The Witch is a Jacobean play, a tragicomedy written by Thomas Middleton. The play was acted by the King's Men at the Blackfriars Theatre. It is thought to have been written sometime between 1609 and 1616;^[1] it was not printed in its own era, and existed only in manuscript until it was published by Isaac Reed in 1778.

The manuscript[link]

The still-extant manuscript (since 1821, MS. Malone 12 in the collection of the Bodleian Library), a small quarto-sized bundle of 48 leaves, is in the hand of Ralph Crane,^[2] the professional scribe who worked for the King's Men in this era, and who prepared several texts for the First Folio of Shakespeare's plays, as well as two of the survivng manuscripts of Middleton's A Game at Chess, plus other King's Men's works. Since Middleton wrote for the King's Men in this period, the Crane connection is unsurprising. The manuscript bears Middleton's dedication to Thomas Holmes, Esq. There, Middleton refers to the play as "ignorantly ill-fated." This was long taken to mean that the play failed with the audience; but modern critics allow the possibility that the play was pulled from performance for legal or censorship reasons.^[3] A 21st century adaptation is available.^[4]

[edit] Macbeth

The Witch is known chiefly because parts of the play were incorporated into Shakespeare's Macbeth, perhaps around 1618. The added text involves Hecate and the Three Witches, and is found in Macbeth, Act III, scene v, and Act IV, scene i, lines 39-43 and 125-32, and includes two songs, "Come away, come away" and "Black spirits."^[5] Middleton's text gives the full lyrics of the songs, which are represented in Macbeth by their first lines; they are the only songs in the First Folio that occur in this abbreviated form.

Witches[link]

Middleton's primary source for material on witches was the Discovery of Witchcraft of Reginald Scot (1584),^[6] from which the playwright drew invocations, demons' names, and potion ingredients. Middleton, however, ignores Scot's skeptical attitude toward much witchcraft lore, and merely mines his book for exploitable elements. He also borrowed the situation of a historical Duke and Duchess of Ravenna, related in the Florentine History of Niccolò Machiavelli and in the fiction of Matteo Bandello.

Witchcraft was a topical subject in the era Middleton wrote, and was the subject of other works like The Witch of Edmonton and The Late Lancashire Witches. Middleton's chief witch is a 120-year-old practitioner called Hecate. Her magic adheres to the Classical standard of Seneca's Medea; she specializes in love and sex magic, giving one character a charm to cause impotence. (In forming this aspect of the play's plot, Middleton may have been influenced by the contemporaneous real-life divorce scandal of Lady Frances Howard and the Earl of Essex, which involved charges of magic-induced impotence.)^[7]

Middleton's Hecate has a son (and incestuous lover) called Firestone, who serves as the play's clown. She leads a coven of four other witches, Stadlin, Hoppo, Hellwayn, and Prickle. The occult material in The Witch occurs in only three scenes:

• Act I, scene ii introduces the coven and contains abundant witchcraft exotica, to establish the macabre mood — fried rats and pickled spiders, the flesh of an "unbaptized brat," a cauldron boiling over a blue flame, "Urchins, elves, hags, satyrs, Pans, fawns...Tritons, centaurs, dwarfs, imps...", "the blood of a flittermouse," and much much more. At one point, a cat enters playing a fiddle (a role probably filled by a musician in feline costume).

• III,iii features the song "Come away" that was added to Macbeth, and deals the witches' flight through the air: at one point "A Spirit descends in the shape of a Cat," and Hecate is shown "Ascending with the Spirit."

• V,ii contains the song "Black spirits," also inserted into Macbeth.

Middleton's witches "are lecherous, murderous and perverse in the traditional demonological way, but they are also funny, vulnerable and uncomfortably necessary to the maintenance of state power and social position by those who resort to them."^[8] Middleton's choice to set the play in Italy may reflect an element of satire against witchcraft beliefs and practices in Roman Catholic societies of his era.^[9]

Characters[link]

-DUKE

-LORD GOVERNOR

-SEBASTIAN, contracted to Isabella

-FERNANDO, his friend

-ANTONIO, husband to Isabella

-ABERZANES, a gentleman, neither honest, wise, nor valiant

-ALMACHILDES, a fantastical gentleman

-GASPERO and HERMIO,servants to Antonio

-FIRESTONE, the clown and Hecate's son

-BOY

-DUCHESS

-ISABELLA, niece to the governor (and wife to Antonio)

-FRANCISCA, Antonio's sister

-AMORETTA, the Duchess's woman

-FLORIDA, a courtesan

-An OLD WOMAN

-HECATE, the chief witch

-Five other witches, including STADLIN, HOPPO, PUCKLE and HELLWAIN

-MALKIN, a spirit like a cat

-Other Witches and Servants, Mutes

Synopsis[link]

This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (January 2010)

Act 1, Scene 1: Urbino, Italy; The grounds of the Lord Governor's house; the day of Antonio and Isabella's wedding; a banquet laid out
The play opens with the protagonist Sebastian conversing with his friend Fernando. Sebastian has been absent from Urbino, soldiering in the wars of Northern Italy for three years, and has falsely been reported killed. His fiancee Isabella has—this very day—married the powerful aristocrat Antonio. According to the Renaissance custom of handfast, Sebastian regards Isabella as his wife in the sight of Heaven. Desperately worried that Isabella will consummate her marriage to Antonio that night, Sebastian tells Fernando that he is willing to go to any means in order to reclaim her. He exits. Fernando delivers a short speech sympathizing with his friend's predicament. Antonio's servant Gaspero enters with another servant. Fernando exits. Gaspero says that Fernando's behavior at the wedding banquet was very suspicious—he did not raise his glass to toast the new couple even once, and declined to drink any of the fine wine on offer. Antonio's courtesan (prostitute) Florida enters. She is upset that Antonio has married another woman. Gaspero tries to console her by assuring her that Antonio will continue sleeping with her after he has grown tired of his new wife. He instructs her to retire to a private parlor and promises to bring her some delicacies from the wedding banquet soon. Florida exits. Almachildes ("a fantastical gentleman") enters with Amoretta (the Duchess's woman). Almachildes tries to get Amoretta to kiss him. Amoretta resists. Almachildes plans to go to "the witches" to procure a charm to make Amoretta fall in love with him. He exits. The wedding party enters with servants bearing a banquet. The wedding party includes the Duke, the Duchess, the Lord Governor, Antonio, Isabella, and Francisca (Antonio's sister). The Duke has had a goblet made from the skull of his wife's father (a defeated enemy). He uses the skull goblet to pledge toasts, passing it around among the assembled guests. The Duchess is disgusted by the goblet, but she conceals her disdain. In an aside, she says that she has already decided upon her revenge.

Act 1, Scene 2: Hecate's cave
Hecate (the chief witch) enters carrying serpents and an "unbaptized brat." Her assistant Standlin enters bearing a brass dish. Hecate hands the baby over to Standlin and instructs her to boil it. She notes that the baby's fat will be used to make a transvection ointment that enables the witches to fly at night, transform themselves into incubi and have sex with young men. Hecate and Stadlin also discuss a "heart of wax stuck full of magic needles"—a charm that will be used to lay a curse on the livestock of a farmer whom Hecate bears a grudge against. Stadlin exits with the baby. Hecate squeezes the snakes into the brass dish and lays their skins aside (to be used for Sebastian's charm later on). Hecate's son Firestone enters. Hecate tells him that she only has three more years until her 120 years of life (allotted to her by the devil) will be up. She gives him the brass dish and tells him that it is filled with "dear syrup"—a single drop of the stuff is enough to "confound a family of nineteen." Firestone asks Hecate's permission to go out with the Nightmare (a monster that suffocates people in their sleep by sitting on their chests). He says that he wants to use the monster to "overlay a fat parson's daughter." Hecate gives him her permission. Firestone exits with the brass dish. Sebastian enters and asks Hecate to make Antonio impotent so he won't be able to have sex with Isabella. Hecate gives him a charm made from the skins of lizards and snakes. Sebastian exits. Almachildes enters soon thereafter, very drunk. He gives Hecate a toad and asks her for a love charm (to be used on Amoretta). Pleased with the toad, Hecate invites Almachildes to dinner. A cat playing a fiddle (Malkin) enters, followed by spirits bearing plates of fine meat.

