featuring Curley Weaver, George Carter, Buddy Moss, Julius Daniels and Peg Leg Howell

Atlanta, in the period 1920 -1940, rivaled Memphis, St.Louis, Jackson and Chicago in the strength and vitality of its blues scene. It was home to a unique school of 12-string guitarists that included Blind Willie McTell, Barbecue Bob, Charlie Lincoln, Willie Baker and George Carter. Also on hand were the slick slide guitarist Fred McMullen, the accompaniment king, Curley Weaver and the spectacular up-and-comer, Buddy Moss. The scene was rounded out by an earlier generation of players, Peg Leg Howell foremost among them, who kept alive musical traditions that were in the eclipse.

Included on this DVD are transcriptions and teaching of recorded performances from the youthful Buddy Moss, a player who influenced generations of East Coast players that followed him, George Carter, a mysterious 12-string guitarist who recorded only four titles, Curley Weaver, a player's player, widely acknowledged to be among the finest accompanists in the blues, Julius Daniels, who came down from North Carolina to Atlanta to record early on and Peg Leg Howell, a bootlegger-turned musician who busked in the streets of Atlanta both as a soloist and in a trio with the fiddler Eddie Anthony and guitarist Henry Williams.

The songs presented in the lesson will expand both your right hand techniques and your knowledge of the neck, with one song employing the almost never encountered Open B flat tuning.

A detailed tab/music booklet is included as a PDF file on the DVD, and contains all of the songs - lyrics as well as transcriptions of the guitar parts. Also included are the original source recordings from which the transcriptions taught in the lesson were taken.

Titles include: CURLEY WEAVER Ticket Agent GEORGE CARTER Rising River Blues BUDDY MOSS New Lovin' Blues and Oh Lordy Mama JULIUS DANIELS 99 Year Blues PEG LEG HOWELL Turtle Dove Blues and Low-Down Rounder Blues

107 minutes - level 2/3 - Detailed tab/music PDF file on the DVD

Review: WANTED: DAREDEVILS. Under the safe supervision of trained professional John Miller, aspiring country-blues guitarists can take a crack at the rarely attempted feat of an Open B Flat tuning. It's a doozy, tucked in Peg Leg Howell's superbly oddball "Low Down Rounder Blues," one of the seven varied examples of pre-war Atlanta Blues Guitar taught by Miller. But this instructional walk on the wild side keeps on truckin' into the likewise unusual "Turtle Dove Blues," Howell's heartbroken boom-chang set in F. Julius Daniels' bloodthirsty "99 Year Blues" (a melodic cousin of "John Henry") prefers chugging on a head of thumb-brushed steam, as does the evergreen "Oh Lordy Mama" from Buddy Moss, Blind Willie McTell's partner. From a ubiquitous 'Georgia Guitar Wizard' in Curley Weaver to the obscura of George Carter (whose "Rising River Blues" is one-quarter of his lifetime discography), Miller takes the patient time to dissect their work (including on slo-mo splitscreen to simultaneously follow right and left hands). Including all the original historic recordings makes for the ultimate reference. – Dennis Rozanski/BluesRag

Review: Again John Miller has delivered. One has the impression, that Miller though his respect and love for the American Country Blues is absolute, that it it is all a bit of a pleasant sideshow to him. He is a master and exponent of so much more than just country blues - and of course he is being aware of and listenting to his excellent recordings over many years in other styles. As always, Miller's musical taste is exquisite: always a real artist's nouse for the exquisite subtle sounds and melodies of more obscure artists, that are not always obvious to ordinary musicians and listeners. Miller above all instructers appreciates the value of timing and counting when instructing and though it is not always necessary, it is most valuable when the ear is not always enough to negotiate passages. John Miller's humility of person, intelligence of instruction and mastery of instrument are the real thing. – Ken/Amazon Customer Review