Troy Brenningmeyer with Reggie Thomas Jazz Band 4-29-25

[Bruce Roger]

This presentation begins with a lecture by historian John Troutman, pedal steeler and author of both Indian Blues: American Indians and the Politics of Music, 1879–1934 (2012) and the award-winning Kika Kila: How the Steel Guitar Changed the Sound of Modern Music (2016).

John explains how the Native Americans, who picked up brass band instruments in the government schools, contributed to early jazz — including Louis Armstrong’s band.

His history of Hawaiian steel guitar, and its influence on black blues musicians, includes a 1923 recording of Steel Guitar Rag by Sylvester Weaver that sounds pretty much like Leon’s version, including the bridge, that came a decade later. He shows how Sol Ho’opi’i, mimicked jazz horn lines, promoted the National Tricone, as well as helping to fund the struggling National Steel Guitar Co. It ends with a clip of Chuck Berry playing pedal steel in Hail Hail Rock and Roll, filmed at the Fox in St. Louis (1987).

The musical portion is led by jazz pianist Reggie Thomas, including his wife, vocalist Mardra, and his former pupil, lap steel guitarist Troy Brenningmeyer, in an hour long set.

Reggie and Mardra, long time fixtures in the St. Louis jazz scene, relocated to Chicago about 15 years ago.

Although Troy started the set on his Tele, this concert demonstrates his lap steel skills playing several genres of 20th century music.

Troy played a great steel solo on Statesboro Blues, after Jesse Ed Davis’s slide guitar work with Taj Majal, and a haunting steel solo on Fine and Mellow, one of Billie Holiday’s signature blues. Troy then later took the lead on a swinging C6-style Hula Blues. Troy’s penultimate piece was a raucous Stevie Ray-style Tele interpretation of a piece by Indigenous, a 90s era Native American blues rock group. His final piece returned to the haunting sounds of a solo on Fade to Blue.

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