Harmonica Bench

I received an email from my friend Colin Parratt asking if I knew anything about a bench which his friend Martin had come across. I had to confess it didn’t know anything about it so he sent Martin’s photo to me. Martin lives in Folkestone (UK) and was the drummer in the barn dance band Colin used to play in.

The image looked like a bench based on a 7 hole harmonica. Across the back of the seat there is an inscription “Where Souls Meet”. The back of the bench was a strange shape so I decided to find out more about it.

There was an inscription on the side of the bench so I asked Colin to send me a picture of it so we could see what it said.

When I received Colin’s photo things became clearer. The plaque on the side read,

In memory of Arikę 

Musician, visual artist, teacher, therapist, inspirational blues harp player, father, grandfather and a proud black man.

At the bottom of the plaque was a QR code and when I scanned it it revealed a website – https://originsuntold.com

The website belongs to a charity, Origins Untold, a volunteer arts organisation presenting music, poetry, visual arts, fashion and food inspired and created by people of the African diaspora.

The website shows an event was held 12th June 2022, the second anniversary of Arike‘s death, to unveil.
a Blues Harp bench, designed by Pete Phillips and made by Cut Once Woodworks. The group walked from the Bandstand on the Leas in Folkestone, down the Zig Zag path to the Lower Coastal Park, where the bench is situated.

Origins Untold was founded in 2015 by the late, great Arike (aka Stan Grant), who sadly passed away on 12 June 2020 after a tragic accident.

Arike’s vision for the organisation was to broaden and change the conversation about race and about members of the African diaspora. To honour this, it is committed to breaking stereotypes, making unseen connections and unearthing buried histories, acknowledging the contributions that Black people have made to the history of this region and to its present.


In memory of Arikẹ, founder of Origins Ontold1949-2020

“Whatever a Black man can do to remind himself that he is fully human, to do it and to keep doing it… I don’t think we need to do more than that…it is just to remind ourselves that we are fully human.”

Arikẹ, 2020

(from the Origins Untold website)


Links

A conversation with Tommy Morgan by Phil Hopkins.

Phil Hopkins wrote this for me in 2010 when I was Editor of Harmonica World. He is a chromatic harmonica player when he is not the percussionist for London stage orchestras.

Here he is with Tommy Morgan in California in 2010.

The name of Tommy Morgan, Hollywood’s favourite harmonica player, is assured of a prominent place in any history of the instrument’s development. Morgan’s extraordinary career, during which he has racked up more than 7000 recording sessions for entertainment industry bluebloods such as The Beach Boys, The Carpenters, John Barry, Randy Newman, John Williams, Barbara Streisand and James Taylor, to name but a few, is still going strong – and recently passed a significant milestone. For September 2010 witnessed the 60th anniversary of Morgan’s session career, commencing with a recording for the Andrews Sisters in 1950 and recently seeing him booked in the studio for sessions for projects such as the film “Toy Story 3” and a new Barry Manilow album. And he still keeps busy with live classical engagements with the world-renowned LA Philharmonic.

I personally experienced the Tommy Morgan sound as a part of the soundtrack to my formative years as a youngster growing up in the 70s, even though at that stage I didn’t know the name of the man who was behind it. The mournful intro to “Rainy Days And Mondays”, the funk/C&W fusion of the Rockford Files theme, the spooky middle section of “Good Vibrations” (borrowed from my elder brother’s record collection) – all were manifestations of the master harmonicist at work in different disguises. But it was only when I heard John Barry’s orchestral album “The Beyondness Of Things” in 1998, with Morgan prominently credited for some gorgeous solos, that I connected the name of Tommy Morgan to the harmonica work which I had enjoyed for many years hitherto (via information on Morgan’s website). And for me as a harmonica student, Tommy’s sound on “Beyondness” soon became a reference work, a template of how the harmonica at its best could sound. Forget about whether it was chromatic or diatonic (actually mostly chromatic, with a little diatonic on “Dance With Reality”), this was an amazing harmonica sound, rich, full, controlled and completely attuned to the lush orchestrations which surrounded it.

What did it take, I wondered as the years passed, to develop a sound and a career to this level? Then in October 2010 I found myself passing through Tommy Morgan’s home city of Los Angeles and was lucky enough to find the man himself in town, graciously agreeing to spend a morning explaining to me and Harmonica World readers how it all came together.

