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Mike Bloomfield

Background information
Birth name Michael Bernard Bloomfield
Born July 28, 1943(1943-07-28)
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died February 15, 1981 (aged 37)
San Francisco, California, United States
Genre(s) Blues, Blues-rock
Occupation(s) Musician
Instrument(s) Guitar
Years active 1964 - 1981
Associated acts The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
Bob Dylan
Electric Flag
Website www.mikebloomfield.com
Notable instrument(s)
Fender Telecaster

Gibson Les Paul
For the astronaut, see Michael J. Bloomfield. Events 1540 - Thomas Cromwell is executed at the order of Henry VIII of England on charges of Treason. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. The State of Illinois ( roughly ill-i-NOY is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Events 590 - Khosrau II is crowned as king of Persia 1637 - Ferdinand III becomes Holy Roman Emperor Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other The Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of Music based on the use of the Blue notes It emerged as an accessible form of self-expression Blues-rock is a hybrid musical genre combining Bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended Boogie jams with Rock A musician is a person who plays or writes Music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music An instrumentalist plays a A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles Paul Butterfield ( December 17 1942 – May 4 1987) was an American Blues Harmonica player and Singer Bob Dylan (born Robert Zimmerman, May 24 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota) is an American singer-songwriter author poet and painter who has been a major The Electric Flag, formed in 1967, was a Blues rock soul group led by Guitarist Mike Bloomfield, keyboardist Barry Goldberg The Fender Telecaster, also known as the Tele (pronounced Telly is typically a dual-pickup solid-body Electric guitar made by Fender. The Gibson Les Paul is a solidbody Electric guitar originally developed in the early 1950s Michael John "Bloomer" Bloomfield (born 16 March 1959) is a former American astronaut and a veteran of three Space shuttle missions

Michael Bernard Bloomfield (July 28, 1943, Chicago, Illinois — February 15, 1981, San Francisco California), an American musician, guitarist, and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation entirely on his instrumental prowess. Events 1540 - Thomas Cromwell is executed at the order of Henry VIII of England on charges of Treason. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. The State of Illinois ( roughly ill-i-NOY is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union. Events 590 - Khosrau II is crowned as king of Persia 1637 - Ferdinand III becomes Holy Roman Emperor Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A musician is a person who plays or writes Music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music An instrumentalist plays a The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. Respected for his fluid guitar playing, Bloomfield, who knew and played with many of Chicago's blues legends even before he achieved his own fame, was one of the primary influences on the mid-to-late 1960s revival of classic Chicago and other styles of blues music. The Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of Music based on the use of the Blue notes It emerged as an accessible form of self-expression He also ranked number 22 on Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time"

Contents

Early years

Bloomfield was born into a wealthy Jewish family on Chicago's North Side but preferred music to the family catering equipment business, becoming a blues devotee as a teenager and spending time at Chicago's South Side blues clubs. Rolling Stone is a United States -based Magazine devoted to Music, Politics, and Popular culture that is published PLEASE TAKE NOTE************

"He had a certain innate talent for playing the guitar that was instantly obvious to his mentors," wrote Al Kooper, Bloomfield's later collaborator and close friend, in a 2001 article. Al Kooper (born Alan Peter Kuperschmidt, February 5 1944, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American Songwriter, "They knew this was not just another white boy; this was someone who truly understood what the blues were all about. "[1] Among his early supporters were B. B. King, Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan and Buddy Guy. B B King (born Riley B King, September 16 1925 is an American Blues Guitarist and Singer-songwriter. For the album by Redman, see Muddy Waters (album. For the college football coach see Muddy Waters (football coach. Bob Dylan (born Robert Zimmerman, May 24 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota) is an American singer-songwriter author poet and painter who has been a major George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is a five-time Grammy Award-winning American Blues and rock Guitarist Michael used to say, 'It's a natural. Black people suffer externally in this country. Jewish people suffer internally. The suffering's the mutual fulcrum for the blues'. "[1]

The Butterfield Band

During those haunts, he met Paul Butterfield and Elvin Bishop, ran his own small blues club, the Fickle Pickle, and was discovered by legendary Columbia Records producer/scout John Hammond, who signed him to the label at a time the label had little if any association with blues. Paul Butterfield ( December 17 1942 – May 4 1987) was an American Blues Harmonica player and Singer Elvin Bishop (born October 21 1942, Glendale, California) is an American Blues and Rock and roll Musician Columbia Records is an American Record label founded in 1888 Columbia is the oldest surviving Brand name in pre-recorded sound being the first record company John Hammond may refer to John Hammond (New York (1827-1889 U Bloomfield recorded a few sessions for Columbia (which weren't released until after his death) in 1964, but ended up joining the original Paul Butterfield Blues Band, which included Bishop and Howlin' Wolf rhythm section alumni Sam Lay and Jerome Arnold. Paul Butterfield ( December 17 1942 – May 4 1987) was an American Blues Harmonica player and Singer Chester Burnett redirects here For the American football player see Chester Burnett (American football Chester Arthur Burnett ( June 10, 1910

