Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, May 8, 1993                   TAG: 9305080270
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: C7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

GUITAR SHOW WOULD BE WORTH THE DRIVE

It was.

The four acts comprising the Piedmont Guitarists Tour - Daniel Womack, Turner and Lynn Foddrell, John Jackson, and John Cephas and Phil Wiggins - heated up an already overheated auditorium Friday night at the Roanoke Academy for Mathematics and Science.

The room wasn't air-conditioned.

The evening started with a film segment explaining the rich tradition of the Piedmont guitar style in African-American folk music. A filmed interview with Roanoker Daniel Womack followed.

Then the 89-year-old, who called himself "the jubilee singer," took the stage. He played a long hour of spirituals and gospel, trading off between guitar, kazoo, harmonica and piano.

His informal - at times, rambling - stage manner was charming for its sweetness and sincerity. Womack seemed ready to play late into the night, appearing so delighted to still be singing and spreading the word at his age.

A second filmed interview followed with the father-son team, Turner and Lynn Foddrell. They played about 45 minutes of acoustic blues, with the senior Foddrell handling most of the vocals and lead guitar.

Lynn Foddrell did step forward for a cover of the Jerry Lee Lewis song "Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On." It wouldn't be the only foray into rock 'n' roll. The pair closed with Mitch Ryder's "C.C. Rider."

John Jackson was third on the bill, and again was introduced through a filmed interview. Jackson, 68, stuck closer to more traditional blues and also included some ragtime.

Among his offerings were: "Trouble in Mind," "Black Cat Blues," "Get Along Home Sidney," "John Henry" and "Step It Up and Go." What really set Jackson apart, however, was his fine, clear guitar picking - and his genuine blues vocal style. Jackson, who lives in Fairfax, comes from the old school.

The best came last.

John Cephas and Phil Wiggins stole the evening with the biggest blues sound that any two people could muster. Their interplay between Cephas' guitar and Wiggins' show-stopping harmonica was just terrific.

Cephas, 62, is a Washington, D.C., native who learned the Piedmont blues during family visits to Caroline County. There, he would go to house parties, which were then a staple of rural black life.

All the musicians Friday cited such social gatherings as the place where they were first exposed to the blues, ragtime and dance music tradition they carry on today.

Cephas teamed with Wiggins 15 years ago, after playing together in a band led by barrelhouse piano player Big Chief Ellis. They now are considered the most popular blues duo in the world.

They alone would have been worth the bargain $5 admission. There is no question theirs was the best performance of any that has come through Roanoke in a long, long time.

It is too bad that the showcase was so sparsely attended. Only about 75 people were there for the show, which was sponsored by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.

Fortunately, there are two more chances to catch the Piedmont Tour. Tonight, the tour stops at Covington High School in Covington. Sunday, it goes to the 1908 Courthouse in Independence.

Either would be well worth the drive.