Act 2, Scene 1: Antonio's house; the morning after the wedding
Antonio is extremely glum because Hecate's charm made him impotent on his wedding night. Gaspero asks the cause of his sadness. Antonio avoids his questions and orders him to bring some chicken broth (a cure for impotence) and "half an ounce of pearl" (an aphrodisiac). Antonio exits. Gaspero mistakenly assumes that Antonio needs chicken broth and pearl because he has contracted a venereal disease from his new wife. Francisca (Antonio's younger sister, a maid) enters. She asks Gaspero about Antonio's sour mood. Gaspero exits quickly without telling her anything. Left alone on stage, Francisca delivers a soliloquy in which she reveals that she has been receiving secret nighttime visits from a "friend" (Aberzanes) who has got her pregnant. She worries that Antonio will kill her if the pregnancy is discovered. Isabella enters. She encourages Francisca to get married so she can discuss matters of a marital nature with her (Antonio's impotency is obviously on her mind). Francisca says that Isabella is lucky to have found a husband like her brother—he doesn't gamble or chase women, and he has promised to give up tobacco for Isabella's sake. Isabella agrees that Antonio was a good catch. Antonio enters. Isabella tells him that she has been encouraging Francisca to get married. Antonio says that Francisca is too young to get married. Isabella sings a song for Antonio. The lyrics of the song slyly allude to the plights of Isabella, Amoretta and Francisca. Aberzanes ("a gentleman, neither honest, wise nor valiant") enters. He is followed by servant carrying copious quantities of food and drink (an indication of his gluttonous nature). Speaking aside, Francisca asks Aberzanes what he plans to do about her pregnancy. She warns him that she might give birth that very night. Aberzanes tells her not to worry and assures her that he has already taken care of everything. Sebastian enters disguised as a servant, "Celio." Isabella introduces "Celio" and says that she has just hired him that very morning. Antonio welcomes "Celio" to the household. "Celio" announces the arrival of a gentleman who has brought a letter from Antonio's mother in Northern Italy. Antonio reads the letter aloud. In the letter, "Antonio's mother" asks Antonio to send Francisca to Northern Italy immediately. (The letter is in fact a forgery by Aberzanes—this is his way of getting Francisca out of the house so she can give birth in secret.) Antonio orders Francisca to leave immediately. Francisca thanks Aberzanes in an aside. Antonio, Isabella and the Gentleman exit. Aberzanes tells Francisca that he has made all of the necessary preparations for her journey. Aberzanes and Francisca exit. Left alone on stage, Sebastian deduces from Antonio's discontented demeanor that Hecate's charm has taken effect. He is pleased, but even more desperate than before to get Isabella back. At the end of the scene, Gaspero enters with the Lord Governor (Isabella's uncle), who has come to pay Antonio a visit.

Act 2, Scene 2: The Duke's palace
Almachildes regretfully recalls his drunken dinner with the witches. He discovers Hecate's charm in his pocket and decides to try it out. Amoretta enters. Almachildes embraces her and secretly slips the charm into the bodice of her dress. Amoretta pushes Almachildes away. Almachildes exits. As the charm begins to work, Amoretta has a sudden change of heart and declares that Almachildes is "the sweetest gentleman in court." In a short speech, she reveals that the Duchess has ordered her to get close to Almachildes so he can be used in an undisclosed "employment" (the Duchess wants to get Almachildes to help her kill the Duke). Amoretta says she was initially averse to the idea of getting close to Almachildes, but she now looks forward to the task with great relish. The Duchess enters. In an aside, she complains once again about the Duke's morbid skull goblet. She asks Amoretta if she has managed to arrange a meeting with Almachildes yet. Amoretta says that she could never do anything to deceive Almachildes, but declares her willingness to become his honest wife. The Duchess wonders if Amoretta has lost her mind. The charm falls from Amoretta's dress to the floor, and the Duchess picks it up—thereby transferring the love spell from Amoretta to the Duchess. Amoretta immediately declares her complete hatred for Almachildes; the Duchess declares her love for him. Amoretta agrees to deceive Almachildes as the Duchess had previously ordered. The Duchess looks forward to tasting the sweetness of revenge and love combined. She exits. Almachildes enters. Amoretta flirts with him and promises to meet him soon. Almachildes assumes that Hecate's charm has done its trick.

Act 2, Scene 3: A farmhouse
Francisca has had her baby. Aberzanes pays an old woman to raise the child in secrecy. Aberzanes and Francisca prepare to return to Urbino. Francisca examines her reflection in a mirror. She is surprised to see how pale and thin she has grown.

Act 3, Scene 1: The Duke's palace
The Duchess has tricked Almachildes into having sex with her by blindfolding him and pretending to be Amoretta. The scene begins as she removes the blindfold. She tells Almachildes that she will marry him if he helps her kill the Duke—but threatens to accuse him of rape if he refuses. Almachildes agrees to help her kill the Duke.

Act 3, Scene 2: The grounds of Antonio's house
Gaspero helps Florida sneak into the house for rendezvous with Antonio. Sebastian enters (posing as "Celio") as Florida heads off to Antonio's bedroom. "Celio" asks Gaspero who Florida is. Gaspero tells him that she is Antonio's mistress, and that she has visited the house three times in the past ten days (it seems that Hecate's impotency charm only impedes Antonio's ability to have sex with Isabella). Isabella enters. She scolds "Celio" and Gaspero for loitering around. "Celio" and Gaspero exit. Isabella soliloquizes about a letter she has found that reveals the details of Francisca's sexual dalliances. She is mad at Francisca for betraying Antonio's trust, but decides to keep the information a secret. Isabella enters with Aberzanes (supposedly returning from Northern Italy). Isabella notices that Francisca has lost a great deal of weight in a short amount of time. Aberzanes says that Francisca is merely tired after the long journey. He exits. Isabella confronts Francisca with the letter and insists that she leave Antonio's house immediately. Isabella exits. In a soliloquy, Francisca decides to protect herself against exposure by spreading lies about Isabella. Antonio enters. Francisca tells him that Isabella has been having an affair with Gaspero. Antonio buys her story completely. Francisca exits. Isabella enters. Antonio tells Isabella that he has to go away on business for two weeks (in fact, he wants to create an opportunity for Isabella to cheat on him so he can catch her red-handed). Antonio exits. "Celio" enters. He tells Isabella about Antonio's relationship with Florida. Isabella (who has become dissatisfied with her marriage as a result of Antonio's impotency) promises to reward "Celio" handsomely if he can prove that his allegations against Antonio are true. "Celio" says that he has made a plan to sneak Isabella out of the house so she can catch Antonio red-handed. Isabella agrees to go along with his plan.

Act 3, Scene 3: A forest glade
Hecate, Hoppo and Stadlin prepare for a nighttime flight. Hoppo and Stadlin take off. Hecate promises to catch up with them soon. Firestone brings Hecate a basket filled with lizards, snake's eggs and herbs cropped by moonlight. Voices from offstage bid Hecate to hurry up and join the nighttime flight. The voices sing the song "Come Away, Come Away" (which also appears in Macbeth). A "Spirit like a cat" (Malkin) descends as the voices sing. Hecate ascends with the Cat, extolling the expected pleasures of her nighttime ride.

