Category: Tributes

A conversation with Tommy Morgan by Phil Hopkins.

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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

Art Daane – harmonica performer and collector

Archie
Art Daane Cartoon
Art Daane

Art M. Daane was born in Rotterdam, Holland, in 1934 and he died in Eindhoven, Holland on 23 January, 2021. He was 87. He had lived a full life with his family and he will be missed by the world wide harmonica community for the work he did to document the artists and music he loved. He produced an exceptional archive which he shared with other collectors.

Art started out playing chromatic harmonica but he moved to bass harmonica after hearing the 5 Hotchas. He played with many harmonica groups.

In the 1951 he moved to South Africa to work as a butcher. Art met a chromatic player, Vincent van Rooyen, and in 1954 they formed The Relda Trio. Art moved back to Holland in 1961. He continued to play, even during his six year stay in New Zealand.

In 1989 Art went to the Word Harmonica Festival in Trossingen, Germany where he was reunited with Vincent von Rooyen and many other harmonica friends. On his return to Helmond he started the Catstown Harmonica Club.

Art loved to teach and promote the harmonica and the people who play it. He spent a lot of time doing research and writing articles about them. With support from his friends he established a Harmonica Museum in The Netherlands, in 1999. Part of the collection is the “Harmonica Hall of Fame” collected by Art and ex-Harmonica Rascal Lou Delin. After the opening, Art restarted The Relda Trio again but this time with Art on chord.

Unfortunately his deep involvement in harmonica organisations like the IHO, led to visits to South Africa and various European countries to promote the harmonica and a visit to Singapore and Malaysia, so he resigned from the trio in March 2002. More visits to South Africa followed to set up a harmonica school and he reformed the original Relda Trio from the 50’s with Vincent van Rooyen to record one of Vincent’s own compositions “Wineland Seties” for Art’s CD project in Holland. This project is a compilation of Dutch harmonica players 1947-2002.

Art emigrated to South Africa in 2004 where he met up with an old friend Johann Kok and they performed as the Helderberg Harmonica Duo until Johann’s death in 2008.

Art moved to Florida, USA in 2017, but in November 2020 he returned home to Holland. He had been ill for many years and he died from complications caused by covid in Jan 2021.

I have been involved with the National Harmonica League (UK) – now HarmonicaUK – as Chairman, Archivist and Editor of its magazine, Harmonica World, for around 20 years. I first met Art in 2000 in Bournemouth and we stayed in contact until his death.

We had many common interests in chromatic players like Ronald Chesney and Art’s fellow countryman, Max Geldray as well as the well known European, Asian and American soloists and harmonica groups.

Art was in contact with many other collectors of harmonica music, including two from England, John Bryan and Brian Holland, who probably had the largest collection of information about the members of the Borrah Minevitch Rascals and many other groups. Following the death of John and Brian these collections came to me – Roger Trobridge

Max Geldray

Archie

The First Harmonica Jazz Player – by Art M. Daane

The Beginning.

Max Geldray

Max Geldray was born Max van Gelder in Amsterdam in 1916. It was not until 1932 that he first saw a chromatic harmonica; the shop owner offered it to him when he was taking refuge from a torrential rainstorm in his shop.
By 1934 Max had become a star on national radio and on two occasions he was asked to change his name. Max van Gelder was too Dutch. After listening to the Borrah Minevitch Harmonica Rascals and watching them on the screen, it occurred to him that harmonica bands would be the thing of the future.

The Bands.
In those days harmonica players were far from, and yet he found seven other harmonica players of his own age. When they found an agent they were soon told that a name had to be found the “Max van Gelder Harmonica Band” was too amatuerish, and too Dutch.
They soon became “Mac Geldray and his Mouth-Accordeon Band”. Max gave in but re-named himself Max at a later occasion.
The showbusiness didn’t pay very well and four members quit the band and returned to a more seriously way of life. The remaining four, Henk Lodema, Geert van Driesten, Rob Lodema and Max himself began taking it more serious and were engaged to tour Great Britain. Tom Moss, a very popular English comedian, was in Amsterdam for a few weeks seeking entertainers for his vaudeville show. He renamed their act. They became “The Hollander Boys”.
Their tour was a success, but after returning to the Continent again, they could not find work. Max had taken a fancy to travelling, and made plans to go to Brussels to see if he could get any bookings. The other three weren’t as enthusiastic as he, and told him to go by himself.

The Jazzplayer.
Brussels wasn’t actually waiting for a Dutch harmonica player, and after a couple of weeks Max started to get desperate for work. It was at the “Le Boeuf sur la Toit” that Max was allowed to play a piece with the house orchestra. At the end of the song the public broke down the house, and he was offered a job as a Jazz Harmonica Player, which lasted over a year.
A boyhood friend, Johnny Fresco, came to see Max at the “Bull on the Roof” the English translation of “Le Boeuf sur la Toit”. Johnny had formed a successful danceband, and offered him a job with his band in a dance palace in The Hague. It was the first time that he played in front of a Dutch audience, and this was also the first time he ever performed in front of his father, who seemed happy to see his son on stage.
Because of the warm family atmosphere, the time in The Hague was very memorable to Max but he was pleased to hear from Johnny that he had another engagement in Ostend, Belgium. This would be a nice working holiday and an investment in his future as the Ostend Casino was just across the road from where they were playing. The Casino was the place where aristocracy, industrialists and other rich people of Europe came gambling. The Casino also hosted great artist like Coleman Hawkins, Teddy Stauffer from Switzerland, Jo Bouillon from France and Ambrose and his orchestra from England.
It wasn’t the fame Max was looking for but the players in the groups. He was learning so much so fast that he felt like a real jazzman. Non of the musicians ever looked down on him because he played the harmonica and became good friends.

