6/29/2012

Mississippi John Hurt - Avalon Blues


"Mississippi" John Hurt

Born July 3, 1893, in Teoc, Mississippi, Hurt and his family moved in 1895 to Avalon, a town on the edge of Mississippi's hill country. He dropped out of school at the age of nine to begin working as a farmer. In 1902, Hurt picked up the guitar, a $1.50 "Black Annie" his mother bought him. Self-taught, Hurt developed a distinctive three-finger style that bears no resemblance to other area musicians. He also developed proficiency with the harmonica but was always a self-accompanied musician. Unlike Furry Lewis and Memphis Minnie, Hurt refused an offer to accompany a traveling medicine show, preferring to stay close to home.

Hurt played solo at local parties where his fluid yet highly syncopated guitar style made him a favorite among Carroll County dancers. His fame was localized, however; it was not until 1912 that he started playing parties around Jackson, Mississippi, 103 miles from his native Avalon. While Hurt worked mostly outside music as a farmer and laborer, his musical reputation among whites as well as blacks led to his first recording session in Memphis in 1928. Willie T. Narmour and Shell W. Smith, two white country musicians from Carroll County, recommended him to their record producer, Tommy Rockwell.

Hurt recorded eight sides for the Okeh label, two of which were released and sold well: "Frankie" and "Nobody's Dirty Business." In Memphis for the same recording session was St. Louis guitarist/pianist Lonnie Johnson, and Hurt later recalled that Blind Lemon Jefferson and Bessie Smith were also in town. He saw none of these famous musicians play but instead returned home to Avalon. Okeh called Hurt to New York City for another session in December 1928, where he cut twelve additional sides, including "Avalon Blues." Again, Hurt returned home to Avalon to farm and play music for local parties.

These two sessions were the extent of Hurt's recording before the Great Depression curtailed record sales. His graceful picking, gentle crooning, and homespun lyrics marked him as an exceptionally talented musician. The preponderance of songs about legendary figures in his repertoire ("Casey Jones," "Frankie," "Stack O'Lee Blues") and the lack of then-modern blues influences on his style, establish Hurt as a link between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Okeh originally designated two of his songs "Old Time Music," an appellation reserved for the label's hillbilly series. This, together with the fact that white musicians were familiar with and recommended his musicianship, suggests strongly that Hurt's music sprang from a common source that produced blues and country music.

Hurt lived a quiet life as a farmer and laborer, playing occasional parties and fish fries until 1963. He was rediscovered in Avalon, a consequence of having named it as his hometown in a record made thirty-five years before. Hurt enjoyed great popularity during the blues revival of the 1960s, making television appearances, playing folk festivals, and recording albums. Exceptionally well liked by all who came in contact with him, he became the most famous of all the rediscovered 1920s bluesmen, eclipsing in his fame the celebrated Son House and Skip James.

His newfound fame lasted three years before his death on November 2, 1966. Mississippi John Hurt's grave is located outside his hometown of Avalon, Mississippi.

6/27/2012

Skip James - Cypress Grove Blues


Born June 21, 1902, in Yazoo City, Mississippi, at the "colored" hospital, Skip James was raised on the Woodbine Plantation, fifteen miles south of Yazoo City and a mile and a half from nearby Bentonia. His bootlegger father left his wife and son in 1907, a step ahead of the local revenue agents. His mother bought him his first guitar for $2.50 in 1912. Henry Stuckey, a guitarist five years older who lived on nearby Sataria Plantation, taught James the venerable eight-bar staple "Drunken Spree." James's mother moved the family to nearby Sidon in 1914 in an attempt to reconnect with her husband. The reunion fizzled and fourteen-year-old James ran away from home for a year. In 1917, he returned to Bentonia, where his mother was then living. There he attended high school and worked on the weekends at Gooching Brothers sawmill. During this time James took rudimentary piano lessons from his cousin Alma Williams, a schoolteacher.

James dropped out of high school in 1919 and left Bentonia to work and live at a road construction camp near Ruleville. During the next two years he worked in various levee and lumber camps around the Delta. While working in a lumber camp James composed his first song, "Illinois Blues." On weekends, he would pick his guitar for tips in the nearby towns of Drew, Louise, and Belzoni. In 1921, James moved to Weona, Arkansas, to work as a lumber grader at a sawmill camp. There he met pianist/pimp Will Crabtree. By James's account, Crabtree was a huge man from nearby Marked Tree, Arkansas, who influenced his piano playing and lifestyle. James remained in Weona until 1923, hustling women and working as a pianist. After a dispute with one of the women, James moved to Memphis, where he worked as a pianist at a brothel on North Nichols Street.

Likely as a result of the passage of Prohibition, James returned in 1924 to Bentonia, where he remained for six years. During this time he worked as a sharecropper, but soon began bootlegging "white lightning" to pay for the fancy clothes and jewelry that he had come to enjoy during his days as a pimp. He also practiced his guitar playing, working dances with Henry Stuckey in Bentonia, Sidon, and as far away as Jackson, Mississippi. James developed his three-finger picking style, a style practiced by Charley Patton, Mississippi John Hurt, and Jackson native Bo Carter. James's trademark sound came from his E-minor tuning, which he called "cross-note tuning." His digital dexterity, unusual sound, falsetto singing voice, and proficiency with a guitar convinced Paramount Records talent scout H.C. Speir to recommend James to the label based on an audition in Speir's music store at 111 Farish Street in Jackson. In February 1931, he waxed eighteen sides at Paramount's Grafton, Wisconsin, studio that were subsequently issued. During the session James established himself at the forefront of blues musicians, evidenced by songs such as "I'm So Glad," "Devil Got My Woman," "Special Rider Blues," and "20-20 Blues."

Speir attempted to persuade James to record again in late 1931 or early 1932, but the musician had "gotten religion" as a result of a meeting with his father and refused the offer. The elder James had reformed his habits and become a Baptist minister. James followed his father to Plano, Texas, where he attended, but did not graduate from, seminary school. James remained with his father during the 1940s, returning home to Bentonia upon the death of his mother in the early 1950s. He was rediscovered in 1964 and together with Son House and Mississippi John Hurt sparked interest in the blues revival of the time. A rock version of "I'm So Glad" became a million seller, but James denounced it. He recorded and toured during the 1960s before being stricken with cancer.

Skip James died October 3, 1969, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is buried at Mercon Cemetery, Bala-Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.



6/25/2012

Skip James - Devil Got My Woman


Born June 21, 1902, in Yazoo City, Mississippi, at the "colored" hospital, Skip James was raised on the Woodbine Plantation, fifteen miles south of Yazoo City and a mile and a half from nearby Bentonia. His bootlegger father left his wife and son in 1907, a step ahead of the local revenue agents. His mother bought him his first guitar for $2.50 in 1912. Henry Stuckey, a guitarist five years older who lived on nearby Sataria Plantation, taught James the venerable eight-bar staple "Drunken Spree." James's mother moved the family to nearby Sidon in 1914 in an attempt to reconnect with her husband. The reunion fizzled and fourteen-year-old James ran away from home for a year. In 1917, he returned to Bentonia, where his mother was then living. There he attended high school and worked on the weekends at Gooching Brothers sawmill. During this time James took rudimentary piano lessons from his cousin Alma Williams, a schoolteacher.

James dropped out of high school in 1919 and left Bentonia to work and live at a road construction camp near Ruleville. During the next two years he worked in various levee and lumber camps around the Delta. While working in a lumber camp James composed his first song, "Illinois Blues." On weekends, he would pick his guitar for tips in the nearby towns of Drew, Louise, and Belzoni. In 1921, James moved to Weona, Arkansas, to work as a lumber grader at a sawmill camp. There he met pianist/pimp Will Crabtree. By James's account, Crabtree was a huge man from nearby Marked Tree, Arkansas, who influenced his piano playing and lifestyle. James remained in Weona until 1923, hustling women and working as a pianist. After a dispute with one of the women, James moved to Memphis, where he worked as a pianist at a brothel on North Nichols Street.