Their exuberant, electric Chicago blues inspired a generation of white bluesmen, with Bloomfield's work on the the band's self-titled debut, and the subsequent record East-West, bringing wide acclaim to the young guitarist. Paul Butterfield Blues Band is a 1965 Album by The Paul Butterfield Blues Band. East-West is a 1966 Album by The Paul Butterfield Blues Band which was the group's second full album release Especially popular was "East-West's" thirteen-minute title track, an instrumental combining elements of blues, jazz, psychedelic rock, and the classical Indian raga. Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States Psychedelic rock is a style of Rock music that attempts to replicate the mind-altering experiences of hallucinogenic drugs. Hindustani Classical Music ( Hindi: हिन्दुस्तानी शास्त्रीय संगीत Urdu: ہندوستانی شاستریے سنگیت Rāga ( Sanskrit, lit "colour" or "mood" or rāgam in Carnatic music) refers to melodic modes used Bloomfield's innovative solos were at the forefront of the ground-breaking piece. He had been inspired to create "East-West" after an all-night LSD trip according to one legend, but a subsequent anthology of the Butterfield band included a booklet saying Bloomfield had also been influenced by John Coltrane and other blues-friendly free-style jazz musicians in creating the piece. Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States

Bloomfield was also a session musician, gaining wide recognition for his work with Bob Dylan during his first explorations into electric music. Session musicians are musicians available for hire as opposed to musicians who are either permanent members of a musical outfit or who have acquired fame in their own right Bob Dylan (born Robert Zimmerman, May 24 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota) is an American singer-songwriter author poet and painter who has been a major Bloomfield's sound was a major part of Dylan's change of style, especially on Highway 61 Revisited; his guitar style melded the blues influence with rock and folk. Highway 61 Revisited is Bob Dylan 's sixth studio album released in 1965 by Columbia Records. The Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of Music based on the use of the Blue notes It emerged as an accessible form of self-expression Al Kooper has since revealed - in the booklet accompanying the posthumous Don't Say That I Ain't Your Man: Essential Blues, 1964-1969 - that Dylan had invited Bloomfield to play with him permanently but that Bloomfield rejected the invitation in order to continue playing the blues with the Butterfield band. Al Kooper (born Alan Peter Kuperschmidt, February 5 1944, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American Songwriter, But Bloomfield and fellow Butterfield members Jerome Arnold and Sam Lay appeared at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965, backing Dylan for his controversial first live electric performance. The Newport Folk Festival is an American annual folk -oriented Music festival in Newport Rhode Island, which began in 1959

Rock critic Dave Marsh, in Rock and Roll Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles of All Time, has also revealed Bloomfield to have been the lead guitarist for Mitch Ryder's hit "Devil With The Blue Dress. Dave Marsh (born March 1, 1950 Detroit Michigan) is an American Music critic who briefly attended Wayne State University Mitch Ryder (born William S Levise Jr, February 26 1945, in Hamtramck Michigan) is " However, Marsh's claim is disputed by Bloomfield collaborator Barry Goldberg, who played keyboards on that track. Barry Goldberg (born 1941 Chicago, Illinois) is a Blues and rock Keyboardist, Songwriter and Record producer For the online bio, "The Bloomfield Notes" (#6), Barry states that Mike played on the following recording after "Devil", and "Sock it to Me", another track mistakenly credited to Bloomfield.