The Paris Connection.
It was during his stay in Ostend that Max met Ray Ventura. Ray told him that whenever he would come to Paris he would set him up with a place to live. Ray kept his promise and Max became a full member of the “Ray Ventura Orchestra” untill the second world war broke out.
It was early in 1938 when Max met Django Reinhardt at the “Hot Club de France”, Django had already heard about Max. There were about six musicians playing some light melodic jazz and after about 15 minutes Max was asked to join in. The friendship with Django lasted till early 1940 when Max fled to England. He was jewish and didn’t like the idea of falling into the hands of the Nazis. The fact that Holland was a neutral country made it easier for him to leave.

The Soldier.
The vessel that took him across the channel docked in Liverpool but it wasn’t untill The 20th of September of that year that he was introduced to the Royal Dutch Army Brigade “Prinses Irene”, and was send off to camp. By 1942 Max had become very popular by the people at the BBC, and Max’s harmonica was on radio very often in wartime Britain. It was on Princess Elizabeth’s sixteenth birthday that Max and his friend, pianist Ben de Koning, were part of the entertainment to the Princess’s party. At no lesser place than Windsor Castle.
Max was wounded during the landing at Normandy, 4 months later he set foot again in Brussel, but had to wait untill May 1945 to go Amsterdam where he was unable to find his family. Sadly, both his parents and younger sister had been killed by the Nazis. Having nothing to stay in Amsterdam for he went back to Ray Ventura for two years before returning to England.

The Goons.
Max [The Conk] was a member of the Goons from start to finish. The show was first called “Crazy People” in May 1951 and re- named “The Goon Show” in November 1952. The end came on the 28th of January 1960. During those years he acclaimed International recognition. He was invited by the Austrlian Broadcasting authorities to appear on a Nation-wide television show in 1961, On his way back to England he made a stop- over in Hawaii and Los Angeles where he looked up his old friend Johnny Fresco and some other musicians he had known in Europe, most of them had become studio musicians. This wasn’t what he was looking for and returned to England.

The change in his life.
He had only be back in England a few days when he had another job offer, this time as an entertainer on board the Queen Elizabeth. Four crossings later Max decided to pack his bags and take a one-way ticket to Los Angeles, not because it was the place to be for a musician, but because of old friends. His first booking was in Reno, Nevada, where he had some marvellous opportunities, working with Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Shore, Billy Daniels and many more others. He didn’t feel at ease in Reno though and went back to L.A., where he landed a job in a local bar as a harmonica player.
He was longing to settle down permenantly and met Suzan, a small, gentle and pretty mother of three just at the right time. She was divorced, just like him. It was only a matter of weeks before he proposed to her, and soon after the five of them moved into a small bungalow in the San Fernando Valley. Max got a steady job in a department store as a clothing salesman. Two years later Philip was born; he was a gift from heaven for Max and Susan, and adored by the other kids.
Two years after they moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where Max worked for the the “Christian Science Monitor” as a regional sales supervisor. They missed the warmth of California and decided to return there. While in the midst of planning their move back to L.A., a letter from England arrived. They were going on a short trip to England first.

The very last Goon Show.
During all the years that he had been away from England, Max had kept contact with Peter, Spike and Harry and often saw Peter when he was in Hollywood. The Goons had never lost track of each other. The reason for the Goon Show reunion was the fact that the B.B.C radio was to celebrate their 50th anniversary. Max, Susan and Philip arrived just one day before the production in London. Everyone had arrived except Wally Stott, the musical arranger from the beginning who declined for personal reasons.

The Final Chapter.
After returning home from England it would take another seven years before they returned to L.A. Max and his family often visited Palm Springs where Susan’s relatives lived. By April 1973 her father became ill and they decided to move to Palm Springs to take care of her dad. Max had found himself a job in the “Trinidad Bar”, hardly a name for a place that featured jazz. One evening he was approached by a man who introduced himself as Doctor Hirshleifer. He told him that he was a jazz fan, and that he had founded the “Stroke Center” in Palm Springs. He asked Max to volunteer to put up a show for the patients, and this he did just one week later. Max returned every week, much to the pleasure of the patients. They formed a group and called themselves “The Blow Hards”. A wonderful co-operation that lasted nine years! The combination of taking care of her father and their son Timmy, who tragically died after being very ill for a year, took their toll of Suzan who eventually was treated at the “Betty Ford Center” in Rancho Mirage, California. Max immediately volunteered his services, and after a short period of volunteer work he joined the staff full time. Considering the hand of cards dealt him by fate. He is a truly remarkable man, and an example to us all. Let’s take a few minutes silence to pay homage to this great man.

Max and Art at the 1995 Dutch Harmonica Festival

When he visited me in September 1995, for the Dutch Harmonica Festival in Rotterdam, he was still working full time.

Early 1996 Max was advised by his physician to stop working. At the age of 80 he still found it difficult not to go to the Betty Ford Center daily.

Max was still playing in 2002, but 2002 had not been a good year as it slowed him down quite a bit. But he’s on the mend.But as of November, at least, all the maladies had been cured and Max was just trying to regain his former strength, something that doesn’t happen quickly at his stage of life.