Likely as a result of the passage of Prohibition, James returned in 1924 to Bentonia, where he remained for six years. During this time he worked as a sharecropper, but soon began bootlegging "white lightning" to pay for the fancy clothes and jewelry that he had come to enjoy during his days as a pimp. He also practiced his guitar playing, working dances with Henry Stuckey in Bentonia, Sidon, and as far away as Jackson, Mississippi. James developed his three-finger picking style, a style practiced by Charley Patton, Mississippi John Hurt, and Jackson native Bo Carter. James's trademark sound came from his E-minor tuning, which he called "cross-note tuning." His digital dexterity, unusual sound, falsetto singing voice, and proficiency with a guitar convinced Paramount Records talent scout H.C. Speir to recommend James to the label based on an audition in Speir's music store at 111 Farish Street in Jackson. In February 1931, he waxed eighteen sides at Paramount's Grafton, Wisconsin, studio that were subsequently issued. During the session James established himself at the forefront of blues musicians, evidenced by songs such as "I'm So Glad," "Devil Got My Woman," "Special Rider Blues," and "20-20 Blues."

Speir attempted to persuade James to record again in late 1931 or early 1932, but the musician had "gotten religion" as a result of a meeting with his father and refused the offer. The elder James had reformed his habits and become a Baptist minister. James followed his father to Plano, Texas, where he attended, but did not graduate from, seminary school. James remained with his father during the 1940s, returning home to Bentonia upon the death of his mother in the early 1950s. He was rediscovered in 1964 and together with Son House and Mississippi John Hurt sparked interest in the blues revival of the time. A rock version of "I'm So Glad" became a million seller, but James denounced it. He recorded and toured during the 1960s before being stricken with cancer.

Skip James died October 3, 1969, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is buried at Mercon Cemetery, Bala-Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.



6/24/2012

Skip James - Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues


Born June 21, 1902, in Yazoo City, Mississippi, at the "colored" hospital, Skip James was raised on the Woodbine Plantation, fifteen miles south of Yazoo City and a mile and a half from nearby Bentonia. His bootlegger father left his wife and son in 1907, a step ahead of the local revenue agents. His mother bought him his first guitar for $2.50 in 1912. Henry Stuckey, a guitarist five years older who lived on nearby Sataria Plantation, taught James the venerable eight-bar staple "Drunken Spree." James's mother moved the family to nearby Sidon in 1914 in an attempt to reconnect with her husband. The reunion fizzled and fourteen-year-old James ran away from home for a year. In 1917, he returned to Bentonia, where his mother was then living. There he attended high school and worked on the weekends at Gooching Brothers sawmill. During this time James took rudimentary piano lessons from his cousin Alma Williams, a schoolteacher.

James dropped out of high school in 1919 and left Bentonia to work and live at a road construction camp near Ruleville. During the next two years he worked in various levee and lumber camps around the Delta. While working in a lumber camp James composed his first song, "Illinois Blues." On weekends, he would pick his guitar for tips in the nearby towns of Drew, Louise, and Belzoni. In 1921, James moved to Weona, Arkansas, to work as a lumber grader at a sawmill camp. There he met pianist/pimp Will Crabtree. By James's account, Crabtree was a huge man from nearby Marked Tree, Arkansas, who influenced his piano playing and lifestyle. James remained in Weona until 1923, hustling women and working as a pianist. After a dispute with one of the women, James moved to Memphis, where he worked as a pianist at a brothel on North Nichols Street.

Likely as a result of the passage of Prohibition, James returned in 1924 to Bentonia, where he remained for six years. During this time he worked as a sharecropper, but soon began bootlegging "white lightning" to pay for the fancy clothes and jewelry that he had come to enjoy during his days as a pimp. He also practiced his guitar playing, working dances with Henry Stuckey in Bentonia, Sidon, and as far away as Jackson, Mississippi. James developed his three-finger picking style, a style practiced by Charley Patton, Mississippi John Hurt, and Jackson native Bo Carter. James's trademark sound came from his E-minor tuning, which he called "cross-note tuning." His digital dexterity, unusual sound, falsetto singing voice, and proficiency with a guitar convinced Paramount Records talent scout H.C. Speir to recommend James to the label based on an audition in Speir's music store at 111 Farish Street in Jackson. In February 1931, he waxed eighteen sides at Paramount's Grafton, Wisconsin, studio that were subsequently issued. During the session James established himself at the forefront of blues musicians, evidenced by songs such as "I'm So Glad," "Devil Got My Woman," "Special Rider Blues," and "20-20 Blues."

Speir attempted to persuade James to record again in late 1931 or early 1932, but the musician had "gotten religion" as a result of a meeting with his father and refused the offer. The elder James had reformed his habits and become a Baptist minister. James followed his father to Plano, Texas, where he attended, but did not graduate from, seminary school. James remained with his father during the 1940s, returning home to Bentonia upon the death of his mother in the early 1950s. He was rediscovered in 1964 and together with Son House and Mississippi John Hurt sparked interest in the blues revival of the time. A rock version of "I'm So Glad" became a million seller, but James denounced it. He recorded and toured during the 1960s before being stricken with cancer.

Skip James died October 3, 1969, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is buried at Mercon Cemetery, Bala-Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.


6/23/2012

Louis Armstrong - West End Blues - 1928

Louis Armstrong was born in a poor section of New Orleans known as “the Battlefield” on August 4, 1901.

By the time of his death in 1971, the man known around the world as Satchmo was widely recognized as a founding father of jazz—a uniquely American art form. His influence, as an artist and cultural icon, is universal, unmatched, and very much alive today.
Louis Armstrong’s achievements are remarkable. During his career, he:


  • developed a way of playing jazz, as an instrumentalist and a vocalist, which has had an impact on all musicians to follow; 
  • recorded hit songs for five decades, and his music is still heard today on television and radio and in films; 
  • wrote two autobiographies, more than ten magazine articles, hundreds of pages of memoirs, and thousands of letters; 
  • appeared in more than thirty films (over twenty were full-length features) as a gifted actor with superb comic timing and an unabashed joy of life;
  • composed dozens of songs that have become jazz standards;
  • performed an average of 300 concerts each year, with his frequent tours to all parts of the world earning him the nickname “Ambassador Satch,” and became one of the first great celebrities of the twentieth century. 


Through the years, Louis entertained millions, from heads of state and royalty to the kids on his stoop in Corona. Despite his fame, he remained a humble man and lived a simple life in a working-class neighborhood. To this day, everyone loves Louis Armstrong—just the mention of his name makes people smile.

Sequoia Supercomputer


Lawrence Livermore’s Sequoia Supercomputer Towers above the Rest in Latest TOP500 List

MANNHEIM, Germany; BERKELEY, Calif.; and KNOXVILLE, Tenn.—For the first time since November 2009, a United States supercomputer sits atop the TOP500 list of the world’s top supercomputers. Named Sequoia, the IBM BlueGene/Q system installed at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory achieved an impressive 16.32 petaflop/s on the Linpack benchmark using 1,572,864 cores.
Sequoia is also one of the most energy efficient systems on the list, which will be released Monday, June 18, at the 2012 International Supercomputing Conference in Hamburg, Germany. This will mark the 39th edition of the list, which is compiled twice each year.
Complete information on the trends indicated by the latest list, as well as the complete list, can be found on the TOP500 website.
On the latest list, Fujitsu’s “K Computer” installed at the RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science (AICS) in Kobe, Japan, is now the No. 2 system with 10.51 Pflop/s on the Linpack benchmark using 705,024 SPARC64 processing cores. The K Computer held the No. 1 spot on the previous two lists.
The new Mira supercomputer, an IBM BlueGene/Q system at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois, debuted at No. 3, with 8.15 petaflop/s on the Linpack benchmark using 786,432 cores. The other U.S. system in the Top 10 is the upgraded Jaguar at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, which was the top U.S. system on the previous list and now clocks in at No. 6.
The newest list also marks a return of European systems in force. The most powerful system in Europe and No.4 on the List is SuperMUC, an IBM iDataplex system installed at Leibniz Rechenzentrum in Germany. Another German machine, the JuQUEEN BlueGene/Q at Forschungszentrum Juelich, is No. 8.
Italy makes its debut in the Top 10 with an IBM BlueGene/Q system installed at CINECA. The system is at No. 7 on the list with 1.72 Pflop/s performance. In all, four of the top 10 supercomputers are IBM BlueGene/Q systems. France occupies the No. 9 spot with a homegrown Bull supercomputer.
China, which briefly took the No. 1 and No.3 spots in November 2010, has two systems in the Top 10, with Tianhe-1Aat the National Supercomputing Center in Tianjin in No. 5 and Nebulae at the National Supercomputing Centre in Shenzhen No. 10.
Total performance of all the systems on the list has increased considerably since November 2011, reaching 123.4 Pflop/s. The combined performance of the last list was 74.2 Pflop/s. In all, 20 of the supercomputers on the newest list reached performance levels of 1 Pflop/s or more. The No. 500 machine on the list notched a performance level of 60.8 teraflop/s, which was enough to reach No. 332 just seven months ago.

