Ishmon Bracey

Ishmon Bracey
Bracey,c. 1925
Background information
Also known as	Ishman Bracey Ishmael Adams
Born	(1899-01-09)January 9, 1899 or 1901 Byram, Mississippi,U.S.
Died	(1970-02-12)February 12, 1970 (aged 69-71) Jackson, Mississippi,U.S.
Genres	Delta blues,country blues
Instruments	Guitar
Years active	1910s–1951

Ishmon Bracey(January 9, 1899or 1901 – February 12, 1970), sometimes credited asIshman Bracey,was an AmericanDelta bluessinger-guitarist.Alongside his contemporaryTommy Johnson,Bracey was a highly influential bluesman inJackson, Mississippi,and was one of the area's earliest figures to record blues material. Bracey's recordings include "Trouble Hearted Blues" and "Left Alone Blues", both of which appear on severalcompilation albums.

Biography

Bracey was born in the small town ofByram, Mississippi.Most sources give his birth year as 1901, but researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc give 1899, based on1900 censusinformation.Ishmon's parents were Richard and Etta Bracey. Bracey learned how to play the particularguitarstyle ofbottleneckingfrom localbluesmusiciansRubin Laceyand Louis Cooper. He began his music career by performing at dances,juke joints,fish fries,and other rural events before relocating toJacksonin the late 1910s.Talent scoutH. C. Speirapproached Bracey while he was performing on Mill Street in 1927 with the intent of recording the musician forVictor Records.On February 4, 1928, Bracey completed his first two sides for thelabel,"Saturday Blues" and "Left Alone Blues", at the Memphis Auditorium withPapa Charlie McCoyproviding the backup guitar lines. Bracey and McCoy returned to Memphis on August 31 to record seven additional songs.

In most of his recordings, Bracey used distinctive variations on the usual three-line verse form of blues songs, and was one of the few Mississippi bluesmen who sang with a nasal tone without embellishment.Bracey returned to the studio in 1929 and early-1930 forParamount Records,backed by the group the New Orleans Nehi Boys. The band featured Kid Ernest Michall onclarinetand Charles Taylor (who Bracey accompanied on four sides of his own) onpiano,both unusual instruments to appear on MississippiDelta bluesrecordings.Like his associateTommy Johnson,Bracey's total discography is relatively limited with only 16 songs, and original copies of his 78-rpm records are among the most valued items sought by blues collectors. His compositions "Trouble Hearted Blues" and "Left Alone Blues" are his most recognized works.

He was an associate of Johnson's, and the two performed regularly together on themedicine showcircuit in the early 1930s.Bracey played the blues until 1951 when he wasordainedas aBaptist minister.Although he would no longer partake in making blues music, Bracey still helped music historianGayle Dean Wardlowin 1963 gather information on Delta blues musicians, most notablySkip James.Bracey died on February 12, 1970; he is buried in Willow Park Cemetery in Jackson.Ishmon Bracey pastored a church in Canton, Ms at the time of his death.

Discography

• The Famous 1928 Tommy Johnson–Ishman Bracey Session(Roots, 1970)
• Complete Recordings in Chronological Order(Wolf, 1983)
• Ishman Bracey & Charley Taylor 1928–1929(Document, 2000)
• King of the Blues,vol. 12 (P-Vine, 2003)
• Suitcase Full of Blues(Monk, 2010)

See also

• List of country blues musicians

External links

• BiographyatAllmusicwebsite
• Mississippi Blues Trail - Ishmon Bracey marker
• Illustrated Ishmon Bracey discography