Act 4, Scene 1: The Duke's palace
Almachildes delivers a soliloquy in which he reveals that he has helped the Duchess kill the Duke. As a result, a popular uprising has broken out in opposition to the Duchess' ascent to power. Almachildes regrets his role in the Duke's murder and worries that he will become the Duchess' next victim. The Duchess enters. She tells Almachildes that she is afraid for his safety. She advises him to lie low for a while and promises to marry him as soon as public sentiment cools down. Almachildes agrees to follow the Duchess' advice, but expresses skepticism of her intentions in an aside. Almachildes exits. In a short soliloquy, the Duchess says that Almachildes must die as soon as possible (she wants to kill him in order to conceal her complicity in the Duke's murder). She makes plans to win the love of the Lord Governor, whom she hopes will intervene on her behalf to calm the insurrection. The Lord Governor enters. The Duchess promises to love him if he will help her win public favor. The Lord Governor promises to help her, kisses her hand, and exits. In a final soliloquy, the Duchess looks forward to marrying the Lord Governor and redoubles her resolve to get rid of Almachildes immediately.

Act 4, Scene 2: Fernando's house
Sebastian tells Florida and Fernando about his convoluted scheme to lure Isabella into bed and deflower her. The details of the scheme are as follows:

Posing as "Celio," Sebastian has told Isabella to go to Fernando's house, where, according to "Celio's" plan, she will pose as Antonio's mistress in an attempt to attain solid evidence of Antonio's adulterous affairs. Fernando's house is a sort-of brothel where Florida has a room. Sebastian expects Isabella to arrive at the house shortly. When she arrives, Fernando will send her to Florida's bed so she can pose as Florida and have sex with "Antonio," who will actually be Sebastian posing as Antonio. Florida has agreed to vacate her bedroom so she can sneak back to Antonio's house and have sex with Antonio while Isabella is gone (she also hopes to help disgrace Isabella so that she can have Antonio to herself). As she leaves Fernando's house, Florida is instructed to tell Isabella (who will be approaching the house as she leaves) that she knows Antonio well and that he visits the house quite often. Fernando is instructed to back up Florida's claims, thereby increasing Isabella's mistrust of Antonio.

Fernando and Florida agree to follow Sebastian's plan. Florida exits to meet Isabella. Isabella knocks at the door. Sebastian exits to an adjoining room to observe. Isabella enters. Fernando agrees to direct her to Antonio's room. Isabella curses Antonio and says that she would have never found herself in such a miserable situation if her first husband (Sebastian) had lived. Isabella and Fernando exit. Sebastian enters. Moved by Isabella's remembrance of him, he decides that it would be wrong to deceive her. Isabella enters. She accuses Sebastian ("Celio") of deceiving her because Antonio was not in Florida's bedroom. "Celio" encourages Isabella to wait. He is reluctant to send her back home for fear she would discover Florida in her bed. Isabella agrees to wait for a while.

Act 4, Scene 3: Antonio's house
Francisca starts the scene off with a soliloquy. She expects Antonio to arrive home shortly, and has made plans to arrange things so he will catch Gaspero and Isabella in bed together. When she hears the sound of Antonio's arrival, she calls for Gaspero. Gaspero enters undressed. Francisca tells him that Isabella has been calling for help, but none of her maidens have gone to her aid (Francisca drugged all of Isabella's maidens to make sure they would stay asleep). She urges Gaspero to go to Isabella's room immediately. Gaspero says that he has to get dressed first. Francisca tells him not to bother. Gaspero goes to Isabella's room. Antonio enters. Francisca encourages him to search Gaspero's room. Antonio does as she says and finds the room empty. Convinced that Gaspero must be sleeping with his wife, Antonio draws his sword and heads to the bedroom. He returns moments later with a bloody sword, claiming to have stabbed Gaspero and Isabella (in fact, he has stabbed Gaspero and Florida—Isabella is at Fernando's house with Sebastian). He tells Francisca to come down from the balcony so he can kill her too. Raving, he explains that she must die as well because she was the one who brought him the news of Isabella's betrayal. Fearing for her life, Francisca admits that she made the entire story up to conceal the illegitimate child she had with Aberzanes. This revelation stuns Antonio and plunges him into an even deeper grief. He puts his sword down and sends a servant to summon Aberzanes.

Act 5, Scene 1: Antonio's house
Aberzanes arrives at Antonio's home. Antonio urges him to draw his sword and fight, but Aberzanes refuses. Francisca enters. Antonio forces Francisca and Aberzanes to kneel and perform a handfast (engagement) ceremony. To conclude the ceremony, he orders the couple to drink some poisoned wine. He also drinks the wine himself—a suicidal act that is not in fact suicidal because the servant, Hermio, disobeyed Antonio's orders and refrained from poisoning the wine. Antonio and Francisca exit after the handfast ceremony is completed. In a soliloquy, Antonio wonders if his ruined marriage might be some sort of karmic retribution. He reveals that he falsified reports of Sebastian's death so he could marry Isabella. A servant enters and reports that Gaspero and "Isabella" (actually Florida) are merely wounded, not dead. Gaspero enters wounded. He tells Antonio that the woman in his room was Florida, not Isabella. Assuming that Isabella is out having sex with another man, Antonio prays aloud that the (actually not) poisoned wine will not take effect until he can find his wife and kill her. Hermio tells him that the wine wasn't actually poisoned. Antonio thanks Hermio. The Lord Governor enters. Antonio tells the Lord Governor that (his niece) Isabella is an "impudent adulteress." The Lord Governor demands proof of Antonio's allegations. Florida enters, wounded, ans says that Isabella is sleeping with her servant "Celio" at Fernando's house. Antonio rushes off to Fernando's house in a rage. Gaspero and Florida exit to see a doctor. The Lord Governor follows them. The servant Hermio is left alone on stage. Isabella enters with "Celio" (Sebastian) and casually asks Hermio if Francisca is still sleeping. Hermio tells Isabella that there has been a great deal of commotion as a result of her absence and that Antonio has gone to Fernando's house to find her. Isabella blames "Celio" (Sebastian) for staining her reputation. Sebastian worries that his foolhardy scheme has caused Isabella's ruin.

Act 5, Scene 2: Hecate's cave, a cauldron set
The Duchess goes to Hecate to procure a "sudden, subtle" poison for Almachildes. Hecate offers her a voodoo portrait of Almachildes that will kill him slowly. The Duchess rejects the portrait because it would take too long. She also insists that the method of poisoning must be subtle. Hecate becomes impatient with the Duchess' impertinence and recites a charm in Latin (quoted from Ovid). The Duchess apologizes. Hecate assures the Duchess that Almachildes will die that evening. The Duchess exits. Hecate orders Firestone to bring her some lizard's brain, bear breach and "three ounces of the red-haired girl I killed last midnight." These ingredients are stirred together in a pot with bat's blood, libbard's bane, the juice of a toad, and the oil of an adder. Hecate sings a charm song and the other witches perform a dance for the moon.

Act 5, Scene 3: Antonio's house
Back at Antonio's house, Isabella explains the story of her absence to the Lord Governor. The Lord Governor scolds "Celio" for providing Isabella with false intelligence and leading her into a compromising situation. Hermio enters and announces that Antonio fell through a trap door and fell to his death while searching through Fernando's house for Isabella. The Lord Governor says that Antonio got what he deserved. Isabella forgives Antonio for his marital transgressions. Florida faints. Some servants carry Florida away. The Lord Governor resumes pronouncing judgment on "Celio." "Celio" removes his disguise to reveal that he is actually Sebastian. Isabella expresses joyous disbelief. The Lord Governor welcomes Sebastian happily. Gaspero admits that Antonio paid him to give false reports of Sebastian's death. The Duchess enters. The Lord Governor reveals the body of the Duke (it has presumably been concealed in a curtained-off space up to this point) and charges the Duchess with adultery and murder. The Duchess admits to the murder, but denies the charge of adultery. The Lord Governor calls for Almachildes. Almachildes enters (Hecate's poison is apparently either ineffective or has yet to take effect). Almachildes tells the Lord Governor that he had sex with the Duchess while blindfolded (see 3.1). Amoretta enters and testifies that the woman Almachildes slept with while blindfolded was actually a hired prostitute—not the Duchess. The Duchess is thus cleared of the adultery charge, but the murder charge still stands. At that moment, to everyone's great surprise, the Duke sits up from his death bed, perfectly alive (it seems as though Almachildes was not cold-blooded enough to actually kill him). The Duchess is thus cleared of all charges. The Duke is in a very forgiving mood. He thanks Almachildes for sparing his life, pardons his wife's transgressions, and promises to refrain from drinking out of the skull goblet in the future. The play ends on a note of festivity and redemption.