A look at processors

A total of 372 systems (74.4 percent) are now using Intel processors, down from 384 systems (76.8 percent) on the last list. Intel is now followed by the AMD Opteron family with 63 systems (12.6 percent), same as in the in the previous list. The share of IBM Power processors has increased from 49 to 58 systems (11.6 percent).
58 systems use accelerators or co-processors (up from 39 six months ago), 53 of these use NVIDIA chips, two use Cell processors, two use ATI Radeon and there is one new system with Intel MIC technology.

The top vendors

IBM kept its lead in systems and has now 213 systems (42.6 percent) compared to HP with 138 systems (27.6 percent). HP is slightly down from 141 systems (28.2 percent) seven months ago, compared to IBM with 223 systems (44.6 percent). In the system category, Cray, Appro, SGI and Bull follow with 5.4 percent, 3.6 percent, 3.2 percent, and 3.2 percent respectively.
IBM remains the clear leader in the TOP500 list in performance and considerably increased its share with 47.5 percent of installed total performance (up from 27.3 percent). HP is second with 10.2 percent down from 13.1 percent. Due to the impressive performance of the No. 1 K Computer, Fujitsu follows closely in the third spot with 9.9 percent, down from 14.7 percent. Cray follows in fourth place in this category with 8.9 percent, down from 14.3 percent.

Where are they now?

The U.S. is clearly the leading consumer of HPC systems with 253 of the 500 systems (down from 263). The European share (107 systems – up from 103) is still lower than the Asian share (121 systems – up from 118). Dominant countries in Asia are China with 68 systems (down from 74), Japan with 34 systems (up from 30). In Europe, UK, France, and Germany, are almost equal with 25, 22, and 20 respectively.

About the TOP500 List

The TOP500 list is compiled by Hans Meuer of the University of Mannheim, Germany; Erich Strohmaier and Horst Simon of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; and Jack Dongarra of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

6/22/2012

Sonny Boy Williamson II- The Sky Is Crying


Aleck "Rice" Miller, a.k.a. "Sonny Boy Williamson II"

Sonny Boy Williamson (harmonica, vocal)
Matt Guitar Murphy (acoustic guitar)

"The Sky Is Crying"

from "Portrait In Blues Vol.4"
Storyville 671 158 / SLP 158

recorded Copenhagen, Nov 1963

According to his gravestone, Rice Miller was born March 11, 1897, in the country between Glendora and Tutwiler, Mississippi. He was raised by his mother Millie Ford and stepfather Jim Miller, and acquired the nickname "Rice" as a young child. Miller, who was interested in music as a toddler, taught himself to play harmonica at the age of five. Interestingly, W.C. Handy heard early blues played on a train platform in Tutwiler about this same time. Miller became quite adept at the harmonica, playing spiritual music at parties for tips as a child. As he grew older, he began playing spirituals at schools and street corners as "Little Boy Blue." During the 1920s he left his parents' home and began to hobo, playing blues to support himself.

Miller hoboed through Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Missouri during the 1920s, playing levee and lumber camps, juke joints, and parties. He claimed to have made unissued test recordings in the late 1920s, but these have never been found. During the 1930s Miller teamed up with guitarists Elmore James and Robert Johnson for short periods. He also developed a partnership with a young Johnson protégé, guitarist Robert Jr. Lockwood. During the late 1930s, Jackson, Tennessee, harmonica wizard John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson recorded several hits including "Good Morning Little School Girl" and "Bluebird Blues" for the Bluebird label in Chicago. During the early 1940s, Rice Miller began calling himself "Sonny Boy Williamson" and responded to anyone who questioned it that he was "the original Sonny Boy."

As Sonny Boy Williamson, he and Lockwood auditioned for executives of Interstate Grocer, the makers of King Biscuit flour, in the Interstate Grocer Co. Building. Interstate Grocer agreed to sponsor the pair and in 1941 they began broadcasting from the Floyd Truck Lines Building on KFFA radio. King Biscuit Time was arguably the most influential radio show in blues history, reaching as-yet unrecorded blues artists Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, and Jimmy Rogers, as well as the large Delta blues audience. As remuneration for hawking King Biscuit flour and cornmeal, Williamson was allowed to announce his upcoming gigs on the air. He became an established star throughout the Delta and recruited guitarist Joe Willie Wilkins to augment the group.

Williamson left KFFA in 1944, and hooked up with Elmore James after the latter's discharge from the U.S. Navy in 1945. By 1947, Williamson had taken lodgings in the Belzoni, Mississippi, boarding house where James lived. Ever the promoter, he and James broadcast from O.J. Turner's drugstore in Belzoni, over a hookup to Yazoo City's WAZF and Greenville's WGVM, hawking Talaho Syrup. Williamson toured the Delta with James and Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup during the late 1940s before leaving for West Memphis, Arkansas, in 1948. In West Memphis, he secured another radio job, this time pitching Hadacol Tonic on KWEM. It was here that he met B.B. King, who had approached Williamson for work as a sideman. Typically, Williamson had a more lucrative job offer in Clarksdale, Mississippi, but was scheduled the same night for the 16th Street Grill in West Memphis. He gave the 16th Street Grill job to King, admonishing the young guitarist not to fail.

Williamson first recorded on January 5, 1951, for Lillian McMurry's Trumpet label. The session took place at Trumpet's studio at 309 Farish Street in Jackson, Mississippi, and featured backing from pianist Willie Love, Elmore James, Joe Willie Wilkins, and drummer "Frock" O'Dell. Although nothing was issued from this session, McMurry continued recording Williamson for several more years. Many of the sides he recorded for Trumpet, such as "Eyesight to the Blind," "Nine Below Zero," and "West Memphis Blues," have since become blues harp standards. After Trumpet suspended operations in 1955, Williamson moved to Milwaukee and began recording for Chess subsidiary Checker Records.

At Checker, Williamson began a series of hit singles, beginning with "Don't Start Me to Talking," which featured sympathetic backing from Muddy Waters's band. His harp style featured a phenomenal technique that layered a wide dynamic range, complex phrasing, and a variety of effects, all held together by his impeccable timing. Williamson's singing lacked the dynamism of his playing and his gruff, hoarse vocals conveyed a broad range of emotion unmatched by the range of his voice. He was also an accomplished songwriter, and many of the songs he recorded for Checker, including "One Way Out," "Fattening Frogs for Snakes," and "Your Funeral And My Trial," are considered blues classics. Backed by Lockwood and ace Chess session musicians including guitarist Luther Tucker, pianists Otis Spann and Lafayette Leake, bassist Willie Dixon, and drummer Fred Below, Williamson created a modern sound that revolved around his harmonica shuffles.

Williamson continued to tour the Delta, working his way back to Milwaukee through Helena, Memphis, and St. Louis. He toured Europe as part of the American Folk Blues Festival package in 1963 and 1964, remaining for some time in England, where he became a sensation. He returned to Helena in 1965 and rented a room at a boarding house at 427 ½ Elm Street, telling everyone who asked that he had "come home to die." He resumed playing King Biscuit Time, now broadcast from KFFA's studio atop the Helena National Bank Building.

