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5 October 2011
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Bert Deivert, T-Model Ford and Bill Abel in Clarksdale.
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Bert Deivert: International Man of Mandolin
Early October 2011 will see a new release by one of the few blues
mandolinists of the 21st century, Bert Deivert – the 10th album of his 38-
year career.
Recorded over several years and in a variety of studios in Sweden, Thailand,
Germany and the US, "Kid Man Blues" mixes pre-war blues standards with award-
winning originals and features an army of guests: from the late, great Sam Carr
to Sven Zetterberg, Memphis Gold to Willie Salomon, Brian Kramer to Tom
Paley, Lasse Johansson to Dulyasit "Pong" Srabua...
BluesWebzine.com (Andres Roots): But let’s start from the beginning. Bert,
you were born in Boston in 1950 and moved to Europe in 1974 – why did you
leave the States and how did you end up in Sweden?
Bert Deivert: I was pretty tired of the scene and political situation in the US and
had considered emigrating to Canada. I got a high number in the draft lottery in
1969 and was lucky enough not to be drafted to go to Vietnam. Then I met a
Swedish girl in San Francisco and went off with her – we lived in Sweden, then a
while in Holland, then back to Sweden. We had two wonderful sons and are still
friendly, but parted ways in 1982. I stayed on in Sweden to be near my children
and eventually met another lady, who I am still with, and we have a daughter. So
three kids in Sweden – I ain’t goin’ anywhere...
The Wikipedia article on the Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Peter
Case mentions a documentary on the early 1970’s San Fransisco music scene
called "Nightshift" – "directed by Bert Deivert". Where could one obtain such
a film and are there more cinematographic works to your name that might be
of interest to the fans of your music?
Peter Case and I played together as street musicians in San Francisco. I
supported myself this way while getting my Master’s degree in Filmmaking from
the San Francisco Art Institute and this film was my master’s thesis. The original
footage was lost in the lab; I made a work print that I digitalized and worked on
over the years, but it got lost in a computer crash. Peter wants me to finish it, he’
s got a rough cut on DVD, but I don’t have the energy to edit it again! I do have
other films out there, experimental stuff that has won prizes in the US, Sweden,
and Italy, but I don’t know if these would interest music fans.
Peter later wrote a book called "As Far As You Can Get Without A Passport"
about that period and we have kept in touch. He also appears on my last album,
"Takin’ Sam’s Advice".
In 1985, you also spent some time working as a street musician in Peru –
how did that come about?
I met a band called Yuyachifca in Holland and helped them secure a record deal
with Bo Hansson, my producer at OPUS 3 in Sweden. Bosse and I went down to
Holland, I helped produce the album and played on it – these were Dutch
musicians playing Bolivian and Peruvian music. I got very interested and applied
for a cultural exchange grant to meet musicians in Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru and
learn more about Andean music. In Peru, I met some musicians in the street and
jammed with them. For some odd reason, they were amazed that I could
improvise, though I had a lot to learn about charango playing! They asked me to
join the group and play and travel with them, so I did. None of the band spoke
English, so I learned a lot of music and a lot of Spanish. It was an amazing time!
One evening, we got arrested while waiting for a bus and were accused of
terrorism. One of my friends had a book in Spanish about Bolivian miners that he
had bought in Lima and we had a drawing of a stage where we were going to do
music for a university theater play; the police said the book was a communist
subversive book and the drawing was a plan of the police station and that we
were going to bomb it. Unbelievable! I had an American passport and they were
very suspicious: what was an American doing in Sweden? Hugo Blanco, a
Peruvian exile, lived in Sweden, and they asked me if I knew him... I was robbed
by the police and threatened and left Lima as soon as they let us out of jail.
Between 1979-1983, you recorded three albums as a duo with Eric Bibb.
How did you hook up with him and are those LP's still available?
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I first said hi to Eric in the mid 70’s after a
concert in Karlstad he did with Cyndee
Peters, a gospel singer. I thought Eric was
so much better than Cyndee and wondered
why he wasn’t the headliner instead of the
accompanying guitarist. A few years later, I
found myself on the same label, OPUS 3, and
got Eric’s address from my producer. I wrote
him a letter suggesting we do something
together, he was very enthusiastic and we
booked a date with Bosse to produce us.
The first album, "April Fools" – recorded on
April 1st, of course! – was a mix of our own
material and songs written by friends. After
that we did two more, "River Road" – which
was the first Swedish-produced folk CD
released in Sweden! – and "Hello Stranger".
These mixed original songs and
collaborations with folk and blues from the
black and white traditions.
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Hair we go: Bert and Eric in '79
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Our voices and guitar styles complemented each other quite well, but it was
difficult to get gigs at the time and so we didn’t tour. The albums are all out of
print, unfortunately – I was planning on releasing a ‘best of’ compilation and my
friend Bosse Hansson was digitalizing the masters, but he passed away in May
and I don’t know what will happen to his masters now...