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Text of Middleton's The Witch.

For the astronaut, see Michael J. Bloomfield.

Michael Bernard "Mike" Bloomfield (July 28, 1943 – February 15, 1981) was an American musician, guitarist, and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, who became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his instrumental prowess, since he rarely sang before 1969–70. Respected for his fluid guitar playing, Bloomfield knew and played with many of Chicago's blues legends even before he achieved his own fame, and was one of the primary influences on the mid-to-late 1960s revival of classic Chicago and other styles of blues music. In 2003 he was ranked at number 22 on Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".^[1]

Early years[link]

Bloomfield was born into a wealthy Jewish family on the North Side of Chicago 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, playing guitar with some black bluesmen (Sleepy John Estes, Yank Rachell, Little Brother Montgomery).

The young guitarist's talent "was instantly obvious to his mentors," wrote Al Kooper, Bloomfield's later collaborator and close friend, in a 2001 article. "They knew this was not just another white boy; this was someone who truly understood what the blues were all about."^[2] Among his early supporters were B. B. King, Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan and Buddy Guy. 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'."^[2]

The Butterfield Band[link]

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. Bloomfield recorded a few sessions for Columbia in 1964 (which weren't released until after his death), but ended up joining the original Paul Butterfield Blues Band, which included Bishop and Howlin' Wolf rhythm section alumni Sam Lay and Jerome Arnold.

Their exuberant, electric Chicago blues inspired a generation of white bluesmen, with Bloomfield's work on the band's self-titled debut, and the subsequent record East-West, bringing wide acclaim to the young guitarist. Especially popular was "East-West's" thirteen-minute title track, an instrumental combining elements of blues, jazz, psychedelic rock, and the classical Indian raga. 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, plus traditional Indian and Eastern music in creating the piece. (The original title for the piece was "The Raga.")

Bloomfield was also a session musician, gaining wide recognition for his work with Bob Dylan during his first explorations into electric music. 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. 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. 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.

Rock critic Dave Marsh, in Rock and Roll Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles of All Time, claimed Bloomfield to have been the lead guitarist for Mitch Ryder's hit "Devil With The Blue Dress." However, Marsh's claim is disputed by Bloomfield collaborator Barry Goldberg, who played keyboards on that track. 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.^{[citation needed]}

The Electric Flag[link]

Bloomfield tired of the Butterfield Band's rigorous touring schedule and, relocating to San Francisco, sought to create his own group. Bloomfield left to form the short-lived Electric Flag in 1967 with two longtime Chicago cohorts, organist Barry Goldberg and vocalist Nick Gravenites. 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. The inclusion of drummer Buddy Miles, whom he hired away from Wilson Pickett's touring band, gave Bloomfield license to explore soul and R&B. The Electric Flag debuted at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival and issued an album, A Long Time Comin', in April 1968 on Columbia Records. Critics complimented the group's distinctive, intriguing sound but found the record itself somewhat uneven. By that time, however, the band was already disintegrating; rivalries between members, shortsighted management, and heroin abuse all took their toll. Shortly after the release of that album, Bloomfield left his own band, with Gravenites, Goldberg, and bassist Harvey Brooks following.

Work with Al Kooper[link]

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. 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.

"Why not do an entire jam album together?" Kooper remembered in 1998, writing the booklet notes for the Bloomfield anthology Don't Say That I Ain't Your Man: Essential Blues, 1964-1969. "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 Super Session, 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. 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.

Solo work[link]

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. He recorded an album called Try It Before You Buy It which Columbia declined to release a year later. Bloomfield also helped Janis Joplin put her Kozmic Blues Band (for the album of the same name) together in 1969, co-wrote "Work Me, Lord" for the album, and played the guitar solo on Joplin's blues composition "One Good Man." Columbia also released another 1969 album, a live concert jam, 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. Bloomfield also composed and recorded the soundtrack for the film, Medium Cool by his cousin, Haskell Wexler set during the Democratic Convention in Chicago in 1968.

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

^[4]

During the late 1970s, Bloomfield recorded for several smaller labels, including Takoma Records. 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. Bloomfield also performed with John Cale on Cale's soundtrack to the film Caged Heat in 1975.

In 1973, Bloomfield teamed with Dr. John and John Hammond, Jr. for an album called Triumvirate, Bloomfield's final album under his Columbia contract. In 1974 Bloomfield hooked up with a failed supergroup called KGB, from the initials of Ray Kennedy (co-writer of "Sail On, Sailor"), Barry Goldberg on keyboards and Bloomfield on guitar. The band had a rhythm section of Rick Grech on bass and Carmine Appice on drums. Grech and Bloomfield immediately quit after its release, stating they never had faith in the project. The album was not well received, but it did contain the standout track "Sail On, Sailor". Its authorship was credited only to "Wilson-Kennedy", and had a bluesy, darker feel, along with Ray Kennedy's original cocaine related lyrics.^{[citation needed]} Through the 1970s, Bloomfield seemed satisfied to play in local San Francisco Bay Area clubs, sitting in with other bands. During 1979-1981 Bloomfield performed often with the King Perkoff Band, often introducing them as his own "Michael Bloomfield and Friends" outfit. Bloomfield recorded "Hustlin' Queen", written by John Isabeau and Perkoff in 1979. Bloomfield had planned a tour to Sweden to complete an album of his favorites,including "Hustlin' Queen". Sadly, Bloomfield was found dead in the front seat of his 1965 Chevy Impala of an apparent heroin overdose in early 1981. Aside from a triumphant return to the stage sitting in with Bob Dylan at the Warfield in 1980 his rock star days were behind him.

Death[link]

The exact events and circumstances that led to his death are not clear. What is known is that Bloomfield was found dead of a drug overdose in his car on February 15, 1981.^[5] The only details (from unnamed sources) relate that Bloomfield died at a San Francisco party, and was driven to another location in the city by two men who were present at the party. His tombstone is in the Hillside Memorial Park, Culver City, near Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

Style[link]

This section may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (February 2008)

Bloomfield's musical influences include Scotty Moore, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, B.B. King, Big Joe Williams, Otis Rush, Albert King, Freddie King and Ray Charles.^[6]

Bloomfield originally used the Fender Telecaster. During his tenure with the Butterfield Blues Band he switched to a 1954 Gibson Les Paul model, which he used for some of the East-West sessions and which he was said to have found in Boston. In due course, according to biographers Jan Mark Wolkin and Bill Keenom, Bloomfield swapped that guitar for a 1959 Les Paul Standard and $100. This was the guitar Bloomfield used as a member of 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, helping prod Gibson to re-introduce the line (which it had discontinued in 1960) by mid-1968. Bloomfield eventually lost the guitar in Canada; Wolkin and Keenom's biography revealed a club owner kept the guitar as partial compensation after Bloomfield cut short a round of appearances. Its whereabouts today are unknown.

Unlike contemporaries such as Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck, Bloomfield rarely experimented with feedback and distortion, preferring a loud but clean, almost chiming sound with a healthy amount of reverb. One of his amplifiers of choice was a 1965 Fender Twin Reverb. Bloomfield's solos, like most blues guitarists', were based primarily on the minor pentatonic scale and the blues scale. However, his liberal use of chromatic notes within the pentatonic framework, and his periodic lines based on Indian and Eastern modes, allowed a considerable degree of fluidity to his solos. He was also renowned for his use of vibrato.