Sonny Boy Williamson died May 25, 1965, at his boarding house. Aleck Miller's grave is near Tutwiler, Mississippi, just off Highway 49.




6/18/2012

SAN FELIPE TINTO


Vinhos que experimentei quando vivi na Argentina.

Lembro-me de ter tomado este vinho por pelo menos 2 vezes. nas duas ocasiões em que me recordo, degustei este vinho no restaurante Plaza Del Carmen.


SAN FELIPE TINTO 2011

Comentarios:
Características /
Variedades: 40% Cabernet Sauvignon; 30% Merlot y 30% Malbec.
Viñedos: Maipú y Tupungato (Mendoza).
Cosecha: manual.
Fermentación maloláctica: 100%.
Crianza: 12 meses.
Tipo de barril: Roble americano, de primer uso.
Alcohol: 13,3%.

Elaboración y notas de cata – De este típico assemblage tinto argentino se obtiene un producto de características únicas. Primeramente, el Cabernet Sauvignon es añejado en barricas de roble americano de primer uso, por doce meses. Después, se realiza el corte con Merlot y Malbec, y luego el blend pasa a toneles de roble de 10 mil litros, completándose la crianza hasta el momento de embotellarse. Rojo rubí purpúreo. En nariz, aparecen notas vivaces de fruta roja entremezcladas con matices ahumados. La estructura se muestra carnosa en el paladar. Firme en boca, este tinto regala un posgusto de elegante sequedad.


Maridaje: asado, carnes rojas grilladas, bife en croûte de hojaldre, empanadas de carne, piezas de caza, pollo al horno, quesos duros y afinados (tipos Sardo, Parmesano).


6/17/2012

Lonnie Johnson - Tomorrow Night

Alfonzo "Lonnie" Johnson (February 8, 1899 – June 16, 1970), was a pioneering Blues and Jazz guitarist and banjoist. He started playing in cafes in New Orleans and in 1917 he traveled in Europe, playing in revues and briefly with Will Marion Cook's Southern Syncopated Orchestra. When he returned home to New Orleans in 1918 he discovered that his entire family had been killed by a flu epidemic except for one brother. He and his surviving brother, James "Steady Roll" Johnson moved to St. Louis in 1920 where Lonnie played with Charlie Creath's Jazz-O-Maniacs and with Fate Marable in their Mississippi riverboat bands. In 1925 Johnson married Blues singer Mary Johnson and won a Blues contest sponsored by the Okeh record company. Part of the prize was a recording deal with the company. Throughout the rest of the 1920s he recorded with a variety of bands and musicians, including Eddie Lang, Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five and the Duke Ellington Orchestra. In the 1930s Johnson moved to Cleveland, Ohio and worked with the Putney Dandridge Orchestra, and then in a tire factory and steel mill. In 1937 he moved back to Chicago and played with Johnny Dodds, and Jimmie Noone. Johnson continued to play for the rest of his life, but was often forced to leave the music business for periods to make a living. In 1963 he once again appeared briefly with Duke Ellington.


Saint Felicien Malbec

Vinhos que experimentei quando vivi na Argentina.

Dos vinhos que tive a oportunidade de experimentar durante o ano em que vivi em Buenos Aires este com certeza foi o melhor. Ocasiões especiais foram regadas com este vinho, incluindo a comemoração do Réveillon.


Saint Felicien Malbec 2008 es un vino elegante y complejo, de color violeta oscuro y profundo, típico de los malbecs argentinos. A la nariz, intenso y concentrado, presenta aromas de moras maduras con notas ligeras de vainilla, tabaco y licor. En boca, de impacto dulce y gran complejidad, es untuoso, con taninos suaves y redondos característicos del viñedo Angélica. De final largo y persistente, este vino muestra el gran potencial de los Malbec de Argentina.

Alejandro Vigil, Enólogo Jefe


Nombre:Saint Felicien Malbec
Varietal:100% Malbec
Cosecha:2008
Viñedos:Angélica, Lunlunta, 920 msnm
Fermentación:Levaduras seleccionadas, max temp. ferm. 29°C, durante 13 días, con 24 días de maceración
Añejamiento:16 meses en 90% Roble francés (30% nuevo), y 10% roble americano nuevo
Alcohol:13.8 % vol
Acidez7ph:5.50 / 3.73

6/16/2012

Blind Willie Dunn and Lonnie Johnson - Deep Minor Rhythm Stomp - 1929

Alfonzo "Lonnie" Johnson (February 8, 1899 – June 16, 1970), was a pioneering Blues and Jazz guitarist and banjoist. He started playing in cafes in New Orleans and in 1917 he traveled in Europe, playing in revues and briefly with Will Marion Cook's Southern Syncopated Orchestra. When he returned home to New Orleans in 1918 he discovered that his entire family had been killed by a flu epidemic except for one brother. He and his surviving brother, James "Steady Roll" Johnson moved to St. Louis in 1920 where Lonnie played with Charlie Creath's Jazz-O-Maniacs and with Fate Marable in their Mississippi riverboat bands. In 1925 Johnson married Blues singer Mary Johnson and won a Blues contest sponsored by the Okeh record company. Part of the prize was a recording deal with the company. Throughout the rest of the 1920s he recorded with a variety of bands and musicians, including Eddie Lang, Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five and the Duke Ellington Orchestra. In the 1930s Johnson moved to Cleveland, Ohio and worked with the Putney Dandridge Orchestra, and then in a tire factory and steel mill. In 1937 he moved back to Chicago and played with Johnny Dodds, and Jimmie Noone. Johnson continued to play for the rest of his life, but was often forced to leave the music business for periods to make a living. In 1963 he once again appeared briefly with Duke Ellington.


Eddie Lang was the first Jazz guitar virtuoso. A boyhood friend of Joe Venuti, Lang took violin lessons for 11 years but switched to guitar before he turned professional in 1924 with the Mound City Blue Blowers. He was soon in great demand for recording dates, both in the jazz world and in pop settings. His sophisticated European sounding chord patterns made him a unique accompanist, but he was also a fine soloist. He often played with violinist Venuti and with Red Nichols's Five Pennies , Frankie Trumbauer and Bix Beiderbecke (most memorably on the song "Singin' the Blues"). He played in many orchestras including Roger Wolfe Kahn Orchestra , Jean Goldkette and with Paul Whiteman (appearing on one short number with Venuti in Whiteman's 1930 film "King Of Jazz"). Lang was a versatile player who could back Blues singers, play Classical music, and jam with the greatest musicians of his day. He was the house guitarist at Okeh from 1926 to 1933. Using the pseudonym of Blind Willie Dunn, Lang often teamed up with Blues guitarist Lonnie Johnson. Eddie Lang led several dates of his own between 1927 and 1929, including an interesting session with King Oliver and Johnson, under the name of Blind Willie Dunn and his Gin Bottle Four. He worked regularly with Bing Crosby during the early 1930s and appears briefly with him in the film "The Big Broadcast". Tragically his premature death was caused by a poorly performed operation, where he lost too much blood during a routine tonsillectomy. Bing was deeply disturbed by Lang's death, not only because he suddenly lost one of his best friends and most talented sidemen, but because he had personally urged Lang to have the operation.



6/15/2012

Sonny Boy Williamson II - Sonny Boy's Christmas Blues


Aleck "Rice" Miller, a.k.a. "Sonny Boy Williamson II"

According to his gravestone, Rice Miller was born March 11, 1897, in the country between Glendora and Tutwiler, Mississippi. He was raised by his mother Millie Ford and stepfather Jim Miller, and acquired the nickname "Rice" as a young child. Miller, who was interested in music as a toddler, taught himself to play harmonica at the age of five. Interestingly, W.C. Handy heard early blues played on a train platform in Tutwiler about this same time. Miller became quite adept at the harmonica, playing spiritual music at parties for tips as a child. As he grew older, he began playing spirituals at schools and street corners as "Little Boy Blue." During the 1920s he left his parents' home and began to hobo, playing blues to support himself.