“People call me a legend,” he says, settling into a chair in my hotel room – before modestly adding, “which means I’m old.” But I am soon to learn that this particular “legend” was erected on a bedrock of sheer old-fashioned graft. “When I was 26 I realised that I didn’t like my sound,” he explains. Although everyone else seemed satisfied with it – Morgan had already been a soloist with the US Airforce Band and had worked studio sessions along with guesting on the top-rated Ed Sullivan Show – he wanted to attain the sound he heard in his mind’s ear. “I had weaknesses. I hadn’t gone through the pedagogy that other instrumentalists go through to play in orchestras. So I started on the Rubank flute book. It’s still around. I spent several hours a day for 6 years, while also working dates. I started with the first page and didn’t skip any exercises, I played them all. I now have a stack of sight-reading two feet high. Then when I got to a level where I thought I was getting better, I would spend a week in A Major. Then a week in B Flat.”

I mention that I dislike A Major. It’s a sharp key and tricky for chromatic players. “You’ve got to like A Major,” Morgan cautions. “I just finished an album with Gregg Nestor the classical guitarist where every piece bar one is in a sharp key. I play in D as comfortably as I do in any key. I’m as prepared as anyone who’s been through a European Conservatoire. I stuck with the flute and oboe tutors. Clarinets get a little too arpeggiated.” He chuckles. “If you want to be humbled, go get a clarinet book.”

But how to get that big, rich sound? “I practised long tones. Just like wind players do at music college. The note has to be in tune, and the tone mustn’t waver. It’s not easy.” He spots a harmonica in my room and asks me to play a scale. “That’s good but you don’t play every note in tune.” He asks to borrow the instrument and plays a single G, hole number 3, which starts imperceptibly, builds to a crescendo and dies away. The pitch is perfect, the sound fills the room. Then he demonstrates a Bb scale at breakneck speed to show that, at age 77, the technique is as strong as ever.

I find Morgan direct, but not intimidating. He likes to communicate clearly, and he is generous with information. “When I was sixteen or seventeen I studied with Jerry Adler, Larry’s brother. Jerry was a superb ballad player, he opened my eyes to what could be done. It wasn’t so much totally improvised jazz solo as an interpretation. It was more like, here’s the tune….and second time around he’d add and subtract things. And now when I give a lesson I sit close to the student, and we play. The best way to learn from someone is close-up. Without equalization or effects.”

Morgan adds that the hours spent listening to playbacks in the studio have been essential in building his sound.

“Hearing your sound back in the studio is the best way of developing it. I have heard myself more than any other harmonica player. You don’t hear yourself when you play alone. Most students I have play introspectively. They don’t project, they play with their heads down and slump a little bit. If I were teaching you today we’d go into a corner with hard surfaces where the sound bounces back in your ear. When there was a lot of studio work I’d hear myself daily…you’d hear a solo back and change a little bit here. This sounds good…but this is a little better.”

Another key to the Tommy Morgan sound is the area where the sound is actually produced, the contact zone between player and instrument. Morgan favours the square hole found on the classic Hohner 270 chromatic. “There’s more area than the round hole,” he confides. “And there is nothing on the inside of my mouth that covers the square. When I’m tongue-blocking, which I mostly use for chromatic, the right side of my tongue is flat. When I’m giving a lesson we both face the mirror with mouthpieces and you’ll see on mine that there is nothing covering the edge.”

Did he consciously set out to flatten the right edge of his tongue?

“I played for so long not liking the sound that I gradually improved the embouchure. As I uncovered a bit more hole it became a more open sound. I get the full air passage. I proved you can make a square mouth.” He raises an eyebrow ironically. “I have lived the harmonica, believe me. I didn’t take anything for granted, and I have tried a lot of things. But I didn’t set out to make a square mouth. I set out to make a good tone.”

This, I realise, is at the core of what Morgan is about. A relentless and restless desire to make better music. And at this point it comes as no surprise to hear that serving the music is the end result, not showcasing the harmonica. When I mention how much I enjoyed a little bend Tommy played on a solo on the James Taylor album “October Road”, he smiles. “That worked for James’ album. And I never forgot whose album it was. I played that way to enhance James’ album, not to make me stand out. You’re listening and then fitting in – how do you fit in to the overall picture? That’s the main question.”

And the ability to fit into a musical score, whether classical or pop, labelled Morgan as a team-player, embraced by the Hollywood session world.

“It’s all about blending. I did seven years of the Waltons, playing with probably the finest woodwind section in the world. Flute, oboe and clarinet all have different vibrato and I matched my sound to theirs. I took a lot of care over tuning. When you blow the harmonica hard it goes a little flat. I developed a very pure sound where I don’t cut off too many vibrations [cycles per second] but I also beat the problem by carrying chromatics tuned to 441, 442, 443 and 444 kHz. My diatonics are blues and equal-tempered [one is better for chords, the other for individual melodies].”