Gibson has since released a Michael Bloomfield Les Paul—replicating his 1959 Standard—in recognition of his effect on the blues genre, on helping to influence the revived production of the guitar, and on many other guitarists.^[7] Because the actual guitar had been unaccounted for so many years, Gibson relied on hundreds of photographs provided by Bloomfield's family to reproduce the guitar. The model comes in two configurations—a clean Vintage Original Specifications (VOS) version with only Bloomfield's mistmatched volume and control knobs, missing toggle switch cover, and kidney-shaped tuners replacing the Gibson originals indicating its inspiration; and, a faithful, process-aged reproduction of the guitar as it was when Bloomfield played it last, complete with the finish smudge below the bridge and various nicks and smudges elsewhere around the body.

His influence among contemporary guitarists continues to be widely felt, primarily in the techniques of vibrato, natural sustain, and economy of notes. Guitarists such as: Joe Bonamassa, Carlos Santana, Slash, Jimmy Vivino, Chuck Hammer, Eric Johnson, Elliot Easton, Robben Ford, John Scofield, Jimmy Herring, Phil Keaggy, remain essentially influenced by Bloomfield's early recorded work.

Selected discography[link]

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band[link]

• The Paul Butterfield Blues Band (1965)
• East-West (1966)
• The Original Lost Elektra Sessions (Unreleased recordings from 1964)
• East-West Live (Various live versions of the track East-West)

Electric Flag[link]

• The Trip (1967)
• A Long Time Comin' (1968)
• The Band Kept Playing (1974)

Solo[link]

• It's Not Killing Me (1969)
• Try It Before You Buy It (1973) (Remained unreleased until the 1980s, Additional recordings during these sessions were released on "Bloomfield: A Retrospective" in 1983)
• If You Love These Blues, Play 'Em As You Please (1976)
• Analine (1977)
• Michael Bloomfield (1978)
• Count Talent And The Originals (1978)
• Between A Hard Place And The Ground (1979)
• Bloomfield-Harris (1979)
• Cruisin' For A Bruisin' (1981)

Collaborations[link]

• Blueskvarter (2007) - many Swedish CDs with 1964 recordings on Swedish radio. Bloomfield plays guitar with Little Brother Montgomery, Sunnyland Slim, Yank Rachell, Eddie Boyd and others
• Super Session - Bloomfield, Kooper and Stills (1968; this album has since been remastered, with new editions featuring several Bloomfield performances not included on the original album, including "Blues for Nothing" and "Fat Gray Cloud.")
• The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper (1968)
• Fillmore East: Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield. The Lost Concert Tapes 12/13/68 (recorded 1968, published 2003)
• Two Jews' Blues (1969), with Barry Goldberg; uncredited due to contractual constraints.
• My Labors (1969) with Nick Gravenites
• Live at Bill Graham's Fillmore West (1969) with Nick Gravenites, Taj Mahal, Mark Naftalin. (Note: Some of the performances at the same concerts that yielded this album were included on My Labors. Those performances, except for "Winter Country Blues," are now part Live at Bill Graham's Fillmore West 1969, released in 2009 and credited to Michael Bloomfield with Nick Gravenites and Friends.)
• Medium Cool (1969) Original Film Soundtrack featuring Bloomfield and others
• Steelyard Blues (1973) Original Film Soundtrack with Nick Gravenites and others
• Mill Valley Bunch - Casting Pearls (1973)
• Triumvirate (1973), Mike Bloomfield, with John Hammond & Dr John.
• KGB (1976) - Ray Kennedy - Vocals, Barry Goldberg - Keyboards, Mike Bloomfield - Guitar, Rick Grech - Bass, Carmine Appice

Selected session work[link]

• Highway 61 Revisited - Bob Dylan (1965)
• The Chicago Loop (band) (1966)
• Grape Jam - Moby Grape (1968) - Played Piano
• Living with the Animals - Mother Earth (1968); credited as "Makal Blumfeld" due to contractual constraints.
• Fathers and Sons - Muddy Waters (1969)
• I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! - Janis Joplin (1969)
• Weeds - Brewer & Shipley (1969)
• Sam Lay In Bluesland - Sam Lay (1970)
• Gandharva - Beaver & Krause (1971)
• Brand New - Woody Herman & His Orchestra (1971)

Posthumous releases[link]

• Living In The Fast Lane (1981)
• Bloomfield: A Retrospective (1983)
• I'm With You Always (Live recordings from McCabe’s Guitar Shop, Santa Monica, CA; 1977)
• Between The Hard Place And The Ground (Different to the original 70s LP - containing further selections from McCabe’s Guitar Shop)
• Don't Say That I Ain't Your Man: Essential Blues, 1964-1969, an anthology that includes five songs from Bloomfield's original 1964 Columbia sessions.
• Live at the Old Waldorf (Recorded live in 1976 and 1977 by producer Norman Dayron at the Old Waldorf nightclub)
• Barry Goldberg & Friends - Live (Features Mike on guitar on most tracks)
• If You Love These Blues by Wolkin & Keenom (Miller Freeman Books, 2000)contains a CD of early recordings made by Norman Dayron

References[link]

• "Michael Bloomfield". Allmusic.com (accessed September 30, 2006).

Sources[link]

• Michael Bloomfield - Me and Big Joe, Re/Search Publications, 1st edition 1980, ISBN 0-940642-00-X. Last éd. V/Search, December 1999, ISBN 1-889307-05-X EAN 978-1889307053
• Michael Bloomfield' - If You Love These Blues: An Oral History Backbeat Books, 1st edition September 2000 - ISBN 978-0-87930-617-5 (with CD of uniussed music - early recordings made by Norman Dayron )
• Ken Brooks - The Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper with Paul Butterfield and David Clayton Thomas Agenda Ltd, February 1999, ISBN 1-899882-90-1 ISBN 978-1-899882-90-8
• Al Kooper - Backstage Passes: Rock 'N' Roll Life in the Sixties - Stein & Day Pub (1st edition February 1977) ISBN 0-8128-2171-8 - ISBN 978-0-8128-2171-0
• Al Kooper - Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards: Memoirs of a Rock 'N' Roll Survivor Billboard Books (Updated Edition - September 1998) ISBN 0-8230-8257-1 ISBN 978-0823082575
• Al Kooper - Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards - Hal Leonard Corporation, new edition February 2008, ISBN 0-87930-922-9 ISBN 978-0-87930-922-0
• Ed Ward - Michael Bloomfield, The rise and fall of an American guitar hero, Cherry Lane Books (1983), ISBN 0-89524-157-9 ISBN 978-0895241573

External links[link]

• Official Mike Bloomfield Site
• Mike Bloomfield, An American Guitarist
• Bloomfield's Doomed Field by Al Kooper
• Michael Bloomfield Chronology & Analysis
• Mike Bloomfield at Find a Grave

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (September 2009)

Al Kooper
Al Kooper at an interview in 2009
Background information
Also known as	Roosevelt Gook
Born	(1944-02-05) February 5, 1944 (age 68) Brooklyn, New York, United States
Occupations	Musician, record producer, songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, organ, keyboards, vocals, bass guitar, mandolin, percussions
Associated acts	Mike Bloomfield, The Blues Project, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Bob Dylan

Al Kooper (born Alan Peter Kuperschmidt; February 5, 1944) is an American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears (although he did not stay with the group long enough to share its popularity), providing studio support for Bob Dylan when he went electric in 1965, and also bringing together guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills to record the Super Session album. He has had a successful solo career since then, written music for film soundtracks, and has also lectured in musical composition. He continues to perform live to this day.

Life and career[link]

Kooper, born in Brooklyn,^[1] grew up in a Jewish family in Hollis Hills, Queens, New York. His first musical success was as a fourteen-year-old guitarist in The Royal Teens, best known for their novelty twelve-bar blues riff, "Short Shorts". In 1960, he joined the songwriting team of Bob Brass and Irwin Levine, and wrote "This Diamond Ring", which became a hit for Gary Lewis and the Playboys. When he was twenty-one, Kooper moved to Greenwich Village.

He performed with Bob Dylan in concert in 1965, and in the recording studio in 1965 and 1966, including playing Hammond organ with Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. Kooper also played the Hammond organ riffs on Dylan's Like a Rolling Stone. It was in those recording sessions that Kooper met and befriended Mike Bloomfield, whose guitar-playing he admired. He worked extensively with Bloomfield for a number of years. Kooper played organ once again with Dylan during his 1981 world tour.

