Elmore D
Encyclopedia
Elmore D is a Belgian
blues
musician
. His is also a professor at the University of Liège
, where he gives lectures on the history and culture of Wallonia.
The name Elmore is a reference to Elmore James
, whose slide guitar
sound he used to imitate at the beginning of his career. In 1988, he was nominated for the Paris-Bagneux Blues Contest and played in "avant-première" of the Chicago Blues Festival
. In 1997, he created the Elmore D Band with two ex-members of the Electric Kings, Big Dave (harp) and Willie Maze (drums), and the "sterguitarist" Lazy Horse (also with Flip Kawlier's band). They performed at various festivals
:
Elmore D re-interprets pre-World War II
blues music, in particular slide guitar players such as Casey Bill Weldon
, Kokomo Arnold
and Blind Willie McTell
. He was influenced by jug
and washboard
musicians including the Memphis Jug Band
, the Cannon Jug Stompers, Washboard Sam
, Memphis Minnie
, Big Bill Broonzy
and Lead Belly. Other influences by more contemporary artists include the Electric Rag Band, the Country Blues Project (Germany), Preacher Boy
, Gordon Smith, Paul Geremiah, Paul Rishell and Annie Raines
.
He received the "Blues Trophée - Best European Artist 2001". Between 2005 and 2010, he wrote several blues songs in the Walloon language
.
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. His is also a professor at the University of Liège
University of Liège
The University of Liège , in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium, is a major public university in the French Community of Belgium. Its official language is French.-History:...
, where he gives lectures on the history and culture of Wallonia.
The name Elmore is a reference to Elmore James
Elmore James
Elmore James was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He was known as "the King of the Slide Guitar" and had a unique guitar style, noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice.-Biography:James was born Elmore Brooks in the old Richland community in...
, whose slide guitar
Slide guitar
Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
sound he used to imitate at the beginning of his career. In 1988, he was nominated for the Paris-Bagneux Blues Contest and played in "avant-première" of the Chicago Blues Festival
Chicago Blues Festival
The Chicago Blues Festival is an annual event held in June that features three days of performances by top-tier blues musicians, both old favorites and the up-and-coming. It is hosted by the City of Chicago Mayor's Office of Special Events, and always occurs in early June...
. In 1997, he created the Elmore D Band with two ex-members of the Electric Kings, Big Dave (harp) and Willie Maze (drums), and the "sterguitarist" Lazy Horse (also with Flip Kawlier's band). They performed at various festivals
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
:
- 12e Spring Blues Festival (EcaussinnesEcaussinnesÉcaussinnes is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. On January 1, 2006 Écaussinnes had a total population of 9,924. The total area is 34.77 km² which gives a population density of 285 inhabitants per km²....
, 1999) - 4th Blues in Bloom Festival (Houthalen, 2000)
- Belgium Rhythm and Blues Festival (Peer, BelgiumPeer, BelgiumPeer is a municipality located in the province of Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium. On January 1, 2006 Peer had a total population of 15,810. The total area is 86.95 km² which gives a population density of 182 inhabitants per km²....
, 2000) - Nuit du Blues (Marcq-en-BarœulMarcq-en-BarœulMarcq-en-Barœul is a commune in the Nord department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region in northern France.It is a suburb of the city of Lille, and is adjacent to it on the northeast...
, 2001) - Skoebustel Blues (IzegemIzegemIzegem is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Izegem proper and the towns of Emelgem and Kachtem. Emelgem was added to Izegem in 1965, Kachtem in 1977. Izegem itself lies on the southern banks of the Mandel, Emelgem and Kachtem on...
, 2001) - Drijf-In Blues Festival (GiethoornGiethoornGiethoorn is a village in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is located in the municipality of Steenwijkerland, about 5 km southwest of Steenwijk....
, 2001) - Sang a Klang (LuxembourgLuxembourgLuxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
, 2002) - Bluesfestivalen Mönsterås (SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, 2002)
Elmore D re-interprets pre-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
blues music, in particular slide guitar players such as Casey Bill Weldon
Casey Bill Weldon
Casey Bill Weldon was an American country blues musician, born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas who later lived and worked in Chicago was known as one of the great early pioneers of the slide guitar. He played upbeat, hokum and country blues tunes, both as a solo artist and as a member of the Memphis Jug...
, Kokomo Arnold
Kokomo Arnold
Kokomo Arnold was an American blues musician.Born as James Arnold in Lovejoy's Station, Georgia, he got his nickname in 1934 after releasing "Old Original Kokomo Blues" for the Decca label; it was a cover of the Scrapper Blackwell blues song about the city of Kokomo, Indiana...
and Blind Willie McTell
Blind Willie McTell
Blind Willie McTell , was an influential Piedmont and ragtime blues singer and guitarist. He played with a fluid, syncopated fingerstyle guitar technique, common among many exponents of Piedmont blues, although, unlike his contemporaries, he used exclusively a twelve-string guitar...
. He was influenced by jug
Jug band
A Jug band is a band employing a jug player and a mix of traditional and home-made instruments. These home-made instruments are ordinary objects adapted to or modified for making of sound, like the washtub bass, washboard, spoons, stovepipe and comb & tissue paper...
and washboard
Washboard
A washboard is a tool designed for hand washing clothing. With mechanized cleaning of clothing becoming more common by the end of the 20th century, the washboard has become better known for its originally subsidiary use as a musical instrument....
musicians including the Memphis Jug Band
Memphis Jug Band
The Memphis Jug Band was an American musical group in the late 1920s and early to mid 1930s. The band featured harmonicas, violins, mandolins, banjos, and guitars, backed by washboards, kazoo, and jugs blown to supply the bass; they played in a variety of musical styles...
, the Cannon Jug Stompers, Washboard Sam
Washboard Sam
Robert Brown , known professionally as Washboard Sam, was an American blues singer and musician.-Biography:...
, Memphis Minnie
Memphis Minnie
Memphis Minnie was an American blues guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the only female blues artist considered a match to male contemporaries as both a singer and an instrumentalist.-Career:...
, Big Bill Broonzy
Big Bill Broonzy
Big Bill Broonzy was a prolific American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s when he played country blues to mostly black audiences. Through the ‘30s and ‘40s he successfully navigated a transition in style to a more urban blues sound popular with white audiences...
and Lead Belly. Other influences by more contemporary artists include the Electric Rag Band, the Country Blues Project (Germany), Preacher Boy
Preacher Boy
" Preacher Boy " is a jazz song written by singer Billie Holiday, and composer Jeanne Burns and published by E.B. Marks. This is one of seven songs written by or co-written by Holiday that she never recorded....
, Gordon Smith, Paul Geremiah, Paul Rishell and Annie Raines
Annie Raines
Annie Raines is an American musician, best known as a harmonicist.Raines took up the harmonica at the age of 17. As a freshman, she left Antioch College to pursue a musical career. Fascinated by the sounds of Muddy Waters, Little Walter Jacobs, and Sonny Boy Williamson, she spent time absorbing...
.
He received the "Blues Trophée - Best European Artist 2001". Between 2005 and 2010, he wrote several blues songs in the Walloon language
Walloon language
Walloon is a Romance language which was spoken as a primary language in large portions of the Walloon Region of Belgium and some villages of Northern France until the middle of the 20th century. It belongs to the langue d'oïl language family, whose most prominent member is the French language...
.