In case this all sounds very cosy, it should be remembered that Morgan did not walk into a ready-made studio career. “When I started, the job didn’t exist in Hollywood. George Fields had done some good things in the studios, but to be able to play full-time did not exist as a possibility. Then I did a session for Jerry Goldsmith. Goldsmith said, “You read pretty well. I’m going to write you like a third clarinet. Instead of having two harmonica solos, we’ll have you come in and play nine cues.” And when people found I could read pretty well, they started to use me. On one occasion, a composer asked Eddy Manson to play a melody up a third. It didn’t work out, but I was there and because of my training I was able to do it. And after that one thing led to another.”

Morgan sees preparation as a vital component in his success. “I played piano when I was young, plus some guitar. When I got out of the service I could see the nightclub and theatre industry was dying. My folks suggested I go back to school, so I did. I was studying for my masters degree in music, writing up my thesis, when I started getting called for sessions. And that’s when I thought, “This is what I want to do. Recording.” And I’ve used my experience as an orchestrator to interpret, or interpolate, a part. Interpolation is when I try to work out the effect a composer is trying to get, and then try to improve it. Sometimes I won’t even tell him what I’ve done. As an example, if I got asked to play a trill from D# to E [difficult on chromatic], I’ll do it on an E harmonica. Then the trill sounds much better….it kind of floats more. But I never tell anybody what I’m doing. Another player will work with the same composer and say it’s impossible. Then the composer will say “Well, Morgan did it.” I carry 45 pounds of harmonicas, all the chromatics and diatonics. So I can do stuff that nobody else can because nobody else has figured out how to do it.” Morgan shrugs and smiles nonchalantly, seemingly at ease with divulging these tricks of the trade.

But working for John Barry didn’t require a huge stack of harmonicas, just the ability to convert Barry’s melodicism onto tape as purely as possible. Tommy is unstinting in his praise for Barry. “John can say more with a unison string line than most people can with a full orchestra. John has a melodic sense that is incredible and he writes great harmonica. Take “Dances With Wolves”…people say to me, I know your sound from “Dances”. And do you know how many cues I played for “Dances”? One. It’s so poignant, and so correctly used. I played a 2 minute 15 second cue and people remember my sound. Two takes. Twenty minutes. That was it. “That’s gorgeous”, said John. “You can go home.””

I ask about the tricky F to F octave leap from hole 2 (draw) to hole 6 (draw) on the “Dances” theme. Morgan explains the use of portamento, the classical violinist’s technique of leaning up to an expressivo high note. “It’s not quite a bend, you just lean up to and into the note,” Tommy explains, singing the phrase by way of explanation. But he is quick to add that technique, while important, is just the means of achieving musical communication and not an end in itself. He says, “I get asked “Which way do you practise C major? Which holes do you play going up, and which coming down? And I reply that I practise it every way. I worked on several different slide/hole combinations for a passage in “Ritual Fire Dance” before deciding on the best one. Which was not the easiest one to play – but was the one which sounded best. And my answer to every technical question is “What does it sound like?”

I realise that Tommy has sung several musical examples during our conversation. I quiz him on this. “I’ve been a choir director for 25 years [amongst his other achievements – Morgan is also a qualified glider pilot, a black-belt Hapiko Karate expert and has an accountancy qualification]. I pattern my playing on vocals,” he confides. “My vibrato is similar to a vocalist – I establish the sound and then add vibrato afterwards. If you can’t sing what you’re trying to do – and it doesn’t matter how good or bad your voice is – then you can’t play it. And whatever style of music you are playing, I would recommend you go to the source for your inspiration. If you want to play blues harp, don’t just listen to the players – although there are some amazing ones, like Howard Levy and Jason Ricci. Listen to BB King. And I would suggest to a jazz clarinettist to listen to Toots. As a friend of mine once said, Toots would have been a giant on any instrument he chose to play. But while I have studied the way oboe, flute and clarinet players produce a sound, I pattern my own sound on the human voice.”

Perhaps it is that very vocal quality of Tommy Morgan’s sound which explains why it has communicated its message so unerringly to so many people for so many years.

I ask Morgan to help me summarise his contribution (and by extension the harmonica’s) to the Hollywood industry in the 500-plus movies his playing has graced. “I was an extra dimension for composers,” he explains. “Another colour in the sound palette. I lived at the right time and I had the opportunity. But I worked for it.”