The Electric Flag

Bloomfield tired of the Butterfield Band's rigorous touring schedule and, relocating to San Francisco, sought to create his own group. The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city Bloomfield left to form the short-lived Electric Flag in 1967 with two longtime Chicago cohorts, organist Barry Goldberg and vocalist Nick Gravenites. The Electric Flag, formed in 1967, was a Blues rock soul group led by Guitarist Mike Bloomfield, keyboardist Barry Goldberg Barry Goldberg (born 1941 Chicago, Illinois) is a Blues and rock Keyboardist, Songwriter and Record producer Nicholas George Gravenites (born October 2, 1938 in Chicago, Illinois) known as Nick "The Greek" Gravenites and Gravy The band was intended to feature "American music," a hybrid of blues, soul music, country, rock, and folk, and incorporated an expanded lineup complete with a horn section. Soul music is a Music genre that combines Rhythm and blues and Gospel music, originating in the United States. The inclusion of drummer Buddy Miles, with his gravelly voice and great stage presence, also gave Bloomfield license to explore soul and R&B. George Allen Miles Jr ( September 5, 1947 &ndash February 26, 2008) known as Buddy Miles, was an American rock The Electric Flag debuted at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival and issued an album, A Long Time Comin', in April 1968 on Columbia Records. The Monterey International Pop Music Festival was a three-day concert event held June 16 to June 18 1967 at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey Columbia Records is an American Record label founded in 1888 Columbia is the oldest surviving Brand name in pre-recorded sound being the first record company Critics complimented the group's distinctive, intriguing sound but found the record itself somewhat uneven. Unfortunately, the band was already disintegrating; rivalries between members and shortsighted management (not to mention heroin abuse) all took their toll. Heroin ( INN: diacetylmorphine, BAN: diamorphine) is a semi-synthetic opioid synthesized from Morphine, a derivative Shortly after the release of that album, Bloomfield left his own band.

Work with Al Kooper

Bloomfield also made an impact through his work with Al Kooper, with whom he had played backing Dylan, on the album Super Session in 1968. Al Kooper (born Alan Peter Kuperschmidt, February 5 1944, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American Songwriter, The album Super Session grew out of a single nine hour jam in 1968 by guitarist Mike Bloomfield and multi-instrumentalist Al Kooper and Stephen Stills The direct impetus for the record, according to Kooper, was the twosome's having been part of Grape Jam, an improvisational addendum to Moby Grape's Wow earlier in the year. Wow/Grape Jam is the rock band Moby Grape 's second album It was unusual and significantly different from most double-album releases Moby Grape is an American rock group from the 1960s known for having all five members contribute to singing and songwriting and that collectively merged elements

"Why not do an entire jam album together?" Kooper remembered in 2001. "At the time, most jazz albums were made using this modus operandi: pick a leader or two co-leaders, hire appropriate sidemen, pick some tunes, make some up and record an entire album on the fly in one or two days. Why not try and legitimize rock by adhering to these standards? In addition, as a fan, I was dissatisfied with Bloomfield's recorded studio output up until then. It seemed that his studio work was inhibited and reigned in, compared to his incendiary live performances. Could I put him in a studio setting where he could feel free to just burn like he did in live performances?"

The result was a jam album that spotlighted Bloomfield's guitar skills on one side; Bloomfield's chronic insomnia caused him to repair to his San Francisco home, prompting Kooper to invite Stephen Stills to complete the album. Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945 is an American Guitarist and Singer/songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and It received excellent reviews and became the best-selling album of Bloomfield's career; its success led to a live sequel, The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper, recorded over three nights at Fillmore West in September 1968. Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper is a Double album documenting performances from two of Blues-rock 's most notable American musicians of For the San Francisco neighborhood see Fillmore District. For other venues named Fillmore see Fillmore#Music venues.

Solo work

Bloomfield continued with solo, session and back-up work from 1969 to 1980, releasing his first solo work It's Not Killing Me in 1969; a live jam album the same year, Live at Bill Graham's Fillmore West, including former Butterfield bandmate Mark Naftalin, former Electric Flag bandmates Marcus Doubleday and Snooky Flowers, and a guest appearance by Taj Mahal; and, re-uniting with former bandmates Paul Butterfield and Sam Lay for the Chess Records all-star set, Fathers and Sons, featuring Muddy Waters and Otis Spann, also the same year. It's Not Killing Me is the first solo album by American blues guitarist Mike Bloomfield and was released in 1969. Henry Saint Clair Fredericks (born May 17, 1942) who goes by the Stage name Taj Mahal, is an internationally recognized Blues musician Chess Records was an American Record label based in Chicago Illinois.

For a time, however, Bloomfield gave up playing because of his heroin addiction:

“ . Heroin ( INN: diacetylmorphine, BAN: diamorphine) is a semi-synthetic opioid synthesized from Morphine, a derivative . and I put the guitar down- didn't touch it. . Shooting junk made everything else unimportant, null and void, nolo contendre[2]. My playing fell apart. I just didn't want to play. ”

[3]

During the late 1970s, Bloomfield recorded for several smaller labels, including Takoma. Through Guitar Player magazine he also put out an instructional album with a vast array of blues guitar styles, titled If You Love These Blues, Play 'Em as You Please. Guitar Player is a popular magazine for Guitarists It contains articles interviews reviews and lessons of an eclectic collection of artists genres and products Bloomfield also performed with John Cale on Cale's soundtrack to the film Caged Heat in 1975. John Davies Cale (born March 9, 1942) better known as John Cale, is a Welsh Musician, Composer, Singer-songwriter Caged Heat (alternate title Renegade Girls) is a 1974 Exploitation film in the women-in-prison genre

Through the 1970s, Bloomfield seemed satisfied to play in local San Francisco Bay Area clubs, either sitting in with other bands or using his own "Michael Bloomfield and Friends" outfit. The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, or the Bay, is a geographically and ethnically diverse metropolitan region that surrounds the But his best performing days were behind him and most of the decade was spent battling drugs and his own deep insecurities.