In the 1980's, you also toured in Sweden with rockabilly legend Wanda
Jackson, who has lately been recording with Jack White of the White Stripes.
What was she like back then?
I was called up by a record producer who was booking Wanda’s tour and wanted
a band to back her, as well as some solo acts to open. So I came on as a solo act
doing my own songs and played guitar, mandolin, banjo and sang backup for her.
We did all her hits, but she didn’t allow dancing and sang a gospel song at the
end of each show, telling the audience how she had accepted Christ as her
personal savior. Once, she walked off in the middle of a song and made me go
out and stop the show. This was in Rottneros, Värmland, with more than 500
Raggare – or greasers, as we called them in the US – driving around in the
parking lot, and playing her 50’s music before coming in. It got pretty scary when
I told them to stop dancing and the security put up a riot fence between us and
the audience. Wanda gave me a signed copy of the New Testament as a gift at
the end of the tour...
More recently, you've cut a duo album with Tom Paley of the legendary New
Lost City Ramblers. The 83-year-old banjo wizard seems both a friend and a
hero to you?
I started seriously listening to the New Lost City Ramblers in the 70’s in Sweden
and was excited to meet Tom when we were both booked for the Vaxholms
Visfestival in 1980 or 1981. We hit it off and stayed in touch; he comes to
Sweden almost every year and stays a week or so with us on nearly every visit; I
also go and visit in London when I can and stay with him.
We actually made a record for OPUS 3 which never got released due to their
money problems, and then the producer of Gravitation in Sweden asked us to
make a CD for him, so we did. It is actually a duo album, but for promotional
reasons, Gravitation wanted to have Tom’s name as the artist "featuring Bert
Deivert". Tom was against it but I said it was cool and that the most important
thing was to get it out there, as he hadn’t done a CD in years. We are hoping to
do another one as soon as he is well enough to come over; he is featured on
both "Takin’ Sam’s Advice" and "Kid Man Blues" and still sings with a wonderful
young voice!
When it comes to heroes, "Kid Man Blues" is dedicated to the memory of
legendary blues drummer Sam Carr, who appears on two of the record's 12
tracks, including the album highlight "Lula". Can you tell us a bit about those
Mississippi sessions?
Well, I originally met Sam at T-Model Ford’s "Jack Daniel Time" sessions in January
2008 at Red’s Lounge in Clarksdale, MS. I enjoyed Sam’s company and Bill Abel
had played with him, so when we were going to do some sessions in October
2008 at Bill’s house, Bill called him. Sam’s wife Doris was in the hospital with
severe diabetes and had just had both legs amputated, things were rough and
Sam was not in great health himself, but he was a gentleman and agreed to
play. Sam couldn’t play longer than about 3 minutes without being worn out so
we kept the tracks short, but “Lula” turned into a lengthy jam and when we
ended, Sam said: "Whooo... " – he was all tuckered out.
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Bill and I think this was Sam’s last recording
session; he passed away a year later,
before I had the chance to play him any of
the cuts. It was wonderful to get to play
with a man who was humble, a great
musician and had such amazing stories to
tell of the folks he had played with. He was
in good spirits despite all his problems, and
when I drove him back to his house I went
in and looked at all the pictures and awards
on the wall... He was the Mississippi
governor’s favorite drummer!
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For "Rob and Steal", you've managed to team Carr and Abel up with Sven
Zetterberg, albeit long distance – how did that happen?
It was more than just long distance, it was 2 1/2 years after we did the session
in Mississippi! I was doing a gig in Göteborg, opening for Sven and his band. He
was sick that night but he is so professional – he did his show and played a
couple of tunes with us, and you never would have known he was ill. It was fun
and he really got a kick out of it, so I asked him if he wanted to lay down a track
and he said yes. He had sent me his harp album and I thought the sound would
mesh nicely with Sam, and also it would be cool to have Sven on a track with
Sam, who had played with Sonny Boy Williamson II in Helena – I know Sven digs
Sonny Boy’s playing. Pretty amazing for all of us... I love that track. It is so down-
home and funky.
Three tunes on your upcoming album were recorded at Sexy Pink Studios in
Bangkok, of which "Nongharn Blues" has already won the prestigious Kom
Chad Leuk Award for Best Instrumental of 2009 in Thailand. What is it about
Bangkok that inspires you?
The friendliness of the people, the camaraderie of the musicians, the fantastic
culture, the amazing food, the peaceful atmosphere of the temples, the gorgeous
views out in nature, and getting to live by the riverside of the Chao Phraya River
in the middle of the city…
The musicians and studios are top flight, too. With Pong, my musical partner in
Bangkok, we have recorded an album – "13 Samsen" – that will be released
soon, we are just waiting for Charlie Musselwhite to finish the track he is doing
with us.
ANDRES ROOTS
Links: Bert Deivert website and Reverbnation
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