Delta blues

The Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from Memphis, Tennessee in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south, Helena, Arkansas in the west to the Yazoo River on the east. The Mississippi Delta area is famous both for its fertile soil and its poverty. Guitar and harmonica are the dominant instruments used, with slide guitar (usually on the steel guitar) being a hallmark of the style. The vocal styles range from introspective and soulful to passionate and fiery. Delta blues is also regarded as a regional variation of country blues.

Origin

Although Delta blues certainly existed in some form or another at the turn of the 20th century, it was first recorded in the late 1920s, when record companies realized the potential African American market in Race records. The ‘major’ labels produced the earliest recordings and consisted mostly of one person singing and playing an instrument; however, the use of a band was more common during live performances. Current belief is that Freddie Spruell is the first Delta blues artist recorded, as he waxed "Milk Cow Blues" in Chicago in June 1926. Record company talent scouts made some of these early recordings on 'field trips' to the South; however, the labels invited some Delta blues performers to travel to northern cities to record. According to Dixon & Godrich [1981], Tommy Johnson and Ishman Bracey were recorded by Victor on that company's second field trip to Memphis, in 1928. Robert Wilkins was first recorded by Victor in Memphis in 1928, and Big Joe Williams and Garfield Akers also in Memphis (1929) by Brunswick/Vocalion.

Delta Blues (horse)

Delta Blues (デルタブルース, born 3 May 2001) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2006 Melbourne Cup. He was the first Japanese horse to win the Cup. In doing so he defeated Pop Rock, another Japanese horse, also trained by Katsuhiko Sumii.

Racing career

Delta Blues was virtually unknown until he had his victory in the 2004 Kikuka Sho. He defeated Heart's Cry and Cosmo Bulk then. Delta Blues placed third in the Japan Cup in November 2004.

Other runs by Delta Blues include wins in the Domestic Grade One Kikuka Sho (Japanese St Leger) in October 2004, the Domestic Grade Two Stayers Stakes in December 2005, a third in the Grade Two Hanshin Daishoten on 19 March 2006 fifth in the Arima Kinen, and 10th in the Domestic Grade One Tenno Sho (Spring) on 30 April 30.

Delta Blues won the Best Horse by Home-Bred Sire JRA award in 2004.

2006 in Australia

Taken to Australia Delta Blues finished third in the 2006 Caulfield Cup after racing wide throughout the race.

Delta Blues (film)

Delta Blues (subtitled: In a Land of Cotton) is a documentary film shot in 2000. The movie deals with the environmental problems emanating from the drying up of the Aral Sea, and the impact this has on political relationships in the Central Asian region (especially Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan). In particular, it focuses on the document Water-related vision for the Aral Sea basin for the year 2025 by UNESCO, as presented in 2000 at the 2nd World Water Forum in The Hague. This document has been criticized for setting unrealistic goals, and also, by focusing on the entire basin (south-west Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan), for implicitly giving up on the Aral Sea and the people living downstream in Karakalpakstan.

Summary

The cause of the drying up of the Aral Sea is the extensive irrigation, used for the production of (mainly) cotton. Apart from cotton being a thirsty crop, the irrigation canals are very inefficient and much water is wasted. Furthermore, the water that is returned to the rivers is highly polluted (with pesticides and fertilizers). There is however no incentive to change the irresponsible use of water in the region. Water is an externality, regarded as given by nature or God. This leads to a situation where those (countries, regions or farms) who use most of the available water, benefit the most, but do not pay for it, leaving others (living downstream) with less and polluted water.