She stuck with gospel, however, in spite of pressure to switch to popular blues tunes or the opera.

His fusion of folk music from different countries and eras blends Italian medieval melodies, acoustic blues tunes and British ballads.

Most of the songs in Mr. Brooks's set on Friday night started out as if they were standard 12-bar blues tunes but took different turns, like adding a bridge or stretching beyond 12 bars.

In the closing snippet, the two leaders chased each other around two Charlie Parker F major blues tunes played more or less simultaneously: "Now's the Time" and "Billie's Bounce."

The up-tempo blues tune was the Woody Herman Orchestra's biggest hit, as well as the most popular composition of either composer, selling a million records.

In 2005, he also released a solo album called Two Sides Of If, which features cover versions of his favourite blues tunes and one original blues song.

The most enduring country and blues tunes take a more cautiously realistic attitude.

Both groups play his own works, as well as his arrangements of classic blues tunes; the quartet also plays works by rock composers from Jimi Hendrix to John Cale.

His "Songs From Shakespeare" set some famous Shakespearean speeches as blues tunes and country songs.

Skip James's "22-20," one of three blues tunes arranged by Mr. Soldier, lost a great deal in the translation from steel-string guitar to bowed instruments.