Kooper joined The Blues Project as their keyboardist in 1965, leaving the band shortly before their gig at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. He formed Blood, Sweat & Tears in 1967, leaving after the group's first album, Child Is Father to the Man, due to creative differences in 1968.^[2] He recorded Super Session with Bloomfield and Stills in 1968 as well,^[3] and in 1969 he collaborated with 15-year-old guitarist Shuggie Otis on the album Kooper Session. In 1975 he produced the debut album by The Tubes.

Kooper has played on hundreds of records, including ones by The Rolling Stones, B. B. King, The Who, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Alice Cooper, and Cream. On occasion, he has even overdubbed on his own efforts, as on The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper and on other albums, as "Roosevelt Gook".^[4] After moving to Atlanta in 1972, he discovered the band Lynyrd Skynyrd, and produced and performed on their first three albums, including the single "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird". Kooper also wrote the score for the TV series Crime Story and the film The Landlord and has also written music for several made-for-television movies. He was also the musical force behind many of the children series "Banana Splits" pop tunes, including "You're the Lovin' End."

Kooper has published a memoir, Backstage Passes: Rock 'n' Roll Life In The Sixties (1977), now available in revised form as Backstage Passes & Backstabbing Bastards: Memoirs of a Rock 'N' Roll Survivor (1998). The latter includes indictments against "manipulators" within the music industry, including his one-time business manager, Stan Polley. His status as a published author enabled him to join (and act as musical director of) the Rock Bottom Remainders, a band made up of writers including Dave Barry, Stephen King, Amy Tan, & Matt Groening.

Kooper is currently retired from teaching songwriting and recording production at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and plays weekend concerts with his bands The ReKooperators and The Funky Faculty. In 2008, he participated in the production of the album Psalngs,^[5] the debut release of Canadian musician John Lefebvre.

"Like a Rolling Stone" session[link]

As chronicled in the 2005 Martin Scorsese documentary film, No Direction Home: Bob Dylan for the PBS American Masters Series, Kooper's most notable playing with Dylan is the organ parts on "Like a Rolling Stone". Kooper had been invited to the session as an observer, and hoped to be allowed to sit in on guitar, his primary instrument. Kooper uncased his guitar and began tuning it. After hearing Mike Bloomfield, the hired guitarist for the sessions, warming up in the room, Kooper concluded that Bloomfield was a much better guitarist, so Kooper put his guitar aside and retreated into the control room.

As the recording sessions progressed, keyboardist Paul Griffin was moved from the Hammond organ to piano. Kooper quickly suggested to producer Tom Wilson that he had a "great organ part" for the song (which he later confessed was just a ruse to play in the session), and Wilson responded, "Al, you're not an organ player, you're a guitar player", but Kooper did not retreat this time. Before Wilson could explicitly reject Kooper's suggestion, Wilson was interrupted by a phone call in the control room. Kooper immediately went into the studio and sat down at the organ, though he had rarely played organ before the session. Wilson soon returned, and was shocked to find Kooper in the studio. By this time, Kooper had been playing along with Dylan and crew, his organ can be heard coming in an eighth-note just behind the other members of the band, as Kooper followed to make sure he was playing the right chords. During a playback of tracks in the control room, when asked about the organ track, Dylan was emphatic: "Turn the organ up!"^[6]

Discography[link]

Solo[link]

Studio albums[link]

• I Stand Alone (February 1969)
• You Never Know Who Your Friends Are (October 1969)
• Easy Does It (September 1970)
• New York City (You're A Woman) (June 1971)
• A Possible Projection of the Future / Childhood's End (April 1972)
• Naked Songs (1973)
• Act Like Nothing's Wrong (January 1977)
• Championship Wrestling (featuring Jeff "Skunk" Baxter) (1982)
• Rekooperation (June 1994)

	Al Kooper - "I Can't Quit Her" from the 2-Disc album Rare and Well-Done noicon Sample of "I Can't Quit Her". From the album Rare and Well-Done.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

	Al Kooper - "Flute Thing" from the 2-Disc album Rare + Well-Done noicon Sample of "Flute Thing". From the album Rare + Well-Done.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

• Black Coffee (August 2005)
• White Chocolate (2008)^[1]

Live albums[link]

• Soul of a Man (February 1995)

Collaborative[link]

	"Albert's Shuffle" from Super Session noicon Sample of "Albert's Shuffle". From the album Super Session.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

• Super Session (with Stephen Stills and Mike Bloomfield) (1968)
• The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper (1968)
• Fillmore East: The Lost Concert Tapes 12/13/68 (with Mike Bloomfield, recorded 1968, issued April 2003)
• Kooper Session (with Shuggie Otis) (1969)
• Let it Bleed, The Rolling Stones album (1970), choral and musical arrangements on final track, "You Can't Always Get What You Want".
• Johnnie B. Live (with Johnnie Johnson) (1997)

Compilations[link]

• Al's Big Deal/Unclaimed Freight/An Al Kooper Anthology (1975)

Also appears on[link]

• Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd - Lynyrd Skynyrd (1973)
• Second Helpings - Lynyrd Skynyrd (1974)
• Nuthin' Fancy - Lynyrd Skynyrd (1975)
• Rare and Well Done (September 2001)
• He’s A Rebel: The Gene Pitney Story Retold (2002)

Sources[link]

• Mike Bloomfield - Me and Big Joe - Re/Search Publications, 1st edition December 1999, ISBN 1-889307-05-X ISBN 978-1-889307-05-3
• Michael Bloomfield' - If You Love These Blues: An Oral History Backbeat Books, 1st edition September 2000 - ISBN 978-0-87930-617-5 (with CD of uniussed music)
• Ken Brooks - The Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper with Paul Butterfield and David Clayton Thomas Agenda Ltd, February 1999, ISBN 1-899882-90-1 ISBN 978-1-899882-90-8
• Al Kooper - Backstage Passes: Rock 'N' Roll Life in the Sixties - Stein & Day Pub (1st edition February 1977) ISBN 0-8128-2171-8 - ISBN 978-0-8128-2171-0
• Al Kooper - Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards: Memoirs of a Rock 'N' Roll Survivor Billboard Books (Updated Edition - September 1998) ISBN 0-8230-8257-1 ISBN 978-0823082575
• Al Kooper - Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards - Hal Leonard Corporation, new edition February 2008, ISBN 0-87930-922-9 ISBN 978-0-87930-922-0
• Ed Ward - Michael Bloomfield, The rise and fall of an American guitar hero, Cherry Lane Books (1983), ISBN 0-89524-157-9 ISBN 978-0895241573

Quotation[link]

NME - July 1971^[7]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Al Kooper

• Official Al Kooper website
• Al Kooper's Myspace page with Bio
• Extensive audio interview with Terry Gross on NPR's 'Fresh Air' program, January 3, 2004
• The Jimi Hendrix Experience by Al Kooper

Julie Tippetts
Julie Tippetts in 2007
Background information
Birth name	Julie Driscoll
Born	(1947-06-08) 8 June 1947 (age 65) London, England
Genres	pop music, jazz
Years active	1960s–present
Labels	Marmalade
Associated acts	Brian Auger, Keith Tippett
Website	mindyourownmusic.co.uk

Julie Tippetts (born Julie Driscoll, 8 June 1947, London, England) is an English singer and actress, known for her 1960s versions of Bob Dylan's "This Wheel's on Fire", and Donovan's "Season of the Witch", both with Brian Auger & The Trinity. Along with The Trinity, she was featured prominently in the 1969 television special 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee, singing "I'm a Believer" in a blues style with Micky Dolenz. She and Auger had previously worked in Steampacket, with Long John Baldry and Rod Stewart.