6/14/2012

Lonnie Johnson - She's Only A Woman - 1939

Alfonzo "Lonnie" Johnson (February 8, 1899 – June 16, 1970), was a pioneering Blues and Jazz guitarist and banjoist. He started playing in cafes in New Orleans and in 1917 he traveled in Europe, playing in revues and briefly with Will Marion Cook's Southern Syncopated Orchestra. When he returned home to New Orleans in 1918 he discovered that his entire family had been killed by a flu epidemic except for one brother. He and his surviving brother, James "Steady Roll" Johnson moved to St. Louis in 1920 where Lonnie played with Charlie Creath's Jazz-O-Maniacs and with Fate Marable in their Mississippi riverboat bands. In 1925 Johnson married Blues singer Mary Johnson and won a Blues contest sponsored by the Okeh record company. Part of the prize was a recording deal with the company. Throughout the rest of the 1920s he recorded with a variety of bands and musicians, including Eddie Lang, Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five and the Duke Ellington Orchestra. In the 1930s Johnson moved to Cleveland, Ohio and worked with the Putney Dandridge Orchestra, and then in a tire factory and steel mill. In 1937 he moved back to Chicago and played with Johnny Dodds, and Jimmie Noone. Johnson continued to play for the rest of his life, but was often forced to leave the music business for periods to make a living. In 1963 he once again appeared briefly with Duke Ellington.


6/13/2012

Lonnie Johnson - Back Water Blues - 1927

Alfonzo "Lonnie" Johnson (February 8, 1899 – June 16, 1970), was a pioneering Blues and Jazz guitarist and banjoist. He started playing in cafes in New Orleans and in 1917 he traveled in Europe, playing in revues and briefly with Will Marion Cook's Southern Syncopated Orchestra. When he returned home to New Orleans in 1918 he discovered that his entire family had been killed by a flu epidemic except for one brother. He and his surviving brother, James "Steady Roll" Johnson moved to St. Louis in 1920 where Lonnie played with Charlie Creath's Jazz-O-Maniacs and with Fate Marable in their Mississippi riverboat bands. In 1925 Johnson married Blues singer Mary Johnson and won a Blues contest sponsored by the Okeh record company. Part of the prize was a recording deal with the company. Throughout the rest of the 1920s he recorded with a variety of bands and musicians, including Eddie Lang, Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five and the Duke Ellington Orchestra. In the 1930s Johnson moved to Cleveland, Ohio and worked with the Putney Dandridge Orchestra, and then in a tire factory and steel mill. In 1937 he moved back to Chicago and played with Johnny Dodds, and Jimmie Noone. Johnson continued to play for the rest of his life, but was often forced to leave the music business for periods to make a living. In 1963 he once again appeared briefly with Duke Ellington.


6/12/2012

Flame: Replication via Windows Update MITM proxy server - Securelist

Flame: Replication via Windows Update MITM proxy server - Securelist: The Flame malware uses several methods to replicate itself. The most interesting one is the use of the Microsoft Windows Update service. This is implemented in Flame’s “SNACK”, “MUNCH” and “GADGET” modules. Being parts of Flame, these modules are easily reconfigurable. The behavior of these modules is controlled by Flame’s global registry, the database that contains thousands of configuration options.

Back to Stuxnet: the missing link - Securelist

Back to Stuxnet: the missing link - Securelist: Two weeks ago, when we announced the discovery of the Flame malware we said that we saw no strong similarity between its code and programming style with that of the Tilded platform (http://www.securelist.com/en/analysis/204792208/Stuxnet_Duqu_The_Evolution_of_Drivers) which Stuxnet and Duqu are based on. Flame and Tilded are completely different projects based on different architectures and each with their own distinct characteristics. For instance, Flame never uses system drivers, while Stuxnet and Duqu’s main method of loading modules for execution is via a kernel driver. But it turns out we were wrong. Wrong, in that we believed Flame and Stuxnet were two unrelated projects. Our research unearthed some previously unknown facts that completely transform the current view of how Stuxnet was created and its link with Flame.

6/11/2012

B.B. King - Key to the Highway


Born on September 16, 1925, on a plantation near Itta Bena, Mississippi, Riley B. "B.B." King was one of five children. His parents separated when he was four, and he moved with his mother to the hill country town of Kilmichael, Mississippi. Her death in 1935 forced Riley to move in with his maternal grandmother, who taught him to sharecrop. An aunt with a Victrola gave him an early introduction to records by blues greats Lonnie Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson.

King's first exposure to music was gospel singing in church. Archie Fair, a sanctified preacher from a local Pentecostal church, played the first electric guitar King ever heard. Fair taught him a few chords, but the youngster's voice was his favorite instrument. He soon formed his first gospel group, the Elkhorn Jubilee Singers. In 1940, King's grandmother died and he briefly returned to his father's custody before returning to his mother's relatives, the Hensons, in Kilmichael.

While in Kilmichael, he learned to drive a tractor and used the proceeds of his work to buy his first guitar. King was inducted into the army within months of his eighteenth birthday and fulfilled his service requirements driving a tractor on a Mississippi Delta plantation that had military contracts for cotton. He walked to Indianola on the weekends to hear live music by Robert Nighthawk, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie. At Jones' Night Spot (now Club Ebony), King first saw bluesman Sonny Boy Williamson backed by Robert Johnson protégé Robert Jr. Lockwood on guitar. Williamson was a popular performer on the King Biscuit Time radio program, broadcast on radio station KFFA from the Floyd Truck Lines Building in Helena, Arkansas. King soon started another gospel group, the Famous St. John Gospel Singers, and managed to appear on local radio stations in Greenville and Greenwood. He also played his guitar for tips at the corner of Church and Second Streets in Indianola.

After the war, King hitched a ride to Memphis. He stayed with his cousin Bukka White who bought him a guitar. He spent the next ten months playing amateur shows with White, Nighthawk, and Frank Stokes at the Palace Theater on Beale Street while working a day job. King went back to Indianola in 1947, working as a tractor driver on a plantation. He returned to Memphis a year later, seeking out Sonny Boy Williamson in hope of working as the harmonica wizard's sideman. Williamson did better than that, giving the young guitarist a gig playing the 16th Street Grill in West Memphis, Arkansas. To keep the job, King was required to have a radio show to promote his performances. He asked for and obtained a show on Memphis station WDIA, where he played guitar, sang, spun records, and acquired the nickname Blues Boy, subsequently shortened to B.B. He gained notoriety for playing the latest jump blues releases, learning to play them by plugging in and playing his guitar along with the records. While in Memphis during the late 1940s, King was tutored by Joe Willie Wilkins, who helped refine his technique.

Successful bluesmen in the late 1940s made records, and in 1949 King recorded four sides for the Bullet label. They were poorly received, but he was undaunted. He secured the services of Sam Phillips' recording studio at 706 Union Avenue, where he recorded four sides in July 1950. These titles, including "B.B. Boogie," were issued on the RPM label and sold well enough to warrant followup sessions in early 1951. In late summer of 1951, RPM recorded B.B. in the Memphis YMCA on Lauderdale Street. The resulting single from this session, "Three O'Clock Blues," became a national hit and launched King's career. His soulful singing relied heavily on the gospel technique called melisma, a bending and stretching of syllables in a musical phrase, which he had polished as a young man. His guitar playing featured jazzy single-string leads, reminiscent of T-Bone Walker and Robert Jr. Lockwood, that swung against the rhythm of the horn section for a distinctive sound. King's popularity signaled a new direction in blues music. He even backed his friend Williamson at Trumpet Records' 309 Farish Street studios during his 1954 session.

King's relentless touring schedule and carefully crafted records have made him the world's most famous bluesman.



