Nick Katzman (born 1951) is an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

. Katzman was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and lives in both

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. He plays in a variety of

musical genres This is a list of music genres and styles. Music can be described in terms of many genres and styles. Classifications are often arbitrary, and may be disputed and closely related forms often overlap. Larger genres and styles comprise more specifi ...

, including

Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but is performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of African Americans of the fi ...

, Mississippi blues,

Texas blues Texas blues is blues music from Texas. As a regional style, its original form was characterized by jazz and swing influences. Later examples are often closer to blues rock and Southern rock. History Texas blues began to appear in the early 1900 ...

, and

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...

Biography

As a teenager in the 1960s, Katzman saw many of the surviving country blues guitarists who travelled north to play their music in clubs and at the folk festivals. He learned to lay both guitar and

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck (music), neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lu ...

. He studied

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

Antioch College Antioch College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection and began operating in 1852 as a non-secta ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. His classical influences include Sylvius Leopold Weiss and

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

. His blues music was inspired by a number of musicians, including

Charlie Patton Charlie Patton (April 1891 (probable) – April 28, 1934), more often spelled Charley Patton, was an American Delta blues musician and songwriter. Considered by many to be the "Father of the Delta Blues", he created an enduring body of America ...

Kid Bailey Kid Bailey (before 1929 – after 1960) was a Mississippi Delta bluesman. His one known recording session occurred on September 25, 1929, in Memphis, Tennessee. Little is known about Bailey. His voice had a distinctly coarse yet youthful quality. ...

, and

Mississippi John Hurt John Smith Hurt (March 8, 1893 – November 2, 1966), known as Mississippi John Hurt, was an American country blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Biography Early years John Hurt was born in Teoc,Cohen, Lawrence (1996). Liner notes to ''Av ...

. On his own website, Katzman also cites amongst his teachers the blues masters Mance Lipscomb,

Reverend Gary Davis Gary D. Davis (April 30, 1896 – May 5, 1972), known as Reverend Gary Davis and Blind Gary Davis, was a blues and gospel singer who was also proficient on the banjo, guitar and harmonica. Born in Laurens, South Carolina and blind since infanc ...

Stefan Grossman Stefan Grossman (born April 16, 1945) is an American acoustic fingerstyle guitarist and singer, music producer and educator, and co-founder of Kicking Mule records. He is known for his instructional videos and Vestapol line of videos and DVDs. ...

and

Rory Block Aurora "Rory" Block (born November 6, 1949) is an American blues guitarist and singer, a notable exponent of the country blues style. Career Aurora Block was born in Princeton and grew up in Manhattan. Her father, Allan Block, ran a sandal shop i ...

. About 40 years ago, Katzman moved to Germany to live, tour and perform.

His music

Katzman discussed his musical influences as a mix of various strains of the blues, including

Delta blues Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the s ...

country blues Country blues (also folk blues, rural blues, backwoods blues, or downhome blues) is one of the earliest forms of blues music. The mainly solo vocal with acoustic fingerstyle guitar accompaniment developed in the rural Southern United States in t ...

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

and ''

hokum Hokum is a particular song type of American blues music—a song which uses extended analogies or euphemistic terms to make humorous, sexual innuendos. This trope goes back to early dirty blues recordings, enjoyed huge commercial success in ...

. His music has been described as a "wide range of blues from Delta to Gary Davis."
Katzman's music has been compared to Tom Ball and Rich Stein. He has also been compared favorably with his blues forebears

Blind Blake Arthur Blake (1896 – December 1, 1934), known as Blind Blake, was an American blues and ragtime singer and guitarist. He is known for recordings he made for Paramount Records between 1926 and 1932. Early life Little is known of Blake's life. ...

and The Rev. Gary Davis. Katzman has collaborated with a number of senior Blues musicians, including

Champion Jack Dupree William Thomas "Champion Jack" Dupree (July 23, 1909 or July 4, 1910 – January 21, 1992) was an American blues and boogie-woogie pianist and singer. His nickname was derived from his early career as a boxer. Biography Dupree was a New Orle ...

, Carey and Lurie Bell, Louisiana Red, and Guitar Crusher. Katzman also has

mentor Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...

ed a number of younger musicians, including Thomasina Winslow. He continues to learn to play new instruments, including the

. In the United States, Katzman often plays at The Good Coffee House at the Ethical Culture Society meeting house in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

. He has been based (and currently as of 2007) in

. In May and June 2007, Katzman toured

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

with Winslow, including a headlining appearance at the Stamford, England at the Stamford Arts Centre. He returned to the Good Coffee House in April 2008, with "special guests Paul Handelman on harp and Thomasina Winslow on guitar and vocals."

Discography

Solo, acoustic

* ''Mississippi River Bottom Blues'' (Kicking Mule KM 111) (1975) * ''How to Play Delta Blues Guitar'' (Kicking Mule/Sonet SNKF 112) (1976, UK issue of KM 111) * ''Panic When the Sun Goes Down'' (Kicking Mule/Sonet SNKF 112 (197?, UK re-issue of KM 111) * ''Sparkling Ragtime and Hardbitten Blues'' (Kicking Mule KM 167) (1980)

Solo, electric

* ''Songs and Bloozes'' (Stumble Records)

Producer and compilations

* Guitar Crusher's ''Googa Mooga'' CD (Blue Sting Records) (producer, player) * Eb Davis's ''Good Time Blues'' (Acoustic Music) (producer) * Played with Ruby Green on the two-volume ''The Best Of Kicking Mule'' CD (Laserlight label) and ''Sparkling Ragtime & Hardbitten Blues'', see above * ''Guitarist – Composer Sampler'' (Kicking Mule 1997) * Artist Direct

References

External links

Official website, has a playerRhapsody web site playerRhapsody web site playerMP3 PlayerAOL page(Katzman's May 6 2011 gig in Brooklyn, NY)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Katzman 1951 births Living people American blues singers American blues guitarists American male guitarists Antioch College alumni 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians