Dr. Joel Rudinow: News

Here’s our latest release, written by  “Champion Jack” Dupree, whose colorful story is both unique and representative of a generation of early blues piano players. Born William Thomas Dupree in 1908-10 in New Orleans (the precise date is unknown), orphaned at the age of 2 (plus or minus) when both of his parents are killed in a house fire, later discovered to have been set by the Ku Klux Klan. Growing up in the New Orleans Colored Waifs’ Home for Boys, Dupree got his first piano lessons, and snuck out to run with the Yellow Pocahontas Mardi Gras Indian tribe as “spy boy”, and do his fair share of sneaking into “adult establishments” to watch the older piano players.  At age 18 he took up boxing, fought a total of 107 professional bouts, and won the Indiana state lightweight title, earning the nickname “Champion Jack”.  In 1940 he began a recording career that produced over 100 sides released on 21 different small record labels. During WWII he joined the Navy, working as a cook, spent 2 years as a Japanese POW, and learned that Europe offered a more hospitable reception to American blues musicians than he had experienced in the U.S.  So, most of his career as a musician was spent living in Europe, (Germany, Switzerland, Sweden), where in the 1960s he got “re-discovered”, as part of the international blues revival, by British rock record producers (folks behind the early recordings of Savoy Brown, Fleetwood Mac, Ten Years After). This tune presents Champion Jack’s candid assessment of the Psychedelic 60’s from the vantage point of his years of experience.

This is the 2^nd track in my current project - a set of tunes written by New Orleans piano players – the first being Dr. John’s “The Ears Are On Strike”.  Like “Ears”, this was recorded live at Studio e in Sebastopol, CA with the same personnel:  Dave Aguilar, guitar (1^st solo); John Salz, guitar (2^nd solo); Mark Metoyer, bass; Luis Rodriguez, drums; and yours truly on vocals and keyboards.  Jason Andrews and Jeff Martin engineered the live recording session; Harry Gale mixed the tracks at Route 44 Studios in Sebastopol.  Now available as a download from CD Baby.  Coming soon to Apple iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and other services.

Coming to Ellis Auditorium on the Petaluma campus of Santa Rosa Junior College Monday, March 5.  Among the city of New Orleans’ distinctive contributions to American and world musical culture is a rich and highly original tradition of piano music. In this musically illustrated lecture Dr. Joel Rudinow surveys the New Orleans Piano Tradition from the ragtime era through post-war rhythm and blues and rock’n’roll to the present. Sponsored by Santa Rosa Junior College Arts & Lectures.  Free and open to the public, Monday, March 5, 1:30 pm, 680 Sonoma Mountain Parkway, Petaluma, CA

Now available @ Amazon - the latest volume in the Philosophy for Everyone series is all about the Blues - (with a foreword from Alligator Records' Bruce Iglauer!)   Joel Rudinow's essay "Talkin' to Myself Again - a Dialogue on the Evolution of the Blues", leads off the collection.

Just heard from our friend DJ Jellyroll Justice that he's playing 'The Ears Are On Strike' on his show at radio station WWOZ in New Orleans - this is truly a high honor!

Whassup Pussycat Records is pleased to announce the digital release of the NEW SINGLE by Dr. Joel Rudinow & Rude Notes Galore  - "The Ears Are On Strike" - a rarely played and seldom heard instance of exotic voodoo funk written by the great Dr. John (Mac Rebennak).  

This is the first track from my current project - a collection of tunes each written by one of my Personal Pantheon of Piano Professors.  This one was recorded live - in 1 take - at Studio e in Sebastopol, CA a couple of years back, when the band was just getting out there.  I finally got around to mixing it down, with the help of Harry Gale at Route 44 Studios, also in Sebastopol.

More tracks for the project are in the works, including tunes by Mose Allison, Harry Connick Jr., Champion Jack Dupree, Allan Toussaint, Randy Newman, Bill Payne, . . .  Until the set's complete, we'll be releasing these individually for digital download.

"The Ears Are On Strike" is now available via CD Baby, Apple iTunes, Rhapsody, Spotify, Amazon Mp3, Nokia and other digital music services.

Soul Music: Tracking the Spiritual Roots of Pop from Plato to Motown is a finalist for the American Musicological Society's  *Music in American Culture Award*  to be announced and presented in November, 2011 when the Society meets in San Francisco.  Fingers crossed!

The latest volume in the Philosophy for Everyone series is all about the Blues - (with a foreword from Alligator Records' Bruce Iglauer!)   Joel Rudinow's essay "Talkin' to Myself Again - a Dialogue on the Evolution of the Blues", leads off the collection.

Like the old blues tune said, I got up "soon in the morning" to lead a 2-hour guest seminar in Professor Cynthia Grund's series "Topics in the Aesthetics of Music and Sound" at Sydansk Universitet [the University of Southern Denmark] via Skype.  Enjoyed the lively discussion with Professor Grund and a dozen or so of her students. 

SRJC Philosophy Professor Joel Rudinow combines the seriousness of academia with the self-expression embodied in the traditions of American pop culture. In a guest lecture Feb. 23, Rudinow presented his new book, "Soul Music: From Plato to Motown," read more

Still basking in the glow of last Sunday's party in Mary Fuller's sculpture garden atop Sonoma Mountain. Mary assembled an intimate gathering, we had a lovely afternoon meal, drank some wine, and I signed books for a number of the guests.

Bruce Robinson, news director at Redwood Empire NPR affiliate KRCB-FM invited me down for a chat about the new book, and put together a really nice story, which he posted to the KRCB Northbay Report.  Check it out!!  

It was standing room only @ Readers' Books for the Book Release Party for Soul Music: Tracking the Spiritual Roots of Pop from Plato to Motown (and all copies in stock sold out!)