"This Wheel's on Fire" reached number five in the United Kingdom in June 1968. With distortion, the imagery of the title and the group's dress and performance, this version came to represent the psychedelic era in British music. Driscoll recorded the song again in the early 90s with Adrian Edmondson as the theme to the BBC comedy series Absolutely Fabulous, whose main characters are throwbacks to that era.

Since the 1970s Driscoll has concentrated on experimental vocal music, married jazz musician Keith Tippett and collaborated with him. Her name is now 'Julie Tippetts', thus using the original spelling of her husband's surname. She participated in Keith Tippett's big band Centipede and, in 1974, took part in Robert Wyatt's Theatre Royal Drury Lane concert; released a solo album, Sunset Glow in 1975;^[1] and was lead vocalist^[2] on Carla Bley's album Tropic Appetites and in John Wolf Brennan's “HeXtet".

Later in the 1970s she toured with her own band, and recorded and performed as one of the vocal quartet 'Voice', with Maggie Nichols, Phil Minton and Brian Eley.

Discography[link]

Here is a list of her selected work sorted mostly by recording date:

• 1963 - Take Me by the Hand (and Lead Me)(with the Harold Geller Group)
• 1967 - Open (with Brian Auger & The Trinity)
• 1969 - Streetnoise (with Brian Auger & The Trinity)
• 1969 - Jools & Brian (with Brian Auger & The Trinity)
• 1971 - 1969 (featuring Keith Tippett Group)
• 1971 - Quartet Sequence (with John Stevens, Ron Herman & Trevor Watts)
• 1971 - (June) Septober Energy (with Centipede) (recorded at Wessex Sound Studios, London, during three days, produced by Robert Fripp)
• 1972 - Blueprint (with Keith Tippett, Roy Babbington, Frank Perry & Keith Bailey) (produced by Robert Fripp)
• 1974 - Tropic Appetites (with Carla Bley)
• 1975 - (August 6) Ovary Lodge (with Keith Tippett, Harry Miller & Frank Perry) - Live at Nettlefold Hall, London
• 1975 - Sunset Glow
• 1975 - The Rock Peter and the Wolf (an arrangement of songs of the classic Peter and the Wolf story, with Gary Brooker, Bill Bruford, Phil Collins, Stephane Grappelli, Jack Lancaster, Jon Hiseman, Brian Eno, Alvin Lee, Gary Moore, Cozy Powell, Manfred Mann, Keith Tippett, Viv Stanshall, etc.
• 1978 - (May 22 thru 24) Frames: Music For An Imaginary Film (Keith Tippett's Ark) (recorded at Wessex Sound Studios, London)
• 1978 - Encore (with Brian Auger)
• 1982 - Best of Julie Driscoll - compilation
• 1982 - (June 29 thru July 3) with Company (Ursula Oppens, Fred Frith, George Lewis, Akio Suzuki, Keith Tippett, Moto Yoshizawa, Anne Le Baron, Phil Wachsmann & Derek Bailey (recorded in London during Company Week)
• 1987 - Couple in Spirit (duet with Keith Tippett) (mixed by Robert Fripp)
• 1989 - Fire in the Mountain (with Working Week)
• 1989 - Women With Voices (track #12, with Maggie Nicols, Sue Ferrar & Sylvia Hallett, recorded live, March 4, at Air Gallery, London)
• 1991 - (June 1) The Bristol Concert (with Mujician & The Georgian Ensemble as honorary guest) (recorded live at at St. George's concert hall, Brandon Hill, Bristol, UK, for BBC)
• 1991 - With Brian Auger & The Trinity - compilation
• 1992 - (January 2 & 3) Spirits Rejoice (with The Dedication Orchestra) (recorded at Gateway Studios, Kingston, Surrey, UK)
• 1993 - (October 23) Twilight Etchings (with Willi Kellers & Keith Tippett) (recorded at the Podewil in Berlin during the Total Music Meeting)
• 1994 - (January 3 thru 5) Ixesha (Time) (with The Dedication Orchestra) (recorded at Gateway Studios, Kingston, Surrey, UK)
• 1996 - Couple In Spirit II (duet with Keith Tippett) (recorded live at The Stadtgarten, Cologne)
• 1998 - (February 6 & April 30) The First Full Turn (with RoTToR: Paul Rutherford, Julie & Keith Tippett, Paul Rogers) (recorded various locations)
• 1998 - (May 3) First Weaving: Live at Le Mans Jazz Festival (Keith Tippett Tapestry Orchestra)
• 1998 - “HeXtet: Through the Ear of a Raindrop“ (with John Wolf Brennan, Evan Parker, Paul Rutherford, Chris Cutler and Peter Whyman (Leo Records 254)
• 1999 - Season of the Witch - compilation
• 1999 - Shadow Puppeteer - solo
• 2001 - If Your Memory Serves You Well - compilation
• 2001 - 2002 (November & February) Fluvium (with Martin Archer & Geraldine Monk) (electronics recorded at Telecottage, Sheffield, between January 2000 & March 2002, vocals & acoustic instruments recorded at The Sound Kitchen, Sheffield, between November 2001 and February 2002)
• 2003 - The Dartington Trio (with Keith Tippett & Paul Dunmall) - Live at The BBC & Live at The Vortex
• 2004 - (August 8) Dartington Improvising Trio (with Keith Tippett & Paul Dunmall) - Live at The Priory (recorded live at Priory Park, 3rd Southend International Jazz Festival)
• 2004 - Julie Driscoll
• 2004 - London 1964-1967 - compilation
• 2004 - A Kind Of Love In 1967-1971 - compilation
• 2004 - (September 5) Viva La Black: Live at Ruvo Jazz Festival (with Keith Tippett, Louis Moholo-Moholo & Canto General) in Ruvo di Puglia, Bari, Puglia, Italy
• 2005 - (April 24) Mahogany Rain (with Paul Dunmall, Philip Gibbs & Keith Tippett) (recorded at Victoria Rooms Studio, Bristol, UK)
• 2008 - (November 14) duet with Keith Tippett, Couple In Spirit - Live at the Purcell Room (recorded at the Purcell Room, London, as part of the 2008 London Jazz Festival)
• 2008 - Nostalgia 77 Sessions featuring Keith & Julie Tippett
• 2009 - Ghosts of Gold (with Martin Archer)
• 2011 - Tales of FiNiN (with Martin Archer)
• 2011 - (January 30 & 31) From Granite To Wind (with Keith Tippett Octet)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Mind Your Own Music, the Keith Tippett/Julie Tippetts website.
• Julie Driscoll @ The British Beat Boom 1963-66
• Julie Driscoll @ pHinnWeb
• Julie Driscoll at Allmusic
• Julie Driscoll at the Internet Movie Database
• BBC - Classic Pop/Rock Review - Brian Auger Julie Driscoll & The Trinity, Open, Definitely What!, Streetnoise

Klaus Sperber (January 24, 1944 – August 6, 1983), better known as Klaus Nomi, was a German countertenor noted for his wide vocal range and an unusual, otherworldly stage persona.

Nomi was known for his bizarrely visionary theatrical live performances, heavy make-up, unusual costumes, and a highly stylized signature hairdo which flaunted a receding hairline. His songs were equally unusual, ranging from synthesizer-laden interpretations of classical music opera to covers of 1960s pop standards like Chubby Checker's "The Twist" and Lou Christie's "Lightnin' Strikes". He is remembered in the US as one of David Bowie's backup singers for a 1979 performance on Saturday Night Live.^[1]

Nomi died in 1983 at the age of 39 as a result of complications from AIDS.^[2]

Early life[link]

Klaus Nomi was born Klaus Sperber in Immenstadt, Bavaria, Germany on January 24, 1944. In the 1960s, he worked as an usher at the Deutsche Oper in West Berlin where he sang for the other ushers and maintenance crew on stage in front of the fire curtain after performances. Around that time he also sang opera arias at the Berlin gay discothèque Kleist Casino.^{[citation needed]}

Nomi moved to New York City in 1972.^[3][4] He began his involvement with the art scene based in the East Village. According to a documentary film made by Andrew Horn,^{[citation needed]} Nomi took singing lessons and supported himself working as a pastry chef.

