Category: Playlist

Post with harmonica music content of different styles and instruments such as chromatic, tremolo, blues harp and chord, bass and harmonetta in groups.

Christmas Music played by top harmonica players

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Harmonica players of all styles have recorded many great renditions of seasonal Christmas music. Here are some collections of music played on many types of harmonica.

Chromatic Harmonicas at Christmas – Seasonal Christmas music played by chromatic harmonica artists. Robert Bonfiglio, Sigmund Groven, Chris Bauer, Tommy Morgan, Jacob Venndt, Tommy Reilly and Charlie McCoy.

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.

Harmonica Groups at Christmas – Seasonal Christmas music played by Harmonica Groups – chromatic, chord and bass harmonicas – The Harmonica Men, The New Don Les Harmonicats, Harmonicas International (James Hughes/Rob Janssen), Chris Bauer, Charlie McCoy and Pete Pedersen.

Jazzy Harmonica Arrangements at Christmas – Arrangements of Seasonal Christmas Music featuring harmonica players, Toots Thielemans, Jason Keene, Stevie Wonder, Tommy Morgan, Norton Buffalo, Rob Paparozzi, Tollack Ollestad and Chris Bauer.

Harmonica Christmas Stocking Fillers – This extra Collection is made up of contributions sent in by artists like Will Galison, Madcat Ruth, Mike Caldwell, A J Fedor… and recordings that did not quite make it into the earlier Collections. As the title suggests, it covers many styles and even a bit of tremolo. It should have a few surprises just like a Christmas stocking for a harmonica lover. Stay with it to the end – variety is the spice of life.

Pre Harmonica Blues

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I met up with some friends in Ealing, West London, last week for a post-Covid meeting of Vinyl Addicts Anonymous. After a nice lunch in the Kings Arms we wandered down to the Oxfam Charity Shop, which specialises in second hand music recordings and books. We wanted to test our ability to fight the temptation to buy more vinyl and failed miserably. My wife tries to enforce a strict “one out, one in“” policy but when I saw the new box full of records from a collector of traditional jazz (mainly British) my resistance crumbled. I resisted buying over 20 recordings including 78rpm discs by Bessie Smith and Mead Lux Lewis but could not resist 4 10″ LPs which were a part of my music education in the mid 1950s.

The first was “King Joe” (Columbia 33S 1065) by the King Oliver Band (1923) with a young Louis Armstrong on cornet. Great blues tunes like “Dippermouth Blues” but unfortunately not “Canal Street Blues“, the two sides of one of my early 78s.

Dippermouth Blues

The second was a solo piano recording by Jelly Roll Morton (1939) on Vogue L.D.E 080. One of the founders of jazz, he recorded many tracks by his band “Jelly Roll Morton and his Red Hot Peppers“. Here he shows the range of his own compositions including blues. He was ill when these recordings were made for the Library of Congress and he died two years later.

Mamie’s Blues

Josh White was thought by serious blues collectors to be unauthentic but his more sophisticated vocal and guitar style was more appreciated by mainstream British listeners. This collection “Josh White – Ballads and Blues” (Brunswick LA 8562) was recorded in 1949 and released in Britain in 1952 also features a track with Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee.

Sometimes

The final 10″ LP was “New Orleans Joys” by the new Chris Barber Jazz Band, with Pat Halcox on trumpet. It was issued in 1954 and it contains two tracks by the Lonnie Donegan Skiffle Group – Rock Island Line and John Henry. Lonnie was the band’s banjo player and they played during the band’s concerts. Trad Jazz had taken off and the Skiffle boom was about to start.

Chimes Blues

This is where harmonica starts to come into my story. You can read more about this in my blog about Cyril Davies


Harmonica Christmas Stocking Fillers

Archie

This extra Collection is made up of contributions sent in by artists like Will Galison, Madcat Ruth, Mike Caldwell, A J Fedor… and recordings that did not quite make it into the earlier Collections. As the title suggests, it covers many styles and even a bit of tremolo. It should have a few surprises just like a Christmas stocking for a harmonica lover. Stay with it to the end – variety is the spice of life.

Here are links to the other four Collections of Christmas music:
Harmonica Groups
Chromatic Soloists
Jazzy Arrangements
Christmas Blues

1 – Madcat Ruth – Christmas Music – 00:00
2 – Will Galison – The Christmas Song – 01:01
2 – Tollak Ollestad – Christmas Time is Here – 04:30
3 – Uwe Warschkow – Stille Nacht – 08:14
4 – Mike Caldwell – We Three Kings – 10:57
5 – Carlos del Junco – Jingle Bells – 14:12
7 – Sigmund Groven – Gloria – 15:58
8 – Mike Caldwell – We Wish You a Merry Christmas – 19:07
9 – Bruce Kurnow – Silent Night – 21:36
9 – A J Fedor – Have Yourself a Merry, Merry Christmas – 25:30
10 – Mike Caldwell – Joy to The World – 29:15
11 – Rob Paparozzi – Up on the Rooftop – 31:56
12 – Will Galison – Ave Maria – 34:31
13 – Gemini – Jingle Bells – 38:31

Norman Ives’ Introduction to the Harmonica.

