The Rev. Gary Davis

[RRuskin]

Originally Posted by The Bard Rocks

Andy Cohen is another one who studied with him.

Andy spent about 2-4 weeks with the Rev. in Detroit. Gary was there to officiate at the wedding of 2 friends of ours and do a few gigs. He was staying a few houses down from where Andy was living at the time.

[RRuskin]

Originally Posted by Mycroft

Rick Ruskin also studied with the Rev.

True. I met him on a gig in 1964.

[edmonds]

Hate to see this tread die. Davis influenced a lot of us, either directly or indirectly.
...

[RRuskin]

Originally Posted by Mark E <><

Rick Ruskin,

I sure wish you would do an instruction video of your version of " I Will Do My Last Singing". I truly love your version of this song. Great job.

Glad you like that one. Much of that arrangement is improvised so it comes out a bit different each time. Any transcription would be close but not note-for- note.

I've had the pleasure of learning from Woody Mann's materials and studying with him for 4 years in a row at Fur Peace Ranch (back again with him next March). I really like Woody's approach to the Rev.'s material. Woody has obviously headed in a different direction since learning from the Rev. but when he plays the Rev.'s tunes it's not hard to hear the strong influence on his playing.

[Mark E]

Originally Posted by RRuskin

Glad you like that one. Much of that arrangement is improvised so it comes out a bit different each time. Any transcription would be close but not note-for- note.

And I would expect that, just like the Reverend. It would be a little different each time, but to have a base to go by would sure be nice. I would certainly appreciate it !

[b-sharp]

I saw Rev. Gary Davis twice in the 60's. Once at Carnegie Hall and again at Fordham University. That concert included Mississippi John Hurt, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Bukka White, and Muddy Waters. There's a guy on You Tube who goes by the name of OldSchoolGuitar who teaches a doable version of "Hesitation Blues". Not note for note RGD, but easily recognizable enough to fool your friends.

[srick]

I'm resurrecting this year and a half year old thread because last night I purchased Ernie Hawkins "Gospel Guitar of Rev. Gary Davis" 4 DVD set (from the Stefan Grossman website). I'll admit, fifteen minutes into this I am pleasantly surprised at the content (and I've purchased a lot of instructional videos).

What is surprising is Ernie's keen observations on the Rev's style, his chord voicings and chord shapes. Paraphrasing one section: "Gary Davis used his left hand in a very economical playing style," which Ernie Hawkins then goes on to demonstrate. Ernie also delves into the details of the Reverend's posture and his right hand motions.

These details are definitely a key to the Gary Davis style and may make the difference between playing it with great effort vs. less effort (no one said it would be easy). Almost each chapter is prefaced with a video of Gary Davis playing the song that follows. Ernie's advice is to watch him carefully, as these videos are gems to be treasured.

Expensive set, to be sure, but unique in many ways.

Rick

PS: I'm sure that it was mentioned earlier in the thread, Woody Mann's documentary, "Harlem Street Singer" (available via Homespun or Amazon), is a great place to begin to learn more about the Reverend and the many fingerstyle guitarists that he has influenced.

[srick]

Does anyone know if Ernie Hawkins is still active?

[scriv58]

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/stef...hawkins#p34748

[srick]

Scriv - thanks so much. That thread explained a lot. It’s so easy to forget that as we go from our 50s, to our 60s and beyond, that life often gets in the way of our passions. I hope to be able to do a workshop with him sometime in the future.

Best,

Rick

[Kerbie]

What a great thread to come back to life! 4 DVDs... outstanding. That'll keep you busy for a while.

[srick]

Kerbie - Probably for years to come. It’s really deep material. What I love is that Ernie is one degree of separation and this is the real deal.

Another one degree of separation, is the gentleman who runs my local open mic night. Marty was Ian Buchanan’s best friend. The Rev considered Ian to be his ‘white son’. And, Ian was Jorma’s mentor when they were at Antioch college. Holy cow!

It’s an incredible ‘family tree’!

[Kerbie]

I'd say that qualifies as kinfolk!

[Mark E]

I still love listening to Rev. Gary Davis. Liked his stuff so much I had a line out of one of his songs under my signature.

I also have the 4 DVD set by Ernie Hawkins, and truly enjoy how he breaks down each song. His admiration and respect for RGD is very apparent.

If you get a chance, check out frankie12string on Youtube. He does quite a few RGD songs, as well as other old blues. He's really good.