Learning to appreciate the blues and the busking life: A review of Mister Satan's apprentice by Adam Gussow

Hello again, fellow clandestine literary agents were today's briefing. I thought we become acquainted with a very interesting coming-of-age story with a unique perspective, that of a street musician in late 80s early 90s. Harlem in New York City, in Mister Satan's apprentice, Adam Gussow takes readers on a fascinating journey of discovering the blues in music as a young man, particularly an interest in playing the harmonica to developing his talent in college and honing his craft on the street in Harlem and flirting with fame and fortune that ultimately faded away...

The author of this fascinating memoir is the harmonica-playing half of Satan and Adam, a raw-sounding, energetic blues duo whose music throbs with the vitality of the Harlem street corner where they began their unlikely journey 13 years ago. Satan, a.k.a. Sterling Magee, is the guitar-shredding, percussion-pounding, streetwise “master” with whom the Ivy League blues wannabe serves his apprenticeship, and it is those pages in which their association (and sometime sunderings) are detailed that are the most compelling. Central to this pairing is Gussow’s angst about being a white man in Harlem, especially during the racially tense summer of 1989. Gussow viewed what they did “as principled opposition to antagonism,” and-with few exceptions-he passersby, i.e., their audience, felt the same. Comments like “It’s good to see y’all getting it together. Pepper and salt” and “He plays harder when you come down” did a lot to buoy Gussow’s spirits.

Gussow’s memoir is in large part a coming-of-age story with the protagonist looking for musical and sexual outlets in, respectively, Greenwich Village clubs-where he tries out his stock of blue licks gleaned from records-and (mainly) at Columbia where he was an English major. The book seesaws between such humdrum issues as, is he going to get laid, is he going to amount to anything-well, we know the answer to that-and fiery accounts of blowing with Mister Satan and becoming a “blues-playing, money-making organism, one harshly sweet flailing thing doing what it did best; Outdoors, under the open sky.” After four and one-half years of blasting the blues on the corner of 125th St. and 7th Ave., they get a CD out (1991’s Harlem Blues on Flying Fish Records) and begin a slow crawl up the ladder of success: touring Europe with Bo Diddley; the cover of Living Blues, numerous festivals here and abroad, two more CDs; yet, as Gussow recounts in his Epilogue: “Minor celebrity beckoned, then faded.”

What doesn’t fade after reading the book is Mister Satan’s powerful presence, his hard-won, straightforward philosophy. On religion (in reaction to a pair of nearby evangelists): “All that love-your-neighbor bullcrap ain’t done a damn thing but drive Christians around the world to start wars and tear the mess up! And for what? Love your neighbor? Hell, if you got to ‘kill’ me to ‘love’ me you might as well go on and hate my ass!” On blues (after observing that rap is just “misery and complaint”): “Our music ain’t about complaining ‘no’ kind of way. People got the blues-thing all wrong, talking about ‘My baby left me’ and all that mess. Hell, if you treated her right, with respect and admiration, she ain’t ‘gonna’ leave you for no other man.” Respect and admiration. The subtext of Gussow’s memoir is that those qualities would help heal humankind’s rift.
It should also be noted that this book was one case in which the audio version (unabridged of course). Definitely adds something extra to the experience and not only read by the author. Mr. Gussow himself, but he also plays harmonica during the reading. So I figure listeners and auditory taste of what being a real buster a.k.a. Street musician actually sounds like the audio segments. Only serve to further enhance the story, by allowing the reader (or should I say listener) to be further absorbed into Mr. Gussow’s busking world. This book is a must read for any serious blues aficionado, harmonica player or just simply someone looking for a unique and intriguing coming-of-age story.

As always, agents, thank you for attending the briefing. And remember "reading his recreation for intelligence."

·  Hardcover: 402 pages

·  Publisher: Pantheon; 1st edition (October 13, 1998)

·  Language: English

·  ISBN-10: 067945022X

·  ISBN-13: 978-0679450221

Amazon Kindle price $9.99, hardcover (available from third-party vendors. Prices vary depending on condition), paperback, $17.03, audio book downloadable file. $23.95 (or free with Amazon audible membership)

https://www.amazon.com/Mister-Satans-Apprentice-Blues-Memoir/dp/B015P2941I/ref=tmm_aud_title_sr?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=