Morgan feels that his playing is best represented away from the commercial world, on his discs Classics Lite 1 and 2. “The weird thing is, you spend 20 minutes on something like the theme from “The Rockford Files” and you are judged on it for the rest of your life. But I think the Classics Lite albums represent the full range of my playing.”

You can see and order Tommy’s solo CDs here

There are more examples of Tommy Morgan’s playing on my Tribute Page 

Here is Phil Hopkins home page

Steve Jennings – Feb 1954 to Nov 2019 – a tribute

With contributions from Steve’s wife Josie, and his friends – Tom Hunter, Steve Jones, Rowena Millar, Johnny Mars, ‘Pip’ Rowland, and Paul Gillings.

Harmonica World

Stephen John Jennings or ‘Steve’ as he was universally known was one of the small group of volunteers who are responsible for the survival and success of the National Harmonica League (NHL) as we know it.

He joined the NHL in 1986, a few years after it separated from Hohner in 1981. Steve first started writing blues harp reviews for Harmonica World early in 1987 and by December that year he was editing the magazine, which he did until 1995. He was back on the committee as treasurer from 1998 to 2003 before stepping down to qualify as a Reader in his local Anglican church.

He attended NHL festivals in Bristol, with his wife Josie, as long as his deteriorating health would allow. He would talk long into the night, sitting on a stool in the hotel lounge.

———————————————————

Steve was born in London and attended Whitgift School in Croydon where he developed the sense of civic responsibility which he maintained all his life. In his early 20s, he enrolled at Rose Bruford College in London and gained a BA in Theatre Arts.

Steve, Josie and David
Steve, Josie and David

Steve was a musical child and played organ in church but blues harp became his chosen instrument in his twenties. London had lots of harp driven bands at that time and Steve was a regular at pub gigs by Shakey Vic, Johnny Mars and Lee Brilleaux of Dr. Feelgood. He was a fast learner and gained valuable experience playing with them and other harp players like Steve Baker, Paul Rowan and Alan Glen.

By now Steve was married with a son and working as a systems analyst. He had joined the NHL and wanted to share his enthusiasm and knowledge. Becoming editor in 1987 gave him a great opportunity to do this and he transformed the magazine. Living in London gave him great access to visiting players and he interviewed many of them.

In autumn1991 he took a new job with Travis Perkins near Northampton and moved with his family to Rothersthorpe. Harmonica players were always welcome there. He remained as editor until 1995.

Steve learned chromatic and performed in a duo with his wife, Josie, who played a vineta (small chord). Over the years he regularly acted as a competition judge and organiser.

Following the retirement of Hohner’s harmonica technician, Willi Dannecker, Steve taught himself to maintain and repair harmonicas and carried out work for many top players, including Les Henry (Cedric) from The Three Monarchs. Steve also made and sold custom harmonica cases.

Sharp Dressed Man

In the early1990s Steve helped to teach blues to the Harp Start Children’s program in Great Yarmouth and developed the Blue Saturday events with Norman Ives and David Priestley, which enabled many players to improve their knowledge and performance of blues music. The workshops usually ended with a jam session with Steve’s blues band, Straight Eight, with guitarist Eric Sweetland (Tom Hunter) or Double or Quits with Dave Arrowsmith on guitar. When he performed, Steve was always smartly and snappily dressed and, unusually for a musician, punctual to a tee.

In addition to the Blue Saturday event, Steve produced a series of Blues Harp Breakdown cassette tapes under the name “Sonny Jay” each of which was dedicated to teaching a well-known instrumental like “Easy” by Walter Horton. He also produced some cassettes of backing and play-along tracks.

In 1991 he wrote a book with his friend Ken Howell for advanced players of the chromatic and blues harp called The Practical Harmonica Player. Its objective was to increase fluency in all keys.

He wrote a couple of books of Blues and R&B music arranged for harmonica which were published by Wise Publications (Music Sales) as well as a tuition book for beginners. The demands for a TAB version of the sheet music in books led Steve and Pat Missin to develop and publish SuperTAB. It is an attempt to bring some order to the way TAB is being constantly being reinvented by everyone. You can find more about SuperTAB here.

http://www.harmonica.co.uk/supertab.htm

In the 1990s Steve was part of an attempt to develop a process to assess the ability of harmonica teachers – HTAB (Harmonica Teacher Accreditation Board). Unfortunately the project was never completed.

Steve was very interested in the chord harmonica family of instruments and about 10 years ago he wrote a detailed article about the history and development of the many types of chord instruments, which was published in the April/May and Oct/Nov 2012 issues of Harmonica World.