6/10/2012

Lonnie Johnson - Long Black Train - 1930

Alfonzo "Lonnie" Johnson (February 8, 1899 – June 16, 1970), was a pioneering Blues and Jazz guitarist and banjoist. He started playing in cafes in New Orleans and in 1917 he traveled in Europe, playing in revues and briefly with Will Marion Cook's Southern Syncopated Orchestra. When he returned home to New Orleans in 1918 he discovered that his entire family had been killed by a flu epidemic except for one brother. He and his surviving brother, James "Steady Roll" Johnson moved to St. Louis in 1920 where Lonnie played with Charlie Creath's Jazz-O-Maniacs and with Fate Marable in their Mississippi riverboat bands. In 1925 Johnson married Blues singer Mary Johnson and won a Blues contest sponsored by the Okeh record company. Part of the prize was a recording deal with the company. Throughout the rest of the 1920s he recorded with a variety of bands and musicians, including Eddie Lang, Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five and the Duke Ellington Orchestra. In the 1930s Johnson moved to Cleveland, Ohio and worked with the Putney Dandridge Orchestra, and then in a tire factory and steel mill. In 1937 he moved back to Chicago and played with Johnny Dodds, and Jimmie Noone. Johnson continued to play for the rest of his life, but was often forced to leave the music business for periods to make a living. In 1963 he once again appeared briefly with Duke Ellington.


6/09/2012

Lonnie Johnson - Devil's Got The Blues - 1938

Alfonzo "Lonnie" Johnson (February 8, 1899 – June 16, 1970), was a pioneering Blues and Jazz guitarist and banjoist. He started playing in cafes in New Orleans and in 1917 he traveled in Europe, playing in revues and briefly with Will Marion Cook's Southern Syncopated Orchestra. When he returned home to New Orleans in 1918 he discovered that his entire family had been killed by a flu epidemic except for one brother. He and his surviving brother, James "Steady Roll" Johnson moved to St. Louis in 1920 where Lonnie played with Charlie Creath's Jazz-O-Maniacs and with Fate Marable in their Mississippi riverboat bands. In 1925 Johnson married Blues singer Mary Johnson and won a Blues contest sponsored by the Okeh record company. Part of the prize was a recording deal with the company. Throughout the rest of the 1920s he recorded with a variety of bands and musicians, including Eddie Lang, Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five and the Duke Ellington Orchestra. In the 1930s Johnson moved to Cleveland, Ohio and worked with the Putney Dandridge Orchestra, and then in a tire factory and steel mill. In 1937 he moved back to Chicago and played with Johnny Dodds, and Jimmie Noone. Johnson continued to play for the rest of his life, but was often forced to leave the music business for periods to make a living. In 1963 he once again appeared briefly with Duke Ellington.


6/08/2012

Mississippi John Hurt - Stack O' Lee Blues - 1928


"Mississippi" John Hurt

Born July 3, 1893, in Teoc, Mississippi, Hurt and his family moved in 1895 to Avalon, a town on the edge of Mississippi's hill country. He dropped out of school at the age of nine to begin working as a farmer. In 1902, Hurt picked up the guitar, a $1.50 "Black Annie" his mother bought him. Self-taught, Hurt developed a distinctive three-finger style that bears no resemblance to other area musicians. He also developed proficiency with the harmonica but was always a self-accompanied musician. Unlike Furry Lewis and Memphis Minnie, Hurt refused an offer to accompany a traveling medicine show, preferring to stay close to home.

Hurt played solo at local parties where his fluid yet highly syncopated guitar style made him a favorite among Carroll County dancers. His fame was localized, however; it was not until 1912 that he started playing parties around Jackson, Mississippi, 103 miles from his native Avalon. While Hurt worked mostly outside music as a farmer and laborer, his musical reputation among whites as well as blacks led to his first recording session in Memphis in 1928. Willie T. Narmour and Shell W. Smith, two white country musicians from Carroll County, recommended him to their record producer, Tommy Rockwell.

Hurt recorded eight sides for the Okeh label, two of which were released and sold well: "Frankie" and "Nobody's Dirty Business." In Memphis for the same recording session was St. Louis guitarist/pianist Lonnie Johnson, and Hurt later recalled that Blind Lemon Jefferson and Bessie Smith were also in town. He saw none of these famous musicians play but instead returned home to Avalon. Okeh called Hurt to New York City for another session in December 1928, where he cut twelve additional sides, including "Avalon Blues." Again, Hurt returned home to Avalon to farm and play music for local parties.

These two sessions were the extent of Hurt's recording before the Great Depression curtailed record sales. His graceful picking, gentle crooning, and homespun lyrics marked him as an exceptionally talented musician. The preponderance of songs about legendary figures in his repertoire ("Casey Jones," "Frankie," "Stack O'Lee Blues") and the lack of then-modern blues influences on his style, establish Hurt as a link between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Okeh originally designated two of his songs "Old Time Music," an appellation reserved for the label's hillbilly series. This, together with the fact that white musicians were familiar with and recommended his musicianship, suggests strongly that Hurt's music sprang from a common source that produced blues and country music.

Hurt lived a quiet life as a farmer and laborer, playing occasional parties and fish fries until 1963. He was rediscovered in Avalon, a consequence of having named it as his hometown in a record made thirty-five years before. Hurt enjoyed great popularity during the blues revival of the 1960s, making television appearances, playing folk festivals, and recording albums. Exceptionally well liked by all who came in contact with him, he became the most famous of all the rediscovered 1920s bluesmen, eclipsing in his fame the celebrated Son House and Skip James.

His newfound fame lasted three years before his death on November 2, 1966. Mississippi John Hurt's grave is located outside his hometown of Avalon, Mississippi.


6/06/2012

‘Gadget’ in the middle: Flame malware spreading vector identified - Securelist

‘Gadget’ in the middle: Flame malware spreading vector identified - Securelist: In our FAQ on Flame (https://www.securelist.com/en/blog/208193522/The_Flame_Questions_and_Answers) posted on May 28, 2012, we postulated there might be a still undiscovered zero-day vulnerability in Flame: “At the moment, we haven’t seen use of any 0-days; however, the worm is known to have infected fully-patched Windows 7 systems through the network, which might indicate the presence of a high risk 0-day.” Our suspicion was heightened because fully patched Windows 7 machines were being infected over the network in a very suspicious manner.

The Roof Is on Fire: Tackling Flame’s C&C Servers - Securelist

The Roof Is on Fire: Tackling Flame’s C&C Servers - Securelist: On Sunday, May 27 2012, the Iranian MAHER CERT posted a note announcing the discovery of a new targeted attack dubbed “Flamer”. On Monday 28 May 2012 aat 9am EST, after an investigation prompted and supported by the International Telecommunication Union, Kaspersky Lab and CrySyS Lab from Hungary announced (https://www.securelist.com/en/blog/208193522/The_Flame_Questions_and_Answers) the discovery of Flame (aka Skywiper), a sophisticated cyber-espionage toolkit (https://www.securelist.com/en/blog/208193538/Flame_Bunny_Frog_Munch_and_BeetleJuice) primarily targeting Windows computers in the Middle East.

6/05/2012

Raul Seixas - Love is Magick

Existem duas versões da mesma música de Raul Seixas e Spacey Glow (Glória Vaquer). A mais conhecida delas foi lançada no albúm "Let Me Sing My Rock And Roll" de 1985, que foi produzido pelo fã clube Raul Seixas Rock Club de Sylvio Passos. O disco teve apenas 1000 cópias e trata-se de uma raridade. Foi relançado em 1987 com o nome "Caroço de Manga". Também é parte do compacto "Eu Nasci Há 10 Mil Anos Atrás/Love is Magick" de 1976.

Apresentamos hoje ambas versões e suas letras.


There are two versions of the same song written by Raul Seixas and Spacey Glow (Gloria Vaquer). The best known was recorded in the album "Let Me Sing My Rock And Roll" from 1985, that was produced by Raul Seixas Rock Club, managed by Sylvio Passos. Only 1000 limited and numbered copies were released and it makes the album pretty rare. In 1987 the album was re-released under name "Caroço de Manga". The song is also part of a compact disc recorded in 1976.

Here, you shall have the opportunity to enjoy both. Follow the lyrics.


Love is a magick manifestation
Love is a magick flame
Love is a magick manifestation
Love is a sacred game

Yes,
Love is a magick manifestation
Love is a magick flame
Love is a magick manifestation
Love is a sacred game

With the suns I go
Like a new "star" I flow
High! As the mountains
I'm gone
Deep! as the oceans
Making love.

