First Listen: Afi Scruggs knows "Life Is A Teacher"
(January 25, 2018) My history with the blues mirrors that of many people who are the children and grandchildren of those migrated from places such as the Mississippi delta or Texas. We wanted to distinguish ourselves from our elders and we gravitated to music that sounded a little more modern and perhaps upscale. Plenty of musical historians and cultural critics will tell you that mentality didn’t just happen. However, after living a little life and learning things that life had to teach allowed me to gain a deeper appreciation for the blues and the men and women who wrote, sang and performed the songs. The wit and hard-earned wisdom that came out in the lyrics of their songs belied many of the simple conclusions that I reached about the music when I younger.
First Listen: Afi Scruggs knows "Life Is A Teacher"
(January 25, 2018) My history with the blues mirrors that of many people who are the children and grandchildren of those migrated from places such as the Mississippi delta or Texas. We wanted to distinguish ourselves from our elders and we gravitated to music that sounded a little more modern and perhaps upscale. Plenty of musical historians and cultural critics will tell you that mentality didn’t just happen. However, after living a little life and learning things that life had to teach allowed me to gain a deeper appreciation for the blues and the men and women who wrote, sang and performed the songs. The wit and hard-earned wisdom that came out in the lyrics of their songs belied many of the simple conclusions that I reached about the music when I younger.
Life taught me a thing or two and that allowed me to long ago gain an appreciation for the kind of wisdom that Cleveland based bassist, pianist and vocalist Afi Scruggs kicks in her new tune “Life Is a Teacher.” She’s been playing the piano since she was a kindergartener, but she picked up the bass in 2009. As we see on the tune, “Life is a Teacher,” Scruggs proves to be a quick study in the music classroom of her mentor Rob White, as well as in the School of Hard Knocks. Check it out.
Howard Dukes
Afi Scruggs - "Life Is A Teacher"