Alexis Korner Blues musician Date of Birth: 19.04.1928 Country: Great Britain

1. Alexis Korner: The Godfather of British Blues
2. Early Life and Inspirations
3. Electric Blues Pioneer
4. London Blues and Barrelhouse Club
5. Blues Incorporated: A British Blues Revolution
6. The Marquee Club Era
7. A Star-Studded Ensemble
8. The Marquee Club Residency and Beyond
9. Recording Success

Alexis Korner: The Godfather of British Blues

It's hard to imagine the British blues scene of the early 1960s without Alexis Korner. Even if you've never heard his records, he's responsible for breaking the Rolling Stones, nurturing the early talent of Eric Clapton, and providing a platform for the likes of John Mayall to find their audience.

Early Life and Inspirations

Born in 1928 to a German cavalry officer and a half-Greek, half-Turkish mother, Korner spent the first decade of his life in France, Switzerland, and North Africa before arriving in London in May 1940 as World War II broke out. By the age of five, he was already studying music theory and playing piano.

As the war raged on, Korner became engrossed in American blues. One of his most vivid teenage memories was hearing blues and boogie-woogie pianist Jimmy Yancey during a German air raid. "After that," he recounted in an interview, "all I wanted to do was play the blues."

Electric Blues Pioneer

After the war, Korner switched to guitar and, in 1947, experimented with electric blues. However, he disliked the sound of the equipment then available and returned to an acoustic style. Drafted into the army in 1947-48, he served in the British occupation forces in West Germany, where he occasionally jammed with Hamburg jazz musicians. By the end of the 1940s, Korner had been exposed to a wide range of musical styles, a breadth of interest he would maintain throughout his life, recording with musicians as diverse as Spike Jones and Brian Eno.

London Blues and Barrelhouse Club

In 1949, Korner met jazz musician Chris Barber and joined his Chris Barber's Jazz Band. He briefly played alongside Lonnie Donegan and tried his hand at the harmonica (an experience he recalled with laughter). In 1952, he moved to the larger Ken Colyer Jazz Group, which Barber's band merged with. Around this time, he developed a closer relationship with acoustic country-blues artists such as Blind Willie Johnson, Scrapper Blackwell, and Leroy Carr.

One of his encounters during this period was with guitarist and harmonica player Cyril Davies. They discovered a shared passion for American blues and in 1954 began performing as an electric blues duo in jazz clubs, possibly inspired by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. In 1955, Big Bill Broonzy made his first visit to the UK, becoming the first American bluesman to perform there. Despite being an exponent of Chicago blues, Broonzy's shows on this tour featured acoustic guitar and focused on protest songs.

Blues Incorporated: A British Blues Revolution

Korner and Davies established the London Blues and Barrelhouse Club, where, in addition to performing themselves, they hosted visiting American blues musicians such as Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Big Bill Broonzy, and John Lee Hooker. Their primary aim was to prepare British audiences for a genre that was virtually unknown and often disregarded even in the United States. The concerts, however, were sporadic and poorly attended, prompting them to return to Barber's band.

Now with their own blues program, Davies and Korner were joined by vocalist Ottilie Patterson. In 1958, Barber toured with the powerful bluesman Muddy Waters, whose performances elicited a far more polarized response, particularly from country-blues enthusiasts. Waters' amplified slide guitar and Otis Spann's loud, aggressive piano playing challenged their expectations of soothing protest songs and richly textured acoustic blues. While many jazz fans were alienated, the tour attracted thousands of new blues converts.

The Marquee Club Era

The growing popularity of their performances led the duo to form their own legendary ensemble, Blues Incorporated, in 1961. Electric blues bands faced resistance at English clubs where traditional jazz reigned supreme, and Korner and Davies' music was seen as a threat to the established order. They were forced to open their own club, the Ealing Rhythm &Blues Club, located in the damp basement of a tea shop. The first show, on March 17, 1962, featured Korner (guitar, vocals), Davies (harmonica, vocals), Keith Scott (piano), Eddie Huguenbum (bass), Charlie Watts (drums), and Art Wood (vocals).

The club became a welcoming stage for virtually every musician who visited the UK on tour, with Korner and Davies inviting the likes of Muddy Waters, Memphis Slim, Big Bill Broonzy, John Lee Hooker, the Sonny and Brownie duo, and many others. At the time, Blues Inc. was arguably the first white band to play electric blues and aimed to show that they were not mere imitators of their American idols. They strove to create new musical hybrids, earning a reputation as a highly original act. Blues Inc. played everything from Charles Mingus compositions to pure rock 'n' roll, incorporating free jazz, Indian, and African influences.

A Star-Studded Ensemble

Korner (guitar, vocals), Davies (harmonica, vocals), Ken Scott (piano), and Dick Heckstall-Smith (saxophone) formed the core team, with Charlie Watts or Graham Barbridge alternating on drums, Spike Heatley or Jack Bruce on bass, and a rotating cast of vocalists, including Long John Baldry, Ronnie Jones, and Art Wood (older brother of Ronnie Wood). Young blues enthusiasts flocked to their shows, among them Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Brian Jones—the latter was briefly invited into the band but declined—and other regulars included Ian Stewart, Steve Marriott, Paul Jones, and Manfred Mann.

Under Korner's mentorship, vocalists such as Eric Burdon, Paul Jones, and future luminaries Graham Bond, Lee Jackson, Phil Seamen, Hugh Flint, John McLaughlin, John Surman, Davy Graham, John Renbourn, Mick Abrahams, and many more came to prominence. Korner and Davies' unwavering belief in blues and rhythm-and-blues was infectious, creating what became known as the "Korner school of blues," which would later, in a sense, rival the equally influential "John Mayall school."

The Marquee Club Residency and Beyond

In May 1962, Blues Incorporated became the house band at London's Marquee Club, where their devoted following grew even larger and more enthusiastic. John Mayall later credited Blues Incorporated as the inspiration for him to form his own band, the Bluesbreakers.

The classic—and arguably most inventive—lineup of the early sixties featured Korner (guitar, vocals), Cyril Davies (vocals, harmonica), Dick Heckstall-Smith (saxophone), Ginger Baker (drums), Jack Bruce (double bass), and Johnny Parker (piano, organ). Unfortunately, they never managed to record in this lineup, and only a handful of live recordings have surfaced on various compilations much later.

Recording Success

Record producers began to take notice, and in June 1962, producer Jack Good recorded a live set by the band. The resulting album, R&B from the Marquee, the first full-length LP by a British blues band, was released in November 1962. The record consisted mostly of American стандар