Bowling Green John & Harmonica Paul Wiggins - Living Country Blues USA, Vol. 1 LP

Living Country Blues USA is a series of albums on L+R Records. The material was collected by German Blues experts Siegfried A. Christmann and Axel Küstner on an extended trip through the south of the USA in the fall of 1980, in the form of so-called "Field-Recordings" -- recordings made in the natural surroundings of the artists and not in the studio. Travelling 10,000 miles by car in two and a half months, they used 180,000 feet of tape and took hundreds of photographs to document various aspects of country blues, as well as work songs, fife and drum band music, field hollers and rural Gospel music, performed by 35 artists, some of whom appear on record for the first time. Vol. 1 presents Bowling Green John & Harmonica Phil Wiggins. What is so remarkable about the duo is their intensive commitment to the black blues and gospel tradition -- without diminishing the quality or spontaneity of their performances. By hearing John Cerpas with his guitar, one quickly gets impressed by the power of his playing. Deeply rooted in the so-called "Piedmont" blues tradition of the East Coast, ragtime influence and complex rhythms produce a strong emphasis on melody -- much in contrast to the harsh Mississippi blues with its hard beat and drive. When recording this album, Phil Wiggins was 26 years old and despite his young age he already could be rated as one of the top blues harp players. Influences include Hammie Nixon, Sonny Boy Williamson, Little Walter, and Shakey Hotton. He played alongside Flora Molton, Archie Edwards, Big Chief Ellis, the late Esther Mae "Mother" Scott, and John Jackson, as well as jamming with such well-known blues veterans as Sunnyland Slim, Johnny Shines, and Louisiana Red -- shaping his technique to perfection, be it in the country blues or with amplified harp in the best Chicago tradition.