Michael Bernard Bloomfield was born July 28, 1943, in Chicago, Illinois. An indifferent student and self-described social outcast, Bloomfield immersed himself in the multi- cultural music world that existed in Chicago in the 1950s.
He got his first guitar at age 13. Initially attracted to the
roots-rock sound of Elvis Presley and Scotty Moore, Bloomfield soon discovered
the electrified big-city blues music indigenous to Chicago. At the age of 14 the
exuberant guitar wunderkind began to visit the blues clubs on Chicago’s
South Side with friend Roy Ruby in search of his new heroes: players such as
Muddy Waters, Otis Spann, Howling Wolf, and Magic Sam. Not content with viewing
the scene from the audience, Bloomfield was known to leap onto the stage, asking
if he could sit in as he simultaneously plugged in his guitar and began playing
riffs.
Bloomfield was quickly accepted on the South Side, as much for
his ability as for the audiences' appreciation of the novelty of seeing a young
white player in a part of town where few whites were seen. Bloomfield soon
discovered a group of like-minded outcasts. Young white players such as Paul
Butterfield, Nick Gravenites, Charlie Musselwhite, and Elvin Bishop were also
establishing themselves as fans who could hold their own with established
bluesmen, many of whom were old enough to be their fathers.
In addition to playing with the established stars of the day,
Bloomfield began to search out older, forgotten bluesmen, playing and recording
with Sleepy John Estes, Yank Rachell, Little Brother Montgomery and Big Joe
Williams, among others. By this time he was managing a Chicago folk music club,
the Fickle Pickle, and often hired older acoustic blues players for the Tuesday
night blues sessions. Big Joe Williams memorialized those times in the song
"Pick A Pickle" with the line "You know Mike Bloomfield ... will
always treat you right...come to the Pickle, every Tuesday night."
Bloomfield’s relationship with Big Joe Williams is documented in "Me And
Big Joe," a moving short story detailing Bloomfield’s adventures on the
road with Williams.
Bloomfield's guitar work as a session player caught the ear of
legendary CBS producer and talent scout John Hammond Sr., who flew to Chicago
and immediately signed him to a recording contract. However CBS was unsure of
exactly how to promote their new artist, declining to release any of the tracks
recorded by Bloomfield's band, which included harp player Charlie Musselwhite.
With a contract
but not much else, Bloomfield returned to playing clubs around Chicago
until he was approached by Paul Rothchild, the producer of the Paul
Butterfield Blues Band albums. Bloomfield was recruited to play slide
guitar and piano on early recordings (later released as The Lost Elektra
Sessions) which were rejected for not fully capturing the sound of the
band. Although more competitors than friends ("I knew Paul [and I] was
scared of him" remembered Mike), the addition of Bloomfield to the
Butterfield Band provided Paul Butterfield with a musician of equal
caliber – Paul and Michael inspired and challenged each other as they
traded riffs and musical ideas, one establishing a pattern and the other
following it, extending it, and handing it back.
In between recording sessions with the
Butterfield Band, Bloomfield backed up Bob Dylan on the classic Highway 61
Revisited album, and appeared with him at the Newport Folk Music Festival
in 1965 when Dylan stunned the purist folk music crowd by playing electric
rock-and-roll. Declining an offer from Dylan to join his touring band,
Bloomfield and the Butter Band returned to the studio; with the addition
of pianist Mark Naftalin they finally captured their live sound on vinyl.
The first two Butterfield Blues Band
albums, the Dylan sessions, and the live appearances by the Butterfield
Band firmly established Bloomfield as one of the most talented and
influential guitar players in America. The second album featured the
Bloomfield composition "East-West" which ushered in an era of long
instrumental psychedelic improvisations.
Bloomfield left the Butterfield Blues Band
in early 1967 ostensibly to give original guitarist Elvin Bishop, in
Mike's words, "a little space." Undoubtedly he had also become
uncomfortable with Paul Butterfield's position as bandleader and was
anxious to lead his own band.
That band, The Electric Flag, included
Bloomfield's old friends from Chicago, organist Barry Goldberg and
singer/songwriter Nick Gravenites, as well as bass player Harvey Brooks
and drummer Buddy Miles. The band was well received at its official debut
at the Monterey Pop Festival but quickly fell apart due to drugs, egos,
and poor management.
Bloomfield, weary of the road, suffering from insomnia, and uncomfortable in the role of guitar superstar, returned to San Francisco to score movies, produce other artists, and play studio sessions. One of those sessions was a day of jamming in the studio with keyboardist Al Kooper, who had previously worked with Bloomfield on the 1965 Dylan sessions.
Bloomfield, weary of the road, suffering from insomnia, and uncomfortable in the role of guitar superstar, returned to San Francisco to score movies, produce other artists, and play studio sessions. One of those sessions was a day of jamming in the studio with keyboardist Al Kooper, who had previously worked with Bloomfield on the 1965 Dylan sessions.
Super Session, the resultant release, with
Bloomfield on side one and guitarist Stephen Stills on side two, once
again thrust Bloomfield into the spotlight. Kooper's production and the
improvisational nature of the recording session captured the
quintessential Bloomfield sound: the fast flurries of notes, the
incredible string bending, the precise attack, and his masterful use of
tension and release.
Although Super Session
was the most successful recording of his career, Bloomfield considered it
to be a scam, more of an excuse to sell records than a pursuit of musical
goals. After a follow-up live album, he "retired" to San Francisco and
lowered his visibility.
In the seventies Bloomfield played gigs in
the San Francisco area and infrequently toured as Bloomfield And Friends,
a group which usually included Mark Naftalin and Nick Gravenites.
Bloomfield also occasionally helped out friends by lending his name to
recording projects and business propositions, such as the ill-fated
Electric Flag reunion in 1974 and the KGB album in 1976. In the
mid-seventies Bloomfield recorded a number of albums with a more
traditional blues focus for smaller record labels. He also recorded an
instructional album of various blues styles for Guitar Player magazine.
By the late seventies Bloomfield's
continuing drug and health problems caused erratic behavior and missed
gigs, alienating a number of his old associates. Bloomfield continued
playing with other musicians, including Dave Shorey and Jonathan Cramer.
In the summer of 1980 he toured Italy with classical guitarist Woody
Harris and cellist Maggie Edmondson. On November 15, 1980, Bloomfield
joined Bob Dylan on stage at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco and
jammed on "Like A Rolling Stone," the song they had recorded together 15
years earlier.
Michael Bloomfield was found dead in his
car of a drug overdose in San Francisco, California on February 15, 1981.
ျမန္မာတို ့အတြက္ Guitar ဗဟုသုတ
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