How do you make a fabulous book on Mississippi blues? Get the well-known Mississippian photographer Ken Murphy to join forces with blues aficionado Scott Barretta.

You may know the work of Ken Murphy through his previous books, My South Coast Home and Mississippi. You may not know that it was sort of an accident that he became a photographer. An injury to his right index finger in a war game operation in Germany led to a reassignment with a hobby shop at a U.S. military base which led to his interest in photography. In 1986 Ken received a BFA degree in Narrative, Documentary and Editorial Photography from the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York. To our good fortune, he landed back in Mississippi to capture the beauty and curiosity of our state.

Scott Barretta finds his professional home at University of Mississippi, but his love of the blues has taken him cross-country and over the ocean. Studying sociology and editing the oldest continuous blues publication–which happens to be in Sweden–gave Scott a sweeping view of the blues tradition and its fans. Though his work has taken him to various and sundry places, Scott is pleased to reside in the heart of the blues while researching and writing under The Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi, the Mississippi Arts Commission, Mississippi Blues Commission and other organizations at the center of blues study and support. You can also listen to him on Highway 61 Radio.

While these two were doing great work on their own, John Evans somehow managed to get  them together: “Ken’s photos flip-sided by Scott’s commentary, two creators coming together on the shape of Mississippi blues today” (“Forward” Mississippi: State of Blues).

Nothing can replace holding the book in your hands, but we’re going to be giving you a preview of this gorgeous book. The unexpected treat at the end is a list of blues festivals, clubs that regularly feature blues, and a list of museums and resources devoted to the blues.

So be on the lookout over the coming weeks. We’ll be posting our thoughts on State of Blues on our blog. Got your own Mississippi blues memory about one of Ken’s photos? Share it with us in the comments section. Howlin’ Wolf is gonna start us off tomorrow!

The book will go on sale in early November. Ken Murphy and Scott Barretta will be at Lemuria Thursday, November 11th for a Signing at Sunset with live music at the DotCom building. If that’s too early for you, there’s more live music and fun at Jackson’s Underground 119 starting at 8 o’clock. (Click here for directions.)

Click here to see all of our blogs on Mississippi State of Blues.

Reserve your copy online or call the bookstore 601/800.366.7619.

jjj

In 1986 Ken received a BFA degree in Narrative, Documentary and
Editorial Photography from the Rochester Institute of Technology in

In 1986 Ken received a BFA degree in Narrative, Documentary and
Editorial Photography from the Rochester Institute of Technology in
Rochester, New York.


Rochester, New York.
Share