Max’s son in law, Dr. Roger Blomquist, recorded a new jazz album; Jazz for Charity. This jazz album features Max, and each of the following tracks Roger played the same song on the alto saxophone.

Max lives in scenic splendor on the edge of a golf course in Palm Springs, enjoying the company of his wife of over forty years, Susan, and entertained by two delightfully frisky small dogs, Ruth Ann and Ebby.
Max turned 87 on February 12, 2003, and still plays gigs at jazz clubs around his home town Palm Springs. Max played Hering 12 hole harmonicas exclusively.

 Listen to Max playing Crazy Rhythm during an episode of The Goon Show

You can listen to Max and other players of his vintage on “Harmonica Swing“

Max passed away on 2 October 2004.

He will be sadly missed by his family and friends.

“Max and Susan Geldray at their home in Palm Springs with Ruth Ann, the newest member of the Geldray household.”

Photo by Dick Baker – Auburn, California, USA, archivist of the Goon Show Preservation Society and webmaster of the US Archives 

Contact Art: e-mail

Webmaster: The-Archivist/Art Daane
Copyright © The-Arctivist/Art Daane©
All rights reserved

Captain James Reilly, RMSM

Archie

Captain J. Reilly, R.M.S.M. (1886-1956)

Copyright – David Reilly

Captain Reilly was a conductor and taught trumpet at The Royal Military School of Music, Kneller Hall, London. Immediately after WW1, he moved to Canada to become the bandmaster of the 153rd Wellington Battalion Band that was stationed in Guelph. His son, Tommy Reilly, was born there in 1919. He set up a jazz and concert band for the military and then he took charge of the Elgin County Military band. In the late 1920s, James Reilly moved to the Elmdale Public School in St Thomas, Ontario. He was very successful and his orchestra, accordion and harmonica bands won many prizes – more here.

In the early 1930s, Captain Reilly wrote to Dr Meyer, who was head of Hohner (UK), asking if he could bring the Elmdale School harmonica band to play concerts in England. Unfortunately this was not possible.

Later, when Dr Meyer and Charles Millard were discussing setting up an organisation for harmonica players in the UK, which became “Harmonica Song Band League”, they realised that they needed a good musician who could write the necessary tutors, arrangements for bands, and supervise the training of groups which were being formed by Mr. Millard. They approached Captain Reilly about their plans for forming the National Harmonica Song Band League (HSB) and it was agreed that he was the man who could develop the musical side of it. History proved them right.

James Riley - The Right Way to Play Book

Capt. Reilly returned to the UK with his family and helped to get the new Hohner organisation going. He helped to arrange the music published by Francis Day & Hunter, he wrote the HSB Tutors, and arranged new pieces for the growing number of harmonica bands in the UK. Initially tremolo based bands but later chromatic harmonica bands. See end.

His son, Tommy Reilly, started playing harmonicaprofessionally aged 16 years.

When the British College of Accordionists (BCA) was started soon afterwards, he took a lively interest in this it too, building on his experience teaching the accordion in Canada. He also took on the training of the Junior Band of the B.C A. which very soon reached a remarkably high standard under his conductorship.

Captain James also wrote several highly successful elementary pieces like “Windsor March,” “Searchlight Tattoo.” etc., which found a ready sale amongst the many elementary bands springing up throughout the country.

When the B.C.A. set up examinations, they opened a number of Examination Centres, and Captain Reilly was appointed as one of the College Examiners, a role he carried out for many years.

After WW2, Captain Reilly was also appointed Sales Manager of the Hohner Musk Department. He persuaded a number of new composers to write for the accordion and the harmonica, and built up the largest Accordion and Harmonica Music Catalogue in this country.

As the popularity of the harmonica and accordion grew, he was much in demand as an adjudicator for Music Festivals all over the country. He also contributed a lot to the smooth running of the competition section of the annual “Accordion Day” festival.

In the early 1950s he started a Harmonica Staff Band for the Hohner Organisation He developed this into a successful orchestral group which gave many successful demonstrations and concerts.

Captain Reilly retired from Hohner in 1954, when he was a Vice President of the National Harmonica League (formerly the HSB). He died a year later.

He was probably responsible for teaching the majority of the harmonica players in the UK over his time with the HSB/NHL through the many tutors he wrote, the guidance he provided and the music he published.

This is based on an appreciation by Dr. O. Meyer, the MD of Hohner (UK), when Captain Reilly retired in 1955.

Back to the Future – Skiffle and Blues Harp (1956)

Archie

Lonnie Donegan was the King of Skiffle. In the 1950s he played some great country blues songs like Rock Island Line, Stewball,  Midnight Special, Mule Skinner Blues… but he never had the chance to play with a blues harp player.  

30 years later Lonnie got more recognition for what he has achieved and made a tribute album with Rory Gallagher, Elton John, Brian May Ringo Starr and Leo Sayer on blues harp.

One of my favourite Donegan recordings is one called “I’m a Roving Rambler” and earlier this year I was playing this track for my friend , Marty McFly, who was over from Chicago. I said I thought it was crying out for a bit of blues harp.

Here is how it starts….

Lonnie Donegan – Roving Rambler intro

Marty was playing around with his valve amplifier at the time and suddenly there was a blue flash and some white smoke and he disappeared. The clock was about to strike midnight so I sorted out the amplifier. I plugged it back in and it sparked, crackled back to life and the valves (tubes) started to glow.

Suddenly Marty reappeared looking all excited. He said that when the smoke cleared after the explosion he had found himself in the studio with Lonnie Donegan, back in 1956. And then, just as they finished recording a take of Roving Rambler, he had a blackout and when he woke up, he was back in the UK with me again in 2020.

