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Music

New Single! “Lion of the Blues” Honors Renowned Blues Historian Jacques Demêtre

NEW SINGLE FROM VALERIE GHENT "LION OF THE BLUES" - OUT NOW ! LISTEN HERE on Apple Music, Deezer & Spotify! Hi-res audio on Bandcamp HERE NYC recording

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History, Travel

Jacques Demêtre: discovering a blues historian in the family

Jacques Demêtre is one of France's noted historians of American blues and gospel music. For decades he wrote a column for the French magazine, Jazz Hot.

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Valerie Ghent

valerieghent
Wahooo! My new single ‘Lion of the Blues’ is o Wahooo! My new single ‘Lion of the Blues’ is out today! An uptempo Chicago blues celebrating the extraordinary life of beloved blues historian and my long-lost cousin, Jacques Demêtre ❤️🎶❤️ Born in Paris, France in 1924, Jacques Demêtre was one of the first historians of the blues, traveling to Chicago, Detroit & New York in 1959 when he met blues greats including Muddy Waters, BB King, Howlin’ Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Sammy Price, writing for Jazz Hot for more than 20 years & for Soul Bag magazine, penning liner notes for countless blues collections & wrote the bi-lingual book, “Voyage au pays du blues (Voyage to the Land of the Blues)” - today a treasure. In 2010 Jacques and I discovered that we were cousins - we had no idea we were related until we met! - when Jacques was 86. It felt like destiny! Over the next 10 years i visited Jacques in Paris as often as I could, listening to blues albums together, we spent hours together listening to old blues records from the 20’s, 30’s & 40’s. Jacques encouraged me to expand my blues repertoire, gave me stacks of blues CD’s, suggested artists to listen to and even songs he thought I should sing. Every time I visited Jacques asked, “when will you record a blues album?” In February 2020 I went to Paris for Jacques 96th birthday & to sing at a concert which he attended. Inspired by his life & generosity in sharing his vast knowledge of the blues I started writing this song for him. We recorded in the south of France with the great rock-solid musicians I’ve toured with for over 10 years: @pierresibille - harp, piano, B3 @jeromebuigues - guitar, mix @philippe_jardin_drummer - drums François Gomez - bass & yours truly on vocals And now it’s yours to enjoy! ➡️ link to listen in bio 🎶 I am grateful to Nicolas Teurnier & @soul_bag_mag for the cover photo with Jacques happily embraced by Muddy Waters, Otis Spann & Willy Smith in Chicago in 1959. This is for you my dear cousin 💕🎶 Jacques lives on forever more - he’s Lion of the Blues ! ❤️❤️ #jacquesdemetre #blueshistory #soulbag #jazzhot #lionoftheblues #voyageaupaysdublues #valerieghent
My father, Emmanuel Ghent, would be 100 years youn My father, Emmanuel Ghent, would be 100 years young today. Happy Birthday Pops! I’ve been thinking of my dad a lot in recent months, listening to his music, reading his works, looking at concert programs & reviews from the 60s & 70s. After a friend texted me from the MacDowell Colony finding my father’s music there - my dad was at MacDowell exactly 60 years ago - I started to feel he wanted to speak with me. And perhaps I wanted to speak with him! I remembered an interview we did in 1988 - although my dad passed away in 2003, I haven’t felt ready to listen to it again. This week in his honor, I took a deep breath & opened it up in ProTools after all these long years. Hearing my father’s voice for the first time in decades, his phrases, the cadence of his speech, when his voice softened, when it brightened, hearing again the slight Canadian accent that he still had even then, brought tears to my eyes, warmth to my heart & a knowingness that he is still here somehow, somewhere, even if just in my memory & on this recording that we made almost 40 years ago. They say people live on in those who love them, it must be true because today I feel his presence today more strongly than ever before. In the interview Dad talks about electronic music he composed in the 1960s-70s, his collaborations w/ Bob Moog, Max Matthews, Mimi Garrard & James Seawright, his fascination with multi-tempi music & inventing the “coordinome” to synchronize musicians playing in different tempi. Listening it’s as if he is here again! and to hear my young self asking questions in a voice I barely recognize as my own makes me laugh aloud. Thank you Dad for everything you instilled in me and so generously gave to so many others, your creativity & innovations, your clarity and deep wisdom, your irreverence & love of word play, your curiosity & inventiveness, your constant exploration of ways of being, seeking new approaches to music, psychoanalysis, composition, computer programming, woodworking, your devotion to new ideas, new music, new discoveries, and most of all your love, resonate more deeply than ever before. I love you. Happy 100th birthday! #emmanuelghent #electronicmusicpioneer