Even as his health was failing, Steve continued to play as a duo, The Junkyard Crew, with Bob Coombs on guitar.

Steve had lots of experience and memories of the history of the harmonica. At the time of his death I was digitising his favourite VHS tape of the NHL festival concert in Shirley, Birmingham, in 1988.

Steve the Reader

One of the last things Steve did was to apply to Sarum College, Salisbury, to study for an MA in Christian Liturgy. It has just been awarded to him, posthumously. Steve got the funeral he wanted. In addition to the church hymns and plainsong, the service included Hoochie Coocjie Man by Muddy Waters, Down at the Doctors by Dr Feelgood and Free as a Bird by John Lennon.

Steve got the funeral he wanted. In addition to the church hymns and plainsong, the service included Hoochie Coochie Man by Muddy Waters, Down at the Doctors by Dr Feelgood and Free as a Bird by John Lennon.

When God made Steve he threw away the mould. He was an educated and determined man with an impish sense of humour who gave strength and support to the NHL for over 30 years, for which we are very grateful. I will miss his enthusiasm and support.

HarpTalk Tumblr Blog

I stepped down as editor of Harmonica World magazine after the August 2019 issue and I decided to do the simple blog I never seemed to have time to do before .

I used to use the blog to announce when the new magazine was being mailed out. Now I want to make it more of a diary where I can share bits of research or news.

Your can check it out here – https://harptalk.tumblr.com/

Tommy Reilly – A Life in Music – Vintage Tommy Reilly.

This is an extended version of the review that was published in the Aug/Sept 2019 issue of Harmonica World.

Cover from Tommy Reilly CD

Tommy Reilly – A Life in Music – Vintage Tommy Reilly.
Chandos CD2014
3 – CD Review by Cheng Jang Ming

Tommy Reilly is widely recognised as the master of the chromatic harmonica. He was born 100 years ago and he died 19 years ago. This collection of tracks was selected and lovingly assembled by his son David and Sigmund Groven. They have also written the extensive CD booklet covering his life and music. It is a great tribute to a unique virtuoso and giant of the chromatic harmonica.

Tommy learned violin and harmonica as a schoolboy in Canada. He started touring Europe at the age of 17, playing chromatic harmonica after his family returned to live in London. He was arrested in Leipzig in 1939 where he was studying violin and he was held in internment camps in Germany and Poland for the whole of the Second World War. The camps contained many other musicians and the imprisonment gave him the chance to practice and develop his approach to the harmonica. Being a violinist, he based his techniques on the playing of his idol, the violinist Jascha Heifetz. Tommy had access to food parcels from the Canadian Red Cross and he exchanged the coffee he received with a prison officer for Hohner harmonicas, a very precious instrument at that time. He managed to keep his violin all through the war, but it was stolen on the flight back to Britain at the end of the war in 1945.

Once he was back in London, he began to build a career playing harmonica in music halls and on the BBC.

The tracks range from his first recording, Deep Purple, made on his return to England in 1945, to his early 78rpms, and unreleased and commercial recordings made up to 1980. All the tracks have been carefully restored to bring them up modern standards.

There are tracks from Tommy’s many appearances on BBC Radio in the 1950s where he played classical music and standards. These led to 78rpm recordings on Parlophone where he was one of George Martin’s first artists. Together they employed new techniques such as echo and overdubbing on tracks like Bop! goes the Weasel and Dinah.

Tommy was a violinist in his youth and much of the inspiration for his harmonica playing came from studying Jascha Heifetz, I believe that although his instrument is harmonica, he still thinks like a violinist. You can hear his violinist style at play in his versions of Scarlatti’s Sonata, Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen, Rachmaninoff’s Serenade, and in David Reilly’s Age of Innocence.

In fact, Zigeunerweisen is for advanced violinists, and in recent three decades several harmonica players have performed it in its entirety. But no matter how well they manage it, it always sounds to me like a tremendous effort from them. It would surprise many people that way back in 1953, Tommy Reilly had already conquered this song, not with great effort but with ease. He did it not by playing the entire work, but by picking the relevant parts. His version, rendered with impeccable ease, rhythm and vigour, truly sounds as fluid as a violin version.

Tommy’s own arrangements of El Cumbanchero, Jealousy, Begin the Beguine, The Breeze and I, are full of playfulness and ingenuity. These songs, in their original form, are rather easy ones for harmonica. But after being arranged by Tommy, they become advanced pieces for harmonica while still keeping their original lyrical flavours.