It did not make any sense to me or my other friend, “Doc“ Brown. Then I noticed that there was an alternative, previously unreleased take on the CD I was listening to. I played the track and I began to wonder if it might have been true. Have a listen….

Lonnie Donegan and Blues Harp

Who do you think is playing harp on the recording?

The answer is at the end.

It wasn’t Michael J. Fox!

More Skiffle information.

I have been through a few hundred Skiffle tracks from the 1950s from the UK, in the last few weeks, looking for any bands that featured the harmonica with little success.  What I found was that the only person playing anything like blues harp at this time was Cyril Davies.

Cyril recorded sessions with Beryl Bryden and his own group with Alexis Korner which played at the Skiffle, and the Barrelhouse and Blues Club at the Round House Club in Soho. Cyril eventually became the friends with Sonny Terry and James Cotton on their trips to the UK and he moved to amplified harp and in 1962 he and Alexis recorded the ground breaking “R&B at the Marquee” which helped to launch the British Blues Boom.

Other examples of harmonica in Skiffle bands include Chris Barber on the “Backstairs Session” and some melodic chromatic solos by John Wadley Original Barnstormers Spasm Band. In the mid 1960s the blues music scene split into pop music and a more traditional blues scene in the folk clubs where many good blues harp players could be heard.

Skiffle came out of the British interest in US country blues and traditional jazz. The interest in American music of the people went back before the Second World War and was heightened during the war period with the mixing of American servicemen, coloured and white, and their music and recordings, with the British people. One attraction was the associated dances. After the war, British traditional jazz bands were formed and regular venues were established where you could listen, dance and even get to play.

By the early 1950s this had become very popular and the bands of Ken Colyer, Humphrey Littleton, Sandy Brown and Chris Barber were well established. It was quite normal to have a beer break and in this interval, some of the musicians would get together and play songs by Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie, the Jug Bands, and other country blues numbers. The instrumentation was very basic – guitars, a wash-tub bass and maybe a suitcase for percussion.  As the Chris Barber Band started to play concerts in the big theatres they included some of their interval “skiffle” music into their performances. These songs were led by their banjo player, Lonnie Donegan, who played guitar on these songs. It was the unexpected success of their recording of their concert version of Leadbelly’s “The Rock Island Line” which launched Skiffle as a mainstream music style.

The success of the recordings by professional bands led to the proliferation of skiffle bands in youth groups, church groups, scouts and schools. They were the sort people who had previously started harmonica groups.

The Pioneer Skiffle Group

The Pioneer Skiffle Group of Sidcup, Kent.
The Harmonica is an ideal instrument for taking the melody line with the usual skiffle backing of guitar, bass, drums and piano. The instrument is regularly featured by the popular Pioneer Skiffle Group, shown in this photograph sent to us by Mr. K. S. B. Clark of Sidcup. From Harmonica News, December 1957

The fire of the Skiffle movement burned brightly for three or four years but it became much more of a pop music style. Out of the ashes of Skiffle came many young people who had got a taste for performing and playing guitars and they started to make their own Rock and Roll and Blues music, the Beatles, the Shadows, Jimmy Page …

Skiffle still lives on. There is a band called The Lonegans who play around the South East of England and raise money for the MIND Charity. Lonnie Donegan’s son Peter is a well known musician and singer of Country Music.

The harp player on the Lonnie Donegan track is Joe (one-take) Filisko – www.joefilisko.com !

Borrah Minevitch & His Harmonica Rascals

Archie

By Art M. Daane

The Immigrant

Born in Kiev, Russia, November 5, 1902 [real name Borah Minjevic].
At the age of ten, Borrah’s family immigrated to the United States. Because of ill health father Minevitch was refused an entry permit, and had to return home almost immediately. However a short time later the family was reunited, but not for long though, Minevitch Sr. passed away very suddenly. Mrs. Minevitch now had to raise the family, two boys and five girls, all by herself. She turned their home into a guesthouse to support all of them.

Settling down

After school, Borrah sold newspapers, studied the violin, and practiced his harmonica. Against the wish of the family, he left for New York when he turned 18. He went on to study at the City College, and worked in a greengrocer’s store, a shoe store and a kindergarten to earn his living. For his graduation thesis subject he chose the harmonica and called it ” The History and Shortcomings of the Harmonica as a musical instrument .” A harmonica manufacturer sold 50.000 copies.

The Half-tone Harmonica

His biggest wish was to own a Half Tone Harmonica, so that he would be able to play real music. The firm that manufactured these had stopped production because of low sales. During one of his habitual strolls, he saw one in a music shop for five dollars. He could not afford it but asked the salesman if he could try it at a deposit of ten cents. Several times a week he used to hop into the store to play it and pay his ten cents. Not having sold one in three years the salesman must have found him a bit strange.
When one of his sisters came to visit, she wanted to treat Borrah to a show and dinner, instead he asked her to buy the chromatic. She didn’t like the idea but eventually gave in. He mentioned to the man in the shop that it looked rather worn and should come down in price, he refused at first but let it go for 3 dollars and twenty-five cents, he was frightened that it would be in the window for another three years. A few weeks later, the instrument became faulty.
Borrah then went to see the manufacturer and asked the man in charge for a refund. The man told him that he was crazy to ask for a refund on a ten-year-old instrument. Borrah apologized and started to play a tune which left the man so surprised that he gave him a brand new one.

