennium Park with a diverse lineup that includes boogie-woogie pianist Erwin Helfer, southern soul-blues star Ms. Jody, and the Rising Stars Fife & Drum Band with Shardé Thomas.
Posted inMusic
Blues pianist Little Brother Montgomery influenced legends as diverse as Skip James and Johnny Cash
Pianist Little Brother Montgomery straddled blues, boogie-woogie, and jazz—and bridged prewar southern blues and the electric Chicago style.
Posted inMusic
Meade ‘Lux’ Lewis helped kick off the boogie-woogie craze with his lifelong friend Albert Ammons
This powerful, imaginative pianist shot to stardom in the late 30s, but changing fashions dropped him back into obscurity by the 60s.