Love is a magick manifestation
Love is a magick flame
Love is a magick manifestation
Love is a sacred flame
Divide the number nine
add four and multiply
Love! Is the answer
I am God! Spreading cancer

I love you,
Yes I do
Love is magick
Love is magick
Love is Gloria




Love is a cosmic magical number
Add, multiply and divide
Love is a cosmic magical number
Add, multiply and divide

Divide the number nine
Add four and multiply
Love is the answer
I am God spreading cancer,
Under will, love is the law

Love is a cosmic magical number
It's up to you to combine
Love is a cosmic magical number
Add, multiply and divide

Divide the number nine
Add four and multiply
Love is the answer
I am God spreading cancer,
Under will, love is the law



Love Is Magic by Raul Seixas on Grooveshark

We've to add this link for Grooveshark, because as we've posted before in this blog, there are people just worried about money. For them, does not matter Raul Seixas' culture and keep his name for the future. They just wanna kepp their life style and pension plan using all Raulzito has created. If Youtube link no longer works, no problem...we can do that in another way. This blog just wanna show Raul Seixas and his musics, history, culture and philosophy around the world and forever.





6/04/2012

Ma Rainey & Louis Armstrong - Jelly Bean Blues - 1924



If Bessie Smith is the acknowledged “Queen of the Blues,” then Gertrude “Ma” Rainey is the undisputed “Mother of the Blues.” As music historian Chris Albertson has written, “If there was another woman who sang the blues before Rainey, nobody remembered hearing her.” Rainey fostered the blues idiom, and she did so by linking the earthy spirit of country blues with the classic style and delivery of Bessie Smith. She often played with such outstanding jazz accompanists as Louis Armstrong and Fletcher Henderson, but she was more at home fronting a jugband or washboard band.

A country woman to the core, Rainey was born in Columbus, Georgia, on April 26, 1886. She began performing at age 14 with a local revue and, in her late teens, joined the touring Rabbit Foot Minstrels. By all accounts, she was the first woman to incorporate blues into vaudeville, minstrel and tent shows. In fact, it is believed that Rainey coached a young Bessie Smith while touring with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels. After more than a quarter-century as a performer, Rainey was signed to Paramount Records in 1923, at age 38. She recorded over a hundred sides during her six years at Paramount. Her most memorable songs were often about the harsh realities of life in the Deep South for poor blacks, including such classics as “C.C. Rider,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “Bo Weavil Blues.”

When the blues faded from popularity in the Thirties, the earthy Ma Rainey returned home to her Georgia hometown, where she ran two theaters until her death from a heart attack in 1939.


Jelly Bean Blues (1924) MA RAINEY

Louis Armstrong (cornet), Buster Bailey (clarinet), Charlie Green (tuba), Fletcher Henderson (piano),
Charlie Dixon (banjo)




6/03/2012

Louis Armstrong & Ma Rainey - See See Rider Blues - 1924


If Bessie Smith is the acknowledged “Queen of the Blues,” then Gertrude “Ma” Rainey is the undisputed “Mother of the Blues.” As music historian Chris Albertson has written, “If there was another woman who sang the blues before Rainey, nobody remembered hearing her.” Rainey fostered the blues idiom, and she did so by linking the earthy spirit of country blues with the classic style and delivery of Bessie Smith. She often played with such outstanding jazz accompanists as Louis Armstrong and Fletcher Henderson, but she was more at home fronting a jugband or washboard band.

A country woman to the core, Rainey was born in Columbus, Georgia, on April 26, 1886. She began performing at age 14 with a local revue and, in her late teens, joined the touring Rabbit Foot Minstrels. By all accounts, she was the first woman to incorporate blues into vaudeville, minstrel and tent shows. In fact, it is believed that Rainey coached a young Bessie Smith while touring with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels. After more than a quarter-century as a performer, Rainey was signed to Paramount Records in 1923, at age 38. She recorded over a hundred sides during her six years at Paramount. Her most memorable songs were often about the harsh realities of life in the Deep South for poor blacks, including such classics as “C.C. Rider,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “Bo Weavil Blues.”

When the blues faded from popularity in the Thirties, the earthy Ma Rainey returned home to her Georgia hometown, where she ran two theaters until her death from a heart attack in 1939.


See See Rider Blues (1924) MA RAINEY

Louis Armstrong (cornet), Buster Bailey (clarinet), Charlie Green (tuba), Fletcher Henderson (piano),
Charlie Dixon (banjo)




On Stuxnet, Duqu and Flame

Posted by Mikko @ 11:58 GMT


A couple of days ago, I received an e-mail from Iran. It was sent by an analyst from the Iranian Computer Emergency Response Team, and it was informing me about a piece of malware their team had found infecting a variety of Iranian computers. This turned out to be Flame: the malware that has now been front-page news worldwide.

When we went digging through our archive for related samples of malware, we were surprised to find that we already had samples of Flame, dating back to 2010 and 2011, that we were unaware we possessed. They had come through automated reporting mechanisms, but had never been flagged by the system as something we should examine closely. Researchers at other antivirus firms have found evidence that they received samples of the malware even earlier than this, indicating that the malware was older than 2010.

What this means is that all of us had missed detecting this malware for two years, or more. That’s a failure for our company, and for the antivirus industry in general.

It wasn’t the first time this has happened, either. Stuxnet went undetected for more than a year after it was unleashed in the wild, and was only discovered after an antivirus firm in Belarus was called in to look at machines in Iran that were having problems. When researchers dug back through their archives for anything similar to Stuxnet, they found that a zero-day exploit that was used in Stuxnet had been used before with another piece of malware, but had never been noticed at the time. A related malware called DuQu also went undetected by antivirus firms for over a year.

Stuxnet, Duqu and Flame are not normal, everyday malware, of course. All three of them were most likely developed by a Western intelligence agency as part of covert operations that weren’t meant to be discovered. The fact that the malware evaded detection proves how well the attackers did their job. In the case of Stuxnet and DuQu, they used digitally signed components to make their malware appear to be trustworthy applications. And instead of trying to protect their code with custom packers and obfuscation engines — which might have drawn suspicion to them — they hid in plain sight. In the case of Flame, the attackers used SQLite, SSH, SSL and LUA libraries that made the code look more like a business database system than a piece of malware.

Someone might argue that it’s good we failed to find these pieces of code. Most of the infections occurred in politically turbulent areas of the world, in countries like Iran, Syria and Sudan. It’s not known exactly what Flame was used for, but it’s possible that if we had detected and blocked it earlier, we might have indirectly helped oppressive regimes in these countries thwart the efforts of foreign intelligence agencies to monitor them.

But that’s not the point. We want to detect malware, regardless of its source or purpose. Politics don’t even enter the discussion, nor should they. Any malware, even targeted, can get out of hand and cause “collateral damage” to machines that aren’t the intended victim. Stuxnet, for example, spread around the world via its USB worm functionality and infected more than 100,000 computers while seeking out its real target, computers operating the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in Iran. In short, it’s our job as an industry to protect computers against malware. That’s it.

The truth is, consumer-grade antivirus products can’t protect well against targeted malware created by well-resourced nation-states with bulging budgets. They can protect you against run-of-the-mill malware: banking trojans, keystroke loggers and e-mail worms. But targeted attacks like these go to great lengths to avoid antivirus products on purpose. And the zero-day exploits used in these attacks are unknown to antivirus companies by definition. As far as we can tell, before releasing their malicious codes to attack victims, the attackers tested them against all of the relevant antivirus products on the market to make sure that the malware wouldn’t be detected. They have unlimited time to perfect their attacks. It’s not a fair war between the attackers and the defenders when the attackers have access to our weapons.

Antivirus systems need to strike a balance between detecting all possible attacks without causing any false alarms. And while we try to improve on this all the time, there will never be a solution that is 100 percent perfect. The best available protection against serious targeted attacks requires a layered defense, with network intrusion detection systems, whitelisting of trusted apps and active monitoring of inbound and outbound traffic of an organization’s network.

This story does not end with Flame. It’s highly likely there are other similar attacks already underway that we haven’t detected yet. Put simply, attacks like these work.