The Band It was in 1925 when Minevitch formed his first group. In 1926, when playing as a soloist in a charity show at the famous Carnegie Hall, he told the public that he had a surprise in mind. When the curtain opened, the public saw a group some thirty boys, formally dressed and looking like serious musicians, sitting with harmonica in hand. They played ‘Deep River’ and received an enormous ovation and requested for more, which left them satisfied and yet embarrassed because it was the only piece they had studied.
Buoyed up by the success with the first harmonica band at the famous Carnegie Hall, it was clear to him that there could be more success with a harmonica band in Vaudeville theaters. The time was right for a professional approach.

Miscalculation

The first invitation for the Symphonic Harmonica Ensemble came in 1927. Because of the classical touch to the name, the public expected them to play classical music. Minevitch probably tried what Edwin Frank Goldman had done for the brass band, making it exceptable for concert halls. The vaudeville public was bored stiff and Minevitch dropped the act.

The Harmonica Rascals

During a show at the Hebrew Orphans Asylum (H.O.A.), a Daily News photographer had shot Lou Delin with three boys, one on each arm and one on his shoulder. They wore W.W.1 uniforms and all four-played harmonica; the photograph was published nation wide. This picture gave Borrah the idea of a new vaudeville group. A few weeks later he visited H.O.A. and met Lou and the leader of the mouth-organ orchestra of Charles Snow. He was introduced to the band members, one of them was Ben Dansky who together with Lou was invited to join Minevitch.

“Borrah Minevitch and his Harmonica Rascals” became very popular despite rivals like; Charlie Snow’s Broadway Pirates; Charles Bennington’s N.Y. Newsboys Harmonica Band; Cappy Barras Harmonica Ensemble; Johnny O’Brien’s Harmonica Hi-Hats; Murray Lane’s Harmonica Scamps, and many, many more. Almost every city in the United States had one or more harmonica groups during the “Harmonica Madness.” Minevitch assembled well over 100 quality players over the years.
Best known are undoubtedly; Ernie Morris (his tone still has to be equalled), Louis ‘Fuzzy’ Feldman ( Borrah’s favourite called the chugger), Johnny Puleo (the shortest with the largest harmonica of that time).

Missing

Borrah’s Rascals had become immensely popular, they had success after success. It was a big shock when, in June 1932, an article appeared in all major newspapers, “Borrah Minevitch feared drowned” when two days overdue in Tunis.
In a telegram to S. Jay Kaufman, Mrs. Minevitch reported that her husband had already been missing for four days, and that she was extremely worried because he had not arrived in Corsica.
Borrah had been on his way to Abbessinia, Ethiopia, to go hunting, to pay his debt from a gambling spree. He sailed on his schooner “Lydia”, named after his daughter. On June 2, 1932, the New York Times announced his safety; his Corsican crew had kidnapped him.

Hollywood and Europe

A New York newspaper announced in 1934, under the heading “Borrah Minevitch auditions” the following message: “The famous harmonica virtuoso Borrah Minevitch will hold auditions on Friday next from 17.00-19.00 hours, for harmonica players in the age group 16-30, for American and European groups at Malin Studios on 225 w, 26th Street. This was a natural progression of what started in 1933, when the Rascals appeared on the screen in many so-called “shorts”. Borrah, as a soloist, featured in the 1935 movie “Dreamland” with Eddie Cantor.
Their big success came in 1936 when they featured in “One in a Million” with Sonja Henie and Don Ameche. There was no end to their success, 1937, ” Love under Fire ” with John Carradine and Frances Drake, 1938, “Rascals ” with Jane Withers and Robert Wilcox, Hit Parade of 1941 ” with Phil Silver, also in 1941 ” Always in my Heart ” with Walter Houston and Kay Francis, 1942, “Tramp, tramp, tramp”, and “Top Man” in 1943 with Donald O’Connor.
The 1935 European tour was a tremendous success. It was in Amsterdam, when a Dutch harmonica group went to see the “Harmonica Rascal Show”, that Borrah took the time to listen to these five players. Borrah said, ” You’re not musicians! You’re Hotchas “. From then on they called themselves “The 5 Hotchas”.
The concert in “Queens Hall”, London, on Sunday Feb. 16, 1936 was a memorable performance. Although mentioned on the program as an orchestra of 12 virtuosi. The photograph, taken during the show, only shows 10 performers. The list of players on page 7 of the program also only mentions ten.
A puzzle indeed.
Borrah Minevitch and His Symphonic Harmonicas Harold Liechtenstein
Leo Diamond
Ernest Morris
Abe Diamond
John Puleo
Al Furbish
Irvin Crane
Alex Novelle
Louis Feldman
James Kenneth
The repertoire on page 4-5 of the program:
1. Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov
2. The Bumble Bee by Rimsky-Korsakov
3. St. Louis Blues by W. S. Handy
4. Mississippi Suite by Grofé
(a) Fathers of Waters
(b) Huckleberry Finn
(c) Old Creole Days
(d) Mardi Gras
5. Suite Philharmonica by Minevitch-Diamond
6. Rhapsody in Blue by Gershwin
7. First Composition by “Pastoral” (aged 15) Eric Coates
8. Tango Land by …arr. Minevitch
9. Retrospections by Forsyth
10. Bolero by Ravel