I first heard Gigue played by Tommy in one of his early videos. This is from Bach’s “Partita No. 3 in E major BWV 1006” for unaccompanied violin, a rather unusual piece to play on harmonica. The partita contains 6 pieces, the most famous one for harmonica players is Gavotte en Rondeau, made famous on harmonica by both Tommy Reilly and Larry Adler. They have their own arrangements (both transposed to key of C major). This Gigue is played by Tommy in the key of G major instead of the original E major. It is a very nice study piece for harmonica.

Voice from the Past, this is the first time I have heard this orchestra version. I really love this arrangement for harmonica accompanied by strings and guitar. It brings to me a deep sense of nostalgia. I couldn’t help it, I listened to it over and over again several times, as I consider this to be one of Tommy’s best performances.

I have the opportunity to listen to many old recordings of Tommy and also all his published CDs and many LPs. I actually prefer his vibrato from his early years, more intense, more violin-like. And this CD again confirms my feeling, because all tracks are from 1970 or earlier, except the last two.

The Red Flame is an original composition by Tommy. This song, and Hora Staccato, showcase his unmistakable throat staccato, so incredibly fast and yet distinctly clean. How on earth can anyone play throat staccato in octave at such high speed? He invented the Silver Concert harmonica only in 1967; I wonder how he could play so fluidly using those old 270 Super Chromonicas in the 1950s and 1960s.

Many of these recordings have not been easy to find in the past and I was pleased to be able to hear some old favourite again. The 30 tracks on this CD cover all the music styles Tommy is known for – classical pieces, popular music, Irish music, pieces written for harmonica, his own composition and arrangements and musical novelties.

This retrospective look back at Tommy’s recordings is a great introduction for anyone who is unfamiliar with his work, as well as providing some great listening for lovers of music everywhere.

In the CD booklet, Sigmund Groven provides very comprehensive background details on all the songs in this collection. Tommy’s son, David, also recalls his vivid memories of his father playing his harmonica. You will never regret reading their writings!

At £9.99, it is a real bargain. The tracks are available for streaming and as a download from Chandos .

You can hear Tommy speaking and playing in these interviews by the BBC.

Here is a musical tribute to Tommy Reilly

Harmonica Music sur Cher 2017

Harmonicas sur Cher is my favourite festival. Great location, great organisation, great music and great local support from the people of Saint Aignan. For three days, harmonicas can be heard on the streets, in the cafes, the church and the Salle des fete.

Saint Aignan is a small old town with narrow cobbled streets in the wine valley of the river Cher, near where it joins the Loire at Tours in Central France.

There are some small daytime events but the core of the festival is the three evening concerts in the Salle des fêtes. Each concert features two artists/bands and this blog features music from all of them. As usual at this festival, the range of music and harmonica styles is very wide. You can look for something that you like or, maybe, sit back and listen to some of the places the harmonica can take you. You might be surprised!

Thursday (Jeudi) 25 May. The concert was opened by the Zanella Trio who play acoustic jazz and world music featuring Jérôme Peyrelevade : diatonic harmonica, Gilles Zanella : guitar, and Cyril Cianciolo : bass. Jérôme’s latest CD is called Somewhere on the Edge of Timewww.jeromepeyrelevade.com. The track which is featured is Nadia’s Nights.

The concert was closed by Cory Seznec, a band playing a mix of blues, country and African music. Cory plays guitar and banjo and David Chalumeau is the featured harmonica player. Their latest CD is called Backroad Carnival www.coryseznec.com. The track which is featured is Sell You My Soul.

Friday (Vendredi) 26 May. The concert was opened by French Canadian harmonica player and storyteller, Gérald Laroche, who presented sound images to illustrate his stories. He used harmonicas, Celtic flute, Indian mouth bow, Jews Harp and percussion instruments to create a unique fusion of sound and speech. His latest CD is called Rubato: Stealing Timewww.geraldlaroche.com. The track which is featured is Last one to leave.

The concert was closed by jazz chromatic player, Will Galison, who performed a musical fantasy based on Homer’s story of Odysseus. He was accompanied by a jazz trio with the composer, Karim Maurice on piano and a small string section, la Cameratawww.willgalison.net. The track which is featured is Circe. The website for Karim Maurice’s Odysseus project is www.karimmaurice.com/enw-galison-k-maurice-la.

Saturday (Samedi) 27 May. The concert was opened by new group, Liouane, led by chromatic player, Thomas Laurent. The music included traditional compositions and music influenced by Eastern Mediterranean and Balkan music played on oud, clarinet, percussion, harmonica and double bass. Their latest CD is Liouanewww.coursharmonica.com. The track which is featured is From Bethlehem to Angers.