A revealing look at his decline can be heard in the tapes circulated for Chet Helms' (of The Family Dog) Tribal Stomp held at Berkeley's Greek Theatre in 1978. Chet Helms ( August 2 1942 – June 25 2005) often called the father of San Francisco's "1967 Summer of Love" was a Music promoter The original Butterfield Blues Band reunited for this show and Bloomfield was featured in several solos. However, his guitar is out of tune at times and he simply misses licks he could have hit in his earlier days. For comparison, seek out concert recording from the Fillmore West with the Electric Flag, when he was in his prime. The Electric Flag, formed in 1967, was a Blues rock soul group led by Guitarist Mike Bloomfield, keyboardist Barry Goldberg Bloomfield also was apparently suffering from arthritis in his hands in his last few years and that may have been a telling factor in both the decline of his playing and his mental attitude towards performing. Arthritis (from Greek arthro-, joint + -itis, inflammation plural arthritides is a group of conditions involving damage to the Joints of the body

On February 15, 1981 Bloomfield was found dead in San Francisco in his parked car. Events 590 - Khosrau II is crowned as king of Persia 1637 - Ferdinand III becomes Holy Roman Emperor Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 According to his friends, the size of the heroin dose that killed him meant that he probably did not drive to this spot and overdose, rather that the lethal dose had been administered somewhere else and he had been driven to this spot to avoid complications for his drug-ingesting cohorts. The official cause of death was ruled an accidental drug overdose.

Style

Bloomfield originally used the Fender Telecaster. The Fender Telecaster, also known as the Tele (pronounced Telly is typically a dual-pickup solid-body Electric guitar made by Fender. During his tenure with the Butterfield Blues Band he switched to the Gibson Les Paul which he used for some of the East-West sessions. The Gibson Les Paul is a solidbody Electric guitar originally developed in the early 1950s He also used it with the Electric Flag, and on the Super Session album and concerts. He later veered between the Les Paul and the Telecaster, but Bloomfield's use of the Les Paul---as did Keith Richards' with the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton's with John Mayall---influenced many others to use the model.

Unlike contemporaries such as Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck, Bloomfield rarely experimented with feedback and distortion, preferring a loud but clean sound with a healthy amount of reverb. James Marshall Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix) (November 27 1942 – September 18 1970 was an American Guitarist, Singer and Songwriter Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck (born June 24, 1944 to Arnold and Ethel Beck in Wallington, England) is an English Reverberation is the persistence of Sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed One of his amplifiers of choice was a 1965 Fender Twin Reverb. Generally an amplifier or simply amp, is any device that changes usually increases the amplitude of a signal. The Fender Twin Reverb is an all-tube Guitar amplifier with two 12" 8 ohm speakers made by various suppliers Bloomfield's solos, like most blues guitarists', were based primarily on the minor pentatonic scale and the blues scale. A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five pitches per Octave in contrast to an heptatonic (seven note scale such as the Major scale The term blues scale is used describe a few scales with differing number of pitches and related characteristics However, his liberal use of chromatic notes within the pentatonic framework allowed a considerable degree of fluidity to his solos. He was also renowned for his use of vibrato. Vibrato is a musical effect produced in singing and on musical instruments by a regular pulsating change of pitch, and is used to add expression and vocal-like qualities to

Selected discography

References

  1. ^ a b Bloomfield's Doomed Field. Retrieved on 2008-03-20. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1600 - The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden.
  2. ^ "no contest"
  3. ^ Wolkin, Jan Mark & Keenom, Bill (2000), Michael Bloomfield: If You Love These Blues, San Francisco: Miller Freeman Books, ISBN 0879306173, <http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fBIfxBV_yukC&dq=%22if+you+love+these+blues%22+bloomfield+isbn&pg=PP1&ots=txR1f93-7d&sig=ivUvrkUKw9RC7SOEIEsToVkjQXI&hl=en&prev=http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=%22if+you+love+these+blues%22+bloomfield+ISBN&btnG=Google+Search&sa=X&oi=print&ct=title&cad=one-book-with-thumbnail> 

External links

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