Flame was a failure for the antivirus industry. We really should have been able to do better. But we didn’t. We were out of our league, in our own game.

Mikko Hypponen
This column was originally published in Wired.com 



Source: F-Secure

Flame: Bunny, Frog, Munch and BeetleJuice… - Securelist

Flame: Bunny, Frog, Munch and BeetleJuice… - Securelist: As already mentioned in the previous blog post about Flame, the volume of its code and functionality are so great that it will take several months for a complete analysis. We’re planning on continually disclosing in our publications the most important and interesting details of its functionality as we reveal them. At the moment we are receiving many inquiries about how to check systems for a Flame infection. Of course the simplest answer, for us, is to advise to use Kaspersky Lab Antivirus or Internet Security. We successfully detect and delete all possible modifications of the main module and extra components of Flame. However, for those who want to carry out a detailed check themselves, at the end of this article we will give the necessary recommendations and advice.

The Flame: Questions and Answers - Securelist

The Flame: Questions and Answers - Securelist: Flame is a sophisticated attack toolkit, which is a lot more complex than Duqu. It is a backdoor, a Trojan, and it has worm-like features, allowing it to replicate in a local network and on removable media if it is commanded so by its master.

6/02/2012

Ma Rainey - Deep Moaning Blues - 1928

If Bessie Smith is the acknowledged “Queen of the Blues,” then Gertrude “Ma” Rainey is the undisputed “Mother of the Blues.” As music historian Chris Albertson has written, “If there was another woman who sang the blues before Rainey, nobody remembered hearing her.” Rainey fostered the blues idiom, and she did so by linking the earthy spirit of country blues with the classic style and delivery of Bessie Smith. She often played with such outstanding jazz accompanists as Louis Armstrong and Fletcher Henderson, but she was more at home fronting a jugband or washboard band.

A country woman to the core, Rainey was born in Columbus, Georgia, on April 26, 1886. She began performing at age 14 with a local revue and, in her late teens, joined the touring Rabbit Foot Minstrels. By all accounts, she was the first woman to incorporate blues into vaudeville, minstrel and tent shows. In fact, it is believed that Rainey coached a young Bessie Smith while touring with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels. After more than a quarter-century as a performer, Rainey was signed to Paramount Records in 1923, at age 38. She recorded over a hundred sides during her six years at Paramount. Her most memorable songs were often about the harsh realities of life in the Deep South for poor blacks, including such classics as “C.C. Rider,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “Bo Weavil Blues.”

When the blues faded from popularity in the Thirties, the earthy Ma Rainey returned home to her Georgia hometown, where she ran two theaters until her death from a heart attack in 1939.


Louisiana Hoo Doo Blues
(M. Rainey)

Recorded: Chicago , May, 1925
'Ma' Rainey And Her Georgia Band
Ma Rainey (vcl), George „Hooks" Tifford (sax), Thomas Dorsey (p), unknown (kazoo), Cedric Odorn (d)




6/01/2012

Sonny Boy Williamson II - Who's Gonna Take Care of You

Aleck "Rice" Miller, a.k.a. "Sonny Boy Williamson II"

According to his gravestone, Rice Miller was born March 11, 1897, in the country between Glendora and Tutwiler, Mississippi. He was raised by his mother Millie Ford and stepfather Jim Miller, and acquired the nickname "Rice" as a young child. Miller, who was interested in music as a toddler, taught himself to play harmonica at the age of five. Interestingly, W.C. Handy heard early blues played on a train platform in Tutwiler about this same time. Miller became quite adept at the harmonica, playing spiritual music at parties for tips as a child. As he grew older, he began playing spirituals at schools and street corners as "Little Boy Blue." During the 1920s he left his parents' home and began to hobo, playing blues to support himself.

Miller hoboed through Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Missouri during the 1920s, playing levee and lumber camps, juke joints, and parties. He claimed to have made unissued test recordings in the late 1920s, but these have never been found. During the 1930s Miller teamed up with guitarists Elmore James and Robert Johnson for short periods. He also developed a partnership with a young Johnson protégé, guitarist Robert Jr. Lockwood. During the late 1930s, Jackson, Tennessee, harmonica wizard John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson recorded several hits including "Good Morning Little School Girl" and "Bluebird Blues" for the Bluebird label in Chicago. During the early 1940s, Rice Miller began calling himself "Sonny Boy Williamson" and responded to anyone who questioned it that he was "the original Sonny Boy."

As Sonny Boy Williamson, he and Lockwood auditioned for executives of Interstate Grocer, the makers of King Biscuit flour, in the Interstate Grocer Co. Building. Interstate Grocer agreed to sponsor the pair and in 1941 they began broadcasting from the Floyd Truck Lines Building on KFFA radio. King Biscuit Time was arguably the most influential radio show in blues history, reaching as-yet unrecorded blues artists Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, and Jimmy Rogers, as well as the large Delta blues audience. As remuneration for hawking King Biscuit flour and cornmeal, Williamson was allowed to announce his upcoming gigs on the air. He became an established star throughout the Delta and recruited guitarist Joe Willie Wilkins to augment the group.

Williamson left KFFA in 1944, and hooked up with Elmore James after the latter's discharge from the U.S. Navy in 1945. By 1947, Williamson had taken lodgings in the Belzoni, Mississippi, boarding house where James lived. Ever the promoter, he and James broadcast from O.J. Turner's drugstore in Belzoni, over a hookup to Yazoo City's WAZF and Greenville's WGVM, hawking Talaho Syrup. Williamson toured the Delta with James and Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup during the late 1940s before leaving for West Memphis, Arkansas, in 1948. In West Memphis, he secured another radio job, this time pitching Hadacol Tonic on KWEM. It was here that he met B.B. King, who had approached Williamson for work as a sideman. Typically, Williamson had a more lucrative job offer in Clarksdale, Mississippi, but was scheduled the same night for the 16th Street Grill in West Memphis. He gave the 16th Street Grill job to King, admonishing the young guitarist not to fail.

Williamson first recorded on January 5, 1951, for Lillian McMurry's Trumpet label. The session took place at Trumpet's studio at 309 Farish Street in Jackson, Mississippi, and featured backing from pianist Willie Love, Elmore James, Joe Willie Wilkins, and drummer "Frock" O'Dell. Although nothing was issued from this session, McMurry continued recording Williamson for several more years. Many of the sides he recorded for Trumpet, such as "Eyesight to the Blind," "Nine Below Zero," and "West Memphis Blues," have since become blues harp standards. After Trumpet suspended operations in 1955, Williamson moved to Milwaukee and began recording for Chess subsidiary Checker Records.

At Checker, Williamson began a series of hit singles, beginning with "Don't Start Me to Talking," which featured sympathetic backing from Muddy Waters's band. His harp style featured a phenomenal technique that layered a wide dynamic range, complex phrasing, and a variety of effects, all held together by his impeccable timing. Williamson's singing lacked the dynamism of his playing and his gruff, hoarse vocals conveyed a broad range of emotion unmatched by the range of his voice. He was also an accomplished songwriter, and many of the songs he recorded for Checker, including "One Way Out," "Fattening Frogs for Snakes," and "Your Funeral And My Trial," are considered blues classics. Backed by Lockwood and ace Chess session musicians including guitarist Luther Tucker, pianists Otis Spann and Lafayette Leake, bassist Willie Dixon, and drummer Fred Below, Williamson created a modern sound that revolved around his harmonica shuffles.

Williamson continued to tour the Delta, working his way back to Milwaukee through Helena, Memphis, and St. Louis. He toured Europe as part of the American Folk Blues Festival package in 1963 and 1964, remaining for some time in England, where he became a sensation. He returned to Helena in 1965 and rented a room at a boarding house at 427 ½ Elm Street, telling everyone who asked that he had "come home to die." He resumed playing King Biscuit Time, now broadcast from KFFA's studio atop the Helena National Bank Building.

Sonny Boy Williamson died May 25, 1965, at his boarding house. Aleck Miller's grave is near Tutwiler, Mississippi, just off Highway 49.