THE PROJECT

The Project

TRUE BLUES is a ground-breaking multi-media project about contemporaryperformers of traditional acoustic blues. Hosted by the renowned roots musicianCorey Harris, the project consists of a feature-length documentary, a national concert tour, and a studio soundtrack. Together, these components will chronicle the extraordinary music and lives of ten present-day virtuosos and capture the living culture of the blues. No previous documentary has expressed the beauty and brilliance of this music as it is performed today. It will be a unique source of entertainment and inspiration for the millions of blues disciples around the world, as well as for the millions more music fans who have yet to become anointed.


The Team

• COREY HARRIS (Host/Producer/Music Director): World-renowned blues artist andwinner of the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship.

• MARK JONATHAN HARRIS (Exec Producer): 3-time Academy Award winner in the documentary category and professor at the University of Southern California.

• BRIAN JOHNSON (Editor): Acclaimed editor of the seminal Cuban music documentary Buena Vista Social Club, along with several other significant features, including Countdown to Zero.

• DANIEL PATINKIN (Producer/Director):Independent filmmaker and graduate of the prestigious Peter Stark Producing Program at the University of Southern California.

• KAMILAH FORBES (Co-Producer): Acclaimed producer of the Def Poetry Jamand Brave New Voices series for HBO.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

PROJECT SYNOPSIS

People should hear the pure blues -- the blues we used to have
when we had no money.
- Muddy Waters

Born of Black southern culture and tradition, the Blues has come a long way since W.C. Handy first popularized it in 1903. It has provided the blueprint for nearly all Western popular music, including jazz, R&B, rock, funk, reggae, pop, disco, and hip-hop. Though a more commercial, rock-and-roll infused variant of the Blues was popularized between the 1960s and 1990s by artists such as Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, Led Zepplin, and the Rolling Stones, in recent years the Blues, especially its more traditional expression, has experienced a decline in popularity. This decline has been especially pronounced among African-Americans, ironically, the very ethnic group that gave birth to the genre.

Nevertheless, American Blues will demonstrate that there are still significant musicians throughout the country that play and celebrate this music and that, through them, the culture of the Blues continues to nourish the soul and inform the spirit.

Beginning in his hometown of Richmond, Virginia, our host Corey will traverse the United States in his quest, capturing the lives, cultural experiences and musical genius of ten of the greatest living roots blues musicians. He’ll visit with elder greats as well as with some younger talents who represent the future of the genre. He will seek to answer seminal thematic questions:

• What is Blues culture?
• Why is the Blues relevant today?
• How are the roots of the Blues preserved and expressed by
contemporary practicioners? And,
• Why isn’t the Blues popular among African-Americans any more?

Corey’s journey will culminate in various commemorative performances around the country and in the recording of a collaborative soundtrack featuring all of the artists.
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