Archie

Norman Ives died in 2015. This collection is from the wide range of blues, rock, ballads, country, and international harmonica music which he sold on cassettes in the 1990s. These tapes introduced me, and many others, to the potential of the harmonica.

This is a tribute to Norman, who introduces the first track. He had run an important mail order harmonica business in Caistor, Norfolk, UK, since the 1980s.

Norman Ives’ Introduction to the Harmonica by The Archivist on Mixcloud

1 – Intro – Norman Ives – 0:00
2 – Harmonicats – Peg O’My Heart – 00:23
3 – Rory McLeod – Bansheesh Dance – 02:28
4 – Charlie Musselwhite – Hard Times – 07:32
5 – Fingers Taylor – Harpoon Man – 11:18
6 – Rowland Van Straaten – Orientango – 14:52
7 – Charlie McCoy – Pots and Pans – 18:06
8 – Norton Buffalo- So Much To Say – 20:13
9 – Cajun – Indian On A Stump – 23:48
10 – J.J.Milteau – The Hook – 27:22
11 – Deford Bailey – Fox Chase – 29:54
12 – Little Walter – Quarter to 12 – 31:15
13 – Paul Orta – Wailing at Weavers – 34:34
14 – Sonny Boy Williamson – Help Me – 37:52
15 – William Clarke – Blowing like Hell – 40:59
16 – Stagg McMann – Pinetop Boogie – 43:41
17 – Mox Gowland – Hollor For More – 46:41
18 – Sonny Terry – Change The Lock On  The Door 50:17
19 – Jim Darby – Snake Dance – 53:43
20 – Walter Horton & Carey Bell – Have Mercy – 57:17
21 – Lee Oskar – The Immigrant – 61:01
22 – Paul Lamb – Snake Skin Jump – 65:06
23 – Junior Wells – Messing  With The Kid  – 67:32
24 – Blues Birdhead – Mean How Blues – 71:08
25 – Don Les – Check to Cheek – 74:26
26 – John Hammond – Cat Man Blues – 77:28
27 – John Popper/Blues Travelers – But Anyway – 81:30
28 – Randy Charles – I’m so Lonesome I could cry – 85:37
29 – George Harmonica Smith – Situation Blues – 88:03
30 – Ted Roddy – Honky Tonk Rhythm – 91:37
31 – Michael Herblin – M’pyramid – 97:15
32 – Pete Madcat Ruth – Froggy Went a’Courting – 99:53
33 – J Geils Band – Wammer Jammer – 103:15

Old Harmonica Favourites – Part 1 – Quartets, Trios, Duos and Soloists

Archie

These popular harmonica group favourites from the 1940s and 50s are from a large collection of recordings assembled by John Bryan (1924-2014) who built up contacts and friendships around the world who exchanged music with him. This broadcast covers tracks from many groups and soloists. Some of the tunes are from the period of the musicians’ recording ban in the 1940s.  Harmonica players had not been allowed to join the Musicians’ Union and so were brought in to accompany singers.  As a result of their success harmonica players were finally admitted to the MU. See also Old Harmonica Favourites – Part 2.

1. POLKA DOTS – Intermezzo – 2:48
2. HARMONICATS – I love you – 2:34
3. PLEHAL BROTHERS – Saturday – 2:34
4. PLEHAL BROTHERS – Dalbacks – 2:27
5. DON RIPPS – Its a dew dew dewey day – 2:06
6. TOMMY REILLY – Family joke – 2:22
7. THE MULCAYS – Caravana – 2:15
8. LARRY ADLER – Sur le chein de Bahama – 2:35
9. TRIO HARMONIE – June night – 2:00
10. TRIO HARMONIE – Get up on the stairs – 2:39
11. MORTON FRAZER’S – Gang medley number one – 2:13
12. HILL BILLY’S TRIO – La danse des petite loups – V2:52
13. TOOTS THIELEMANS – The Sheik of Araby – 2:08
14. HARMONICA GENTLEMEN – In our old home town – 2:50
15. HARMONICA GENTLEMAN – Am I all of your future? – 2:30
16. HOTCHA TRIO – Goody goody – 2:47
17. CARL FREED – Ridin’ the reeds – 2:41
18. PHILARMONIC TRIO – Two o’clock boogie – 2:20
19. THE MADCAPS – Limehouse blues – 2:16
20. BORRAH MINEVITCH – Jamaican rumba – 2:34