Mississippi John Hurt. He was always just the best. Maybe not in terms of technique, or even the songs (he often did old ones, probably well known in his day)--nor even his impeccable orchestrations (simple, water-clear, beautiful)--but somehow in the humanness of his touch. Never used a thumb pick, for example--so that the feel of his right thumb on one of the base strings became a part of the music itself. The same quality you find in the falsetas of Andulusian gypsy guitar player, Diego del Gastor. Who always played to accompany the singer--that was the tradition, the guitar supporting the voice--and the voice carrying the culture itself. Not quite the analogy with John Hurt, for both his playing and his singing were crucial in just the way they supported each other. A kind of joy. People would smile when John began one of his songs. Or (as Betsy urged) a kind of faith?
Isabel here drew his face on a piece of plywood. I think it was a very good intuition on her part--a way to get at Mississippi John Hurt's connection with the world. Through the music, of course--but you see it in his face as well.
Isabel told us once that the first song she could remember (that being our first S&P project) was one she'd heard with her mother, at a civil rights demonstration in Los Angeles. She was quite young, but the song registered--and through it the event, and the feeling of her mother's commitment. Maybe some of this went into the drawing as well?
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I also remember that in applying for the course, Isabel wrote me months ahead, from Spain, where she was studying abroad for the year. So maybe my Diego connection wasn't so far fetched...?
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Izzy Halpern--she's now in San Diego, an artist and teacher--and I see online that she often works directly with people in the community. So these connections continue...
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