Pete ‘n Jerry

It was in Chicago, where Pete Pedersen, and some of his friends, were rehearsing in the park (The Park Harmonica Band), when he was trying to get an impossible note from his harmonica. They played the song faultless, except for that single note, when suddenly a man appeared. The man was at least six years older than Pete, who was 15 at the time, was. The man showed him a chromatic harmonica, and Pete was allowed to try it. Immediately he got the impossible note. Pete.. “I never let him out of my sight”. The man….was Jerry Murad.
Shortly after, Jerry and his brother, Pete Pedersen, Al Fiore, and the Hadamik brothers had formed a band, and when the Rascals came to Chicago, they visited them “back stage”, where they were playing when suddenly “Mr. Harmonica” appeared in the doorway. They stood perplexed, standing eye to eye with “The Maestro”, and they were not dreaming.
Minevitch asked them to play something, and then he asked Pete, who was the youngest, if his parents would allow him to join the Rascals. Pete didn’t hesitate a second, and said…”Yes!” Even if his parents would not agree, he would go anyway.
He walked around, head in the clouds, but….no word from Minevitch. He had already put it out of his head as just one of those things, when, just before Christmas, a telegram and a train ticket arrived with the request to join the group in Los Angeles. Jerry Murad had received the same, and together they went into the big world of entertainment.

The Rascals

During the period that Pete and Jerry joined, Richard ‘Dick’ Hayman asked Hugh ‘Pud’ McKaskey if he wanted to join Johnny Puleo’s group. Johnny had left Minevitch about a contract problem, and wanted to set up his own group. Pud grabbed the opportunity, because the “Stagg McMann Trio” had dissolved. His two friends, Paul Steigerwald and Mannie Smith, joined the army.
The complete group lived at Johnny’s parents home, in the basement to be correct, where they also rehearsed. This episode only lasted a little while, Borrah had soon found Johnny’s whereabouts. Johnny had no option as to return. His contract was for life!
This is one of the reasons for the so-called ‘second group’. Insiders talk of the East and West Coast groups. The other reason, Borrah had contracted Sammy Ross to replace Johnny while he was in hiding. It was Sammy who performed in the movie short “The Borrah Minevitch Harmonica School”. Other players were: Dave Doucette, Carl Ford, Ben Burley, Ernie Morris, Hugh MacKaskey, Etto Manieiri, Pat Marquis and Frank Marquis.
Other movie shorts that were enjoyed in many movie theaters were:
“My Shawl”, “Boxcar Rhapsody”, “Camping”, and “New York Radio”, all with the so-called “Leo Diamond group”.
Borrah went into semi-retirement in 1949, and gave the scepter over to Johnny, afterwards he was seldom seen. He died of a stroke in Paris, France on June 26, 1955. He was 52 years old.

Borrah´s gravestone at the Paris Cemetry
photograph by René Haboyan
René cleaned the grave in 2002 with the above result

Johnny Puleo Harmonica Gang

Johnny was under the impression that, “Harmonica Rascals” was a registered trademark owned by Minevitch. Johnny changed from ‘Rascals’ to ‘Gang’, and stayed successful with ex-Rascals like Eddie Gordon, Al Smith, and Dave Doucette. New Gang members were, Bill McLean, George Whitcombe, Hal Harmon. During the “Gang” period, seven LPs were recorded. Johnny is also mentioned on a double LP “Johnny Puleo and the Chimes Family”, re-released on CD “Harmonica Gold.”

Lydia Minevitch Harmonica Rascals

In 1959, Lydia Minevitch tried to revive the “Harmonica Rascals” with Alex Novelle as the leader, Bobby Dimler became the new ‘comedian’. On August 7, 1959 ‘Variety’ wrote, ” Borrah Minevitch Harmonica Rascals – Instrumental Comedy – 20 minutes – Black Orchids”. The critics however were not mild. “The world wasn’t waiting for another ‘Johnny Puleo Harmonica Gang’.”

Paul Baron Harmonica Rascals

When Paul Baron realized that the ‘Harmonica Rascals’ was not a registered trademark, he made it his own.
Together with Bob Bauer – ? Bonden – Bruce Broglie – Gene Broglie – Michael Burton – Pat Candelorie – Pete Candelorie – Don Cardie – Peg Carter – Debbie Dell – Bobby Dimmler [diminitive] – Monti Dowdy – John Duffy – Al Duffy – Nick Fashenbauer – Joe Fresna – Eddie Gordon – Henry Graham – Frank Groven – Phil Gula – Kim Gutin – Hal Harmon – Arnold Lundberg – Kearney, Bill – Kerner, Nick – Kibber, Jack – Koss, Ed – LeFever, Robert – Levine, Howard – Levine, Harriet – Little, Tiny – Bill McLean – Richie Miller – Ralph Mindo – Dick Mobley – Charlie Moll – Charlie Newman – Tom O’Brien – Ralph Orsello – Andy Paskas – Vito Patierno – Don Powell – Bobby Pursell – Paul Reel – ? Rico – Bob Rudd – Roy Rumfelt – Tom Scerbo – Mike Sheppard – ? Smith – Larry Stutz – Bob Stutz – Tubby Tee – Ernie Terino – George Wagner – Greg Walker – Frank Warner – Paul West – Gary Wheeler – Danny Wilson – Willie Wolfschmidt and Dave Zaval he revived the ‘Harmonica Rascals’.

Larry Adler

Archie
Bronze of Larry Adler in the Pizza in the Park

Larry Adler, the President of the NHL, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family, in St Thomas Hospital, London, aged 87, on 6 August , 2001. He was born 10 February, 1914.