The concert and the festival was closed by Mountain Men, featuring Barefoot Iano on blues harmonica. They played their own mix of rock and roll and blues (with a touch of Madness) which had grandparents, parents and children dancing in the isles as the evening drew to a close. Their latest CD is Black Market Flowerswww.mountain-men.fr. The track which is featured is Still in the Race.

That was the end for 2017 but Christophe Minier will be back with another Harmonicas sur Cher festival in 2019.

If you want to see what the town and the festival looks like, here is a video I made at the festival in 2011. www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrWYRd8qI8Q


1 – Jérôme Peyrelevade – Nadia’s Nights – 00:00
2 – Cory Seznec – Sell You My Soul – 03:26
3 – Gérald Laroche – Last one to leave – 08:17
4 – Will Galison – Circe – 11:51
5 – Liouane – From Bethlehem to Angers – 19:03
6 – Mountain Men – Still in the Race – 24:20

Introduction to Blues on the Chromatic Harmonica by David Barrett

Here are some great examples of blues music played on the Chromatic Harmonica. They were put together by top educator and performer, David Barrett, who introduces each track, identifying the artist and indicating how it was played.

This playlist is taken from the third part of David’s series of articles about playing Blues Chromatic published in the NHL magazine, Harmonica World. David Barrett – www.bluesharmonica.com.

If you like what you hear, please press the “like” button and “share” it with your friends.

Over to you, David…

Introduction to Blues on the Chromatic Harmonica by David Barrett by The Archivist on Mixcloud

Track listing
1 – George “Harmonica” Smith – Blues in the Dark – 0:00
2 – George “Harmonica” Smith – Blues For Reverend King – 04:41
3 – George “Harmonica” Smith – Boogie’n with George – 09:45
4 – Little Walter – Fast Large One – 12:07
5 – Little Walter – Lights Out – 15:25
6 – Little Walter – Flying Saucer – 18:11
7 – William Clarke – Blowin’ Like Hell – 21:25
8 – Rod Piazza – Harpburn – 24:18
9 – Rick Estrin – Coastin’ Hank – 28:03
10 – Mark Hummel – Humble Bug – 34:38
11 – Paul deLay – Good Thing – 39:47
12 – Dennis Gruenling – Bluesmith – 44:45
13 – Mitch Kashmar – Crazy Mixed Up World – 55:00
14 – Gary Primich – The Briar Patch – 58:38
15 – Paul Oscher – Walkin’ – 63:10
16 – Steve Guyger – We’re Gonna Ride – 65:31
17 – Lynwood Slim – Oil Can Harry – 68:50
18 – Kim Wilson – Reel Eleven, Take One – 71:58
19 – Jean “Toots” Thielemans – Fundamental Frequency – 74:48
20 – Dave Barrett – Dark Night – 80:05

Discography
1) Blues in the Dark – (Blues Masters The Essential Collection, V4 Harmonica Classics, Rhino
2) Blues For Reverend King -(West Coast Down Home Harmonica, El Segundo
3) Boogie’n with George – (Now You Can Talk About Me, Blind Pig
4) Fast Large One – (The Essential Little Walter [Disc 1], Chess), C Chro in 3rd (D)
5) Lights Out -(Confessin’ the Blues, Chess)
6) Flying Saucer – (Blues With A Feelin’, Chess)
7) Blowin’ Like Hell – William Clarke (Blowin’ Like Hell, Alligator)
8) Harpburn – Rod Piazza (Harp Burn, Black Top)
9) Coastin’ Hank – Rick Estrin (That’s Big, Alligator)
10) Humble Bug – Mark Hummel (Harmonica Party, Mountain Top)
11) Good Thing – Paul deLay (The Last Of The Best, Criminal Records)
12) Bluesmith – Dennis Gruenling (History Of The Blues Harmonica Concert, Backbender)
13) Crazy Mixed Up World – Mitch Kashmar (Crazy Mixed Up World, Thumbs Up!!)
14) The Briar Patch – Gary Primich (Company Man, Black Top)
15) Walkin’ – Paul Oscher (Alone With The Blues, Electro-Fi)
16) We’re Gonna Ride – Steve Guyger (Past Life Blues, Severn)
17) Oil Can Harry – Lynwood Slim (Too Small To Dance, Big Rhythm Combo, Pacific Blues)
18) Reel Eleven, Take One – Kim Wilson (Tigerman, Antone’s)
19) Frequency by Jean “Toots” Thielemans (Legends Of Harmonica, Rhino
20) Dark Night -0 David Barret (It Takes Three)

Blues Harps at Christmas

Blues harmonica players and their bands performing songs about Christmas. Carey Bell, Paul Oscher, Paul Butterfield, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Little Charlie and the Nightcats, G Love, Sonny Boy Williamson, Canned Heat, Richard Sleigh, Eddie C Campbell, Mark Doyle and the Maniacs.