Happy heavenly Birthday to my dear cousin Dimitri Happy heavenly Birthday to my dear cousin Dimitri ! Also known as blues historian and writer Jacques Demêtre, Dimitri lived in Paris and would be 101 years young today. Meeting him in 2010 literally changed my life, I traveled to see him as often as I could. I’ve written a blues song in his honor which we recorded in France & will be releasing soon! Love and miss you always ❤️❤️ dear cousin - your passion for the blues lives on!! 🎂🎶💙#jacquesdemetre #dimitrivicheney #happyheavenlybirthday #blueshistorian #blueswriter #soulbag #jazzhot #parisblues @soul_bag_mag
Hey y’all! Thrilled to let you know I’m featur Hey y’all! Thrilled to let you know I’m featured on a new single by Italian rap/hip-hop artist Bumo, a song we wrote called “NCPT”, and it’s out TODAY! 🎶🎤🇮🇹🔥 Che bello! 3 years ago @bumo_1 and I released our first single, “Online”. It was a great success and he graciously asked if I’d collaborate on another song with him. NCPT releases today on Bumo’s newest album, “Giano”, and available world-wide on Believe Music Italia. Am super excited about NCPT and can’t wait for you to hear! 🎶 ➡️ Link in bio   “NCPT” stands for ‘non c’è piu tempo’ (“there’s no more time” or “it’s too late”) and as in our first single, Bumo raps in Italian and I sing in English. Bumo hails from Genoa, in Liguria, and although I’m a New Yorker I recorded my vocal in France with @jeromebuigues, so our song has a real Euro-NYC vibe. & seriously, check out Bumo’s new album- he’s super talented and the album is great 🔥🔥 Enjoy! La musica è amore! @bumo_1 @believemusicitalia #bumo #valerieghent #giano #ncpt #noncepiutempo #italianrap #dowhatyoulove #newmusicfriday #singersongwriter
First photos from Montfort! Merci @lamethodesylvie First photos from Montfort! Merci @lamethodesylvie, Claudia & my love Tom for the pics! Music is love! ❤️🎶❤️ The groove was on 🔥🔥🔥 thanks to my amazing band - équipe au top @pierresibille, @jeromebuigues, Francois Gomez & Philippe Jardin, we were invited to debut a first-ever, brand new summer soirée at beautiful winery @cavescommandeur and WOW it was phenomenal! The rosé was flowing, Corsican & Italian food aplenty, and the sold-out crowd ready to dance with us! And it’s so moving to me, when we play somewhere new where many people are hearing our original music for the first time - when everyone starts singing along to Love Enough for a Lifetime or dancing to Wheels on a Train it’s so joyful! I’m moved to tears! Gratitude on high, thank you thank you for such a wonderful evening of music and love 🙏🏼❤️🙏🏼 #pierresibille #jeromebuigues #francoisgomez #philippejardin #valerieghent #equipeautop #musicislove #singersongwriter #happylady #nofilter #cavesducommandeur
South of France - ready to Groove! Join us July 24 South of France - ready to Groove! Join us July 24 in Montfort! 🎶🎤🎸 #liveconcert #singersongwriter #blues #soul #montfortsurargens @pierresibille @jeromebuigues @montfortsurargens #francoisgomez #philippejardin #valerieghent
Ciao from la bella Italia! 💕🇮🇹 The hills, Ciao from la bella Italia! 💕🇮🇹 The hills, the vines, the olive trees, and the sea, all under an almost full moon….. magical! (Scroll through to see the moon!) Then Wednesday night we’re back in France for a concert at a beautiful winery! Happy lady! Love & joy to you from my heart to yours ❤️❤️ #italia #labellaitalia #musicianlife #ladolcevita #toscana #vineyards #cypresstrees #nofilter
Happy Birthday in heaven Nick Ashford! 💕 we lov Happy Birthday in heaven Nick Ashford! 💕 we love & miss you always 💜🎶❤️ #nickashford #happyheavenlybirthday #ashfordandsimpson #motown #singers #songwriter #sugarbar #timeless #lyricist #musiclegend @sugarbarnyc
Yes! Our Daoist Meditation Mantras are now availab Yes! Our Daoist Meditation Mantras are now available in an album format! My husband Tom and I worked on these together for a loooong time, a true labor of love, we are thrilled to share them with you. Enjoy!! 🎶💕☯️ 🎶 https://valghent.com/meditations-for-the-soul-daoist-meditation-mantras/ (link in bio) You can listen to just one, or several, or for a very powerful meditation listen to all six of them in a row. We also offer instrumental versions of the mantras so you can speak them at your own pace. #mantras #meditation #daoist #tombisio #valerieghent #daoistmeditation #lotusflower #calmness #tranquility #peaceful #stability #opentheheart #alignthebody #vitality
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