Vann Piano Man Walls - The Spirit of R & B (2013) Online

Vann Piano Man Walls - The Spirit of R & B (2013) Online

Vann "Piano Man" Walls was born at the dawn of the jazz age, grew up with Rhythm & Blues, and went on to become one of its greatest pioneers, innovators and exponents. He faded from view as R&B itself fell prey to changes in musical fashion - but in the years before he died, Vann enjoyed a comeback and a resurgence in his creativity.He lived in Montréal, played the piano like a fallen angel and had more than 65 years of music at his fingertips. With a few deft chords and well-chosen words he shows how the music that shaped his life emerged, developed, evolved, influenced, was influenced - and established itself as a genre of its own. Walls is the microcosm, R&B the macrocosm, and one illuminates the other.Rise and fall and rise: this is the story in a nutshell. But guests including singer Ruth Brown, Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun and producer Jerry Wexler, as well as Dr. John (a former piano student of Vann's), Ry Cooder, and others, drop by to help tell his tale. And in a...