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Norman Vickers

Remembering Bob Haggart

Bassist Bob Haggart (1914 -1998) was a remarkable person in many ways. He’s known to most as a string bassist. But he was also a composer and talented artist. He was guest bassist for the three Pensacola Jazz Parties 1989-1991 and at the 1991 event, trumpeter Yank Lawson also attended. Lawson had been a colleague…

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Norman Vickers

Chance meeting with guitarist/singer Blind Willie McTell

While in medical school at Emory University in Atlanta, I discovered a blind 12-string guitarist named Blind Willie McTell who played at a drive-in near my rental apartment. He was an interesting singer who played a 12-string guitar, the first I’d ever seen and heard. I was intrigued by this man because of many reasons.…

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Norman Vickers

CD Reviews: ‘Cabin in the Sky,’ ‘Music From the Heart’

Cabin in the SkyHendrik Meurkens, chromatic harmonica; Bill Cunliffe, pianoHeight Advantage Music from the HeartRoger Davidson Quartet featuring Hendrik MeurkensSoundbrush Records The common factor, of course, in these two recordings is, of course, chromatic harmonicist Hendrik Meurkens. According to publicity accompanying Cabin in the Sky, Meurkens and Cunliffe had long planned to get together for…