Track listing for Blues Harp at Christmas.

1 – Carey Bell – Christmas Train -0 0:00
2 – Paul Oscher – Christmas Blues – 03:35
3 – Paul Butterfield – Merry Christmas Baby – 07:58
4 – Sonny Boy Williamson II – Christmas Blues – 10:51
5 – Little Charlie – Christmas Time Again – 13:26
6 – G Love – Christmas Blues#2 – 16:39
7 – Sonny Boy Williamson – Christmas Morning Blues – 21:55
8 – Canned Heat – Christmas Blues – 25:18
9 – Richard Sleigh – Jingle Bells – 27:53
10 – Eddie C Campbell – Santa’s Messin’ With The Kid – 30:41
11 – Mark Doyle and the Maniacs – Merry Christmas Baby – 34:01

Rare Early Solo Instrumental Blues Harp Recordings introduced by Joe Filisko.

Sit back and listen to Joe Filisko introducing 31 solo harmonica recordings from the 1920-30s. The recordings include many examples of train imitations, fox chases and early blues tunes. Joe mentions which harp and key he thinks is the correct one so maybe you will be inspired to play along. Part 2 is now available here – Rare Early Blues Harp Recordings by Singers and Sidemen introduced by Joe Filisko.

You may have heard of some of the performers but there will probably be others that are new to you. Most of the recordings are from rare 78rpm shellac records, so be ready for the surface noise. In most cases there are no master recordings and for some of the performances only one or two 78s are known to have survived intact.

This video is dedicated to Joe Filisko for sharing his awesome knowledge of the early blues harmonica players and the techniques they developed to play the instrument, and also to Ben Hewlett for contacting me when the recording had been taken offline and explaining how valuable this resource is for teaching blues harmonica. This is an updated version as a video with subtitles to help people with difficulties in understanding the speech.

Over to Joe…

Rare Early Solo Instrumental Blues Harp Recordings introduced by Joe Filisko.
Introduction , Joe Filisko, 0:00
1 Cracker Cops , Sonny Terry, 0:30
2 McAbee’s Railroad Piece , Palmer McAbee, 4:15
3 Fox Chase , DeFord Bailey, 8:00
4 Middling Blues , George “Bullet” Williams, 11:30
5 Fast Train , Lonnie Glosson , 15:00
6 Rain Crow Bill Blues , Henry Whitter : 19:00
7 Train , Salty Holmes , 22:40
8 Red Pig , Kyle Wooten , 22:20
9 Train Imitations and the Fox Chase , William McCoy , 28:15
10 Up Country Blues , DeFord Bailey , 32:24
11 The Fox Chase , Wayne Raney , 36:21
12 Frisco Leaving Birmingham #3 , George “Bullet” Williams , 39:15
13 Mocking the Dogs , Edward Hazelton , 42:55
14 The Fox end the Hounds , Roger Mathis , 44:30
15 The Alcoholic Blues , DeFord Bailey , 47:4616
16 Mama Blues , William McCoy , 50:30
17 Train and Model-T Race , Curly Fox , 54:45
18 The Old Time Fox Chase , Henry Whitter , 57:40
19 Riding the Blinds , Eddie Mapp , 60:40
20 Dixie Flyer Blues , DeFord Bailey , 64:40
21 C & N.W Blues , D.H Bert Bilbro , 68:25
22 Fox Chase , Salty Holmes, 72:30
23 Devil in the Woodpile , Noah Lewis, 74:20
24 Lost John , Lonnie Glosson , 77:50
25 Pan-American Blues , DeFord Bailey , 81:35
26 Lost John , Walter “Red” Parham , 85:15
27 Mocking the Train , Edward Hazelton , 87:05
28 Lost John , Oliver Sims , 88:25
29 Muscle Shoals Blues , DeFord Bailey , 92:15
30 When the Saints Go Marching In , Jesse Stroller, 95:55
31 Poor Little June Bug , Sonny Terry , 97.15

You can buy the original double CD without Joe’s added information from – Bluebeat Music

Joe Filisko’s web site

Ben Hewlett’s web site