Career[link]

In 1972, Nomi appeared in a satirical camp production of Richard Wagner's Das Rheingold at Charles Ludlam's Ridiculous Theater Company as the Rheinmaidens and the Wood Bird.^[5][6]

Nomi came to the attention of New York City's art scene in 1978 with his performance in "New Wave Vaudeville", a four-night event MC'd by artist David McDermott. Dressed in a skin-tight spacesuit with clear plastic cape, Klaus sang the aria Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix ("My heart opens to your voice") from Camille Saint-Saëns' 1877 opera Samson et Dalila. The performance ended with a chaotic crash of strobe lights, smoke bombs, and loud electronic sound effects as Nomi backed away into the smoke. Joey Arias recalled: "I still get goose pimples when I think about it... It was like he was from a different planet and his parents were calling him home. When the smoke cleared, he was gone." The reaction was so overwhelmingly positive that he was invited to perform at clubs all over New York City.^[7]

At the New Wave Vaudeville show Klaus Nomi met Kristian Hoffman, songwriter for the Mumps. Hoffman was a performer and MC in the second incarnation of New Wave Vaudeville and a close friend of Susan Hannaford and Tom Scully, who produced the show, and Ann Magnuson, who directed it.

Anya Phillips, then manager of James Chance in the Contortions, suggested Klaus and Kristian form a band. Hoffman became Klaus' de facto musical director, assembling a band that included Page Wood from another New Wave vaudeville act, Come On, and Joe Katz, who was concurrently in The Student Teachers, the Accidents, and The Mumps.

Hoffman helped Klaus choose his pop covers, including the Lou Christie song "Lightning Strikes." Hoffman wrote several pop songs with which Klaus is closely identified: "The Nomi Song", "Total Eclipse", "After The Fall", and "Simple Man", the title song of Nomi's second RCA French LP.

This configuration of the Klaus Nomi band performed at Manhattan clubs, including several performances at Max's Kansas City, Danceteria and Hurrah.

Disagreements with the management Klaus engaged led to a dissolution of this band, and Klaus continued without them.

In the late 1970s while performing at Club 57, The Mudd Club, The Pyramid Club, and other venues, Nomi assembled a group of up-and-coming models, singers, artists, and musicians to perform live with him, which at times included Joey Arias, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, John Sex and Kenny Scharf.^[7] He also appeared on Manhattan Cable's TV Party. David Bowie heard about Nomi's performances in New York and soon met him and Joey Arias at the Mudd Club. Bowie hired them as performers and backup singers for his appearance on Saturday Night Live which aired on December 15, 1979. The band performed "TVC 15", "The Man Who Sold the World", and "Boys Keep Swinging". During the performance of "TVC 15", Nomi and Arias dragged around a large prop pink poodle with a television screen in its mouth. Nomi was so impressed with the plastic quasi-tuxedo suit that Bowie wore during "The Man Who Sold the World" that he commissioned one to be made for himself. Nomi can be seen wearing the suit on the cover of his self-titled album, as well as during a number of his music videos. Nomi wore his variant of the outfit, in monochromatic black-and-white with spandex and makeup to match, until the last few months of his life. Klaus Nomi released his second album titled Simple Man in November, 1982 Simple Man (Klaus Nomi album) which during this time was focusing more on operatic pieces and was becoming increasingly ill with AIDS-related illnesses, including Kaposi's sarcoma, he wore a Baroque era operatic outfit complete with full collar.

Nomi also collaborated with producer Man Parrish. He appeared on Parrish's album Hip Hop Bee Bop as a backup vocalist on the track "Six Simple Synthesizers."

He played a supporting role as a Nazi official in Anders Grafstrom's 1980 underground film The Long Island Four.^[8]

The 1981 rock documentary film, Urgh! A Music War features Nomi's live performance of Total Eclipse.^[7] His performance of Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix was used as the music for the closing credits.

666 Fifth Avenue was listed as the contact address in the liner notes of Nomi's 1981 self-titled record.

Illness and death[link]

Nomi died on August 6, 1983 at the Sloan Kettering Hospital Center in New York City, one of the first celebrities to die of complications from AIDS.^[9] His ashes were scattered over New York City.^[10]

In popular culture[link]

Filmmakers such as Andrew Horn and writers such as Jim Fouratt consider Nomi an important part of the 1980s East Village scene, which was a hotbed of development for punk rock, music, the visual arts, and the avant-garde. Although Nomi's work had not yet met with national commercial success at the time of his death, he garnered a cult following, mainly in New York and in France.

Andrew Horn's 2004 feature documentary about Nomi's life, The Nomi Song, which was released by Palm Pictures, helped spur renewed interest in the singer, including an art exhibit in San Francisco at the New Langton Arts gallery and one in Milan (Italy) at the Res Pira Lab, which subsequently moved to Berlin's Strychnin Gallery, called "Do You Nomi?". New music pieces inspired by Nomi were commissioned by the gallery from a variety of up and coming European musicians, among these the singer who is considered by many Nomi's heir, Ernesto Tomasini.^[11]

In 2001 German band Rosenstolz, featuring alternative pop stars Marc Almond and Nina Hagen, covered "Total Eclipse" for a maxi single CD release.

British pop icon Morrissey used the song Wayward Sisters as an introduction prior to appearing on stage to begin a concert for his Kill Uncle tour. He used the song After the Fall in the same way during his 2007 American tour. Morrissey included Nomi's song Death in his compilation of influential songs titled Under the Influence, after selecting it in 1984 as the last track for his appearance on the BBC radio show 'My Top 10'. Morrissey also chose Nomi's version of Schumann's "Der Nussbaum" ("The Walnut Tree") as one his selections on BBC Radio 4's "Desert Island Discs" in November 2009.

On television, a fictionalized version of Klaus Nomi appears in a two-part episode of animated comedy/adventure series The Venture Bros. This version is a super-villain and bodyguard for David Bowie (who in the Venture Brothers universe, is also a shape-shifting super-villain known as "The Sovereign") and possesses sonic scream powers. The episode also implies that Klaus, in the Venture Brothers universe, never contracted AIDS and is still an active musician.

Nomi's cover of Lesley Gore's 1964 hit "You Don't Own Me" has been featured on the nationally broadcast The Rush Limbaugh Show as the "Gay Update Theme".

Nomi's visual aesthetic has been noted as an influence on women's fashion such as Boudicca, Givenchy, and Paco Rabanne,^[12] as well as men's fashion designers such as Gareth Pugh and Bruno Pieters for Hugo Boss.^[13] Jean Paul Gaultier's Spring 2009 couture was influenced by Nomi^[14] and he used Nomi's recording of Nomi Song in his runway show.^[15]

Kazakh-American tenor^[16] Timur Bekbosunov,^[17] profiled in LA Weekly's Best of LA People 2011 issue as 'The Reform Tenor',^[18] recorded Total Eclipse and performed it on America's Got Talent Season 10 ^[19] with his dark glam opera band, Timur and the Dime Museum,^[20][21] and composer of the song, Kristian Hoffman, at the piano. According to Kristian Hoffman, "Timur sang Total Eclipse to the utter befuddlement of the panel of judges, with the exception of Sharon Osbourne who gave some encouragement".^[22]

A biographical musical titled You Don't Nomi is in development by French playwright Baptiste Delval and director Nicolas Guilleminot. The title role is assigned to singer Matthieu d'Aurey who will share the stage with actor Denis d'Arcangelo. The play was presented in Paris on June 10, 2011 during a public reading. The team is looking for producers.^[23][24]

Discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Klaus Nomi Keys Of Life
• Klaus Nomi Za Bakdaz
• Klaus Nomi Home Page
• The Nomi Song, a documentary feature film devoted to the life of Klaus Nomi
• "Lightning Strikes" music video
• "Falling in Love Again" music video
• "The Cold Song" music video
• "Samson and Delilah Aria" music video
• "Three Wishes" music video