He was the torch bearer who lit the way for many aspiring chromatic players who were inspired by his style, technique and musicality. More than just the best mouth organ player, he was the consummate professional entertainer and performer to the end. He opened many doors through which others have since passed. There can never be another.

Here is a Press Release issued on the Centenary of Larry Adler’s birth 10/02/2014.

The Fishko Files, a NPR broadcast from New York on 30 January 2014, about the life and contributions of Larry Adler

This page has been be left as it was before Larry went into hospital, where he died, to give a feeling of his desire to keep working up to the end and not to let down his fans everywhere. First, here are some links to news of his death. Let me know of any others I should add.

Larry continued to perform up to his death, aged 87, despite severe problems with gout in his fingers. His stories and jokes were as vivid as ever.

If you want to know more about Larry’s life, there are two books written in his own inimitable style. “It ain’t necessarily so“, his first autobiography written in 1987 is out of print, but I found a copy via the remainders book merchants. The more recent “Me and my big mouth” was written in 1994 and includes the making of the all star Gershwin recording session with George Martin, as well as stories from the rest of his life. It is a paperback and costs around £5.

  • Larry Live in Australia 1997, is currently my favourite CDs (and one of Larry’s) as it contains all the jokes and conversation. Try eBay…

Links to videos by Larry Adler

Links to other pages about Larry Adler

His final performances in 2001

  • January – Larry entertained on the P&O cruise ship Aurora which sailed from the UK to Caribbean.
  • February 11th – Larry’s 87th Birthday party at “The Pizza on the Park”. The concert room was named Larry’s Room in his honour. Here is a copy of the bronze displayed in the performance.
  • February 23rd – Two evening performances at the Komedia club in Brighton, UK.
  • March 1st – 2:15pm Channel 5 TV, Gloria Hunnicot, UK.
  • March 29th – Larry recorded a TV show for Carlton TV which will be shown later in the year – May/June?
  • May 3rd – Larry performed on a QE2 cruise from the UK to New York. He was taken ill.
  • May – Another appearance at the Pizza on the Park, London.
  • May 24th – Larry left the hospital “unofficially” to be at the Duke of Edinburgh’s 80th birthady show at the Albert Hall.
  • Larry died in St Thomas Hospital, London, aged 87, on August 6th, 2001.
  • September – Another cruise was being planned.

John Bryan Harmonica Collector

Archie

John Bryan – Collecting before the Internet

Based on my article in Harmonica World April 2015

Ronald Victor John Bryan – Born 8th September 1924 – Died 14th September 2014, in Southampton.

John amassed what is probably the best collection of harmonica media ever – audio and video recordings, magazines, and photographs- everything but harmonicas. He did this without the benefits of modern methods of communication – he never used email or searched the Internet.

How did he do it?

John was born in Portsmouth. He and Nora married young and had a son who went to live in the USA.

John worked as a fitter for Ford for most of his life and never lived far from the Ford factory in Southampton, apart from a two year spell in Australia, which did not suit them. He was a successful middle-weight weightlifter and he took part in competitions as far away as Germany. He loved his motor cycle, an AJS Matchless Twin, until he had a serious crash. He survived a cancer scare in the 1980s and was active until his death in 2014.

John was a quiet man who kept himself to himself but was quite adventurous. He built up a large network of harmonica contacts. This cutting from the NHL magazine from 1962 shows how he set about doing it..

When I took over as Chairman of the NHL in 2000, I was interested in the history of the organisation back to the 1920s. It soon became clear that I should talk to John.

I met John at the International Harmonica Festival (IHO) in Bournemouth in 2000, along with two others people with similar interests – Art Daane and Brian Holland. All three had been involved in collecting information and recordings by the early harmonica groups and chromatic soloists. They contributed a lot to what has been preserved.

It was not easy to write the story of John’s harmonica journey as he outlived most of his friends. Fortunately I had asked John about it and I have the letters he wrote to me about the collection. Here is the story in his own words.

The History of my Collection by John Bryan

My interest in the harmonica started during the mid 1930s when I saw a music hall performance by the Borrah Minevitch Rascals in my home town of Portsmouth. Ten years later I started buying 78s by Larry Adler, Ronald Chesney, Max Geldray, Tommy Reilly, and the BM Rascals, but little else was known of such records in other countries.

In the early 1950s I saw a copy of Harmonica News, joined the NHL and got their magazine. I learned of recordings in other countries. I sent details of my record collection to the NHL and SPAH magazines, and then made the offer on the opposite page, in an effort to make contact with other collectors in other countries and to work out a Record Exchange System between us.

One of the first to respond was Andy Paskas, the technician at Hohner (New York) and a one time bass player with for the Paul Baron and Johnny Puleo Groups. He was really a collector like no other and he really got me going.

I made many pen-friendships and set up extensive record exchanges between us. This let me get copies of harmonica records not available here- from the USA, Argentina, Canada, Brazil, South Africa, France, Holland, Spain, Portugal, Germany, France, Israel, Austria, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, Czechoslovakia, and Singapore.

Without friendships from those countries my collection would not exist! My visits to harmonica events in the USA (SPAH in Detroit 1979) and other European venues also brought me into contact with many of the greats of the harmonica world and invitations to their homes – Harry Feinberg, Bill Fox, Alan Pogdon, Norm Dobson, Andy Paskas, Charlie Leighton, Jerry Murad, Stagg McMann, Hal Weiss, Al Smith and Gene Finney.

I will be forever grateful to the harmonica for making all this possible.

John Bryan

Here are two collections of harmonica group favourites put together by John Bryan

Harmonica Favourites – Part One – Quartets, Trios, Duos and Soloists

Harmonica Favourites – Part Two – Quartets, Trios, Duos and Soloists

Norm Dobson (1929 to 2019) harmonica player

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Norman R. Dobson Jr., or Norm, as he was known to all his harmonica friends everywhere, was the US Vice President of the National Harmonica League from 1982 until his death, aged 90. He lived in Peabody, near Boston, and for many years he looked after the interests of NHL members who lived in the USA. He was also a VP for SPAH in the 1990s.

Norm played harmonica as a child but his musical life changed when he heard Peg O’ My Heart being played on the radio in 1947. He bought the 78rpm record and 16 hole chromatic harmonica. He was in the Marines but when he came out of the Services in 1950 he found two friends, Bill Mackay (chord) and Jack Malaquias (bass) who joined him in a harmonica trio, The Harmonichords. They performed together for 38 years and helped with the important charity work Norm did with other ex-Marines in his home town.

image

Norm always had an interest in the harmonica which went worldwide and he attended many national festivals, becoming a member of many harmonica associations around the world. This is how he came to build a special relationship with the National Harmonica League. John Walton invited him onto the committee in 1982, about the time Hohner bestowed the title World Ambassador of the Harmonica on him. He hosted NHL members on their trips to the USA and he helped to run the World Championship Festival in Jersey, 1987, organised by Jim Hughes. You can see him at work in the first five minutes of this video. Here is another video of him in the concert with Alan Pogson and Earl Williams.

After the festival Norm stayed on to visit his friends in the UK. He remained in touch with the NHL and was pleased to be a part of its success. He was also a VP of SPAH for a time in the 1990s.

Norm was most proud of becoming the first and only harmonica player to be elected as the head of a district Musicians Union. Until 1947 the harmonica was regarded as a toy, but, following the success of The Harmonicats’ recordings, harmonica players were finally accepted as members of the Union. Norm was President of the Local 126 Northshore Musicians of America Federation of Musicians for many years until his death.

Harmonichords keep Trossingen tradition
by EDWARD T. MEANEY – (Extract)

One who will argue that the mouth organ is still alive and well is a Peabody man, Norman (Norm) Dobson, the lead player for a harmonica trio, “Harmonichords,” which has entertained throughout this area and is in Europe. Yes, even Trossingen.

Norm’s companions are: Bill Mackey of Seabrook, N.H., formerly of Hamilton, chord rhythm and har- monetta player, and Jack Malaquias of Danvers, bass vocalist, who does thesinging as he plays his bass guitar.

The “Harmonichords’’ have been operating seven years, being born after Norm placed an advertisement appealing to harmonica advocates to join him. Ever since, the trio has been playing at dances, weddings, anniversaries, and socials of various types.

Norm said “our trio has done very little show playing and we don’t regard ourselves as a show harmonica trio. We play everything from rock ‘n roll to modern commercial music, one of our latest favorites being the Barry Manilow hit, ‘I Write the Songs’.”

In 1974, the Dobson trio went to Germany, appeared on TV, and moved along to Holland. “The reason we went,” Norm went on, “was to meet the world champion harmonica trio of Gladbeck, West Germany, ‘The Blizza Harmonica Trio.’ We joined them in performing at several night clubs and parties.

The biggest event for the “Harmonichords’’ in Germany came when they appeared on the stage of the Sports Hall in Trossingen in the heart of the Black Forest, The two harmonica units played before an audience in excess of 5,000. Tapes were filmed for television and later there were feature stories in WAZ, one of Germany’s leading newspapers. Germany, of course, is the world leader in harmonica music.

In 1975, the “Harmonichords” submitted a tape recording to the competition sponsored by the International Harmonica Association in Germany, one of several hundred submitted by groups throughout Western Europe and several parts of the United States. Norm’s trio came up with a certificate from the Federation Internationale de la Harmonica (FIH), putting together a 12th place finish.

“One of the highlights of the trip to Germany came when Georg Armbruster, then general manager of the Hohner factory in Trossingen, presented me with sterling silver lapel pins and certificates, making our trio the only American group to become members of the Deutscher Harmonika Verband ( DHV).”

“The Blizza Harmonica Trio” also came to this country in 1975, appearing at King’s Grant Motor Inn and Restaurant in Danvers. Norm, himself, made another trip to Germany in 1977, helping “The Blizza Harmonica Trio” to celebrate its 25th year in the world of harmonica entertainment. On that occasion, he represented the U. S. Harmonica Club, SPAH.

Norm is also an honorary member of the oldest harmonica club in the world, Harmonica Orchester Edelweiss of Wuppertal, West Germany and an honorary member of the Harmonica Orchester Bergisch Echo in Leichlingen, West Germany.

“There are no ‘name trios’ other than our group in this part of New EnglandAt least, they aren’t registered with SPAH. In New York and New Jersey, several harmonica trios are going strong”

“I don’t feel the harmonica has reached its peak. Many think it is a thing of the past, a reminder of ‘the good old days.’ On the contrary, it’s coming more into its own in all phases of music, the symphony, Boston Pops, and other musical groups.

“Richard Hayman, who currently arranges music with the Boston Pops, is a featured harmonica soloist and another, Larry Adler, was in this area not too long ago for a concert.”

Here are a couple of local obituaries – The Salem News and the CCB Funeral Home

Steve Jennings – Feb 1954 to Nov 2019 – a tribute

Archie

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.