The First Harmonica Jazz Player – by Art M. Daane The Beginning. 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 […]
Chromatic Harmonica
Jim Hughes “Live @ Stratford (UK)”, 1983
This concert was recorded by someone and a CD-R of the concert was found in the archive I got from John Bryan. This was the second annual convention of the independent National Harmonica League run at that time by John Walton. He had taken it over from Hohner in 1981 and it was run by […]
Dror Adler – The Classical Project
I originally published this article in Harmonica World in June 2006. I think it is worth including it here. Dror wrote: I have been a member of the Adler Trio since we formed it in 1963. Here is a little bit of history and the background that led to the recording of my new CD, […]
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 […]
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. Tommy Reilly – A Life in Music – Vintage Tommy Reilly.Chandos CD20143 – CD Review by Cheng Jang Ming Tommy Reilly is widely recognised as the master of the chromatic harmonica. He was born 100 years […]
Tommy Reilly – In his own words
Tommy Reilly set the standard for playing chromatic harmonica and he was mainly responsible for the acceptance of the harmonica as a solo instrument on the classical stage. He had a prolific recording career. He was born in Canada in 1919 but spent most of his life in the UK. Here Tommy talks about his […]
Larry Adler – In his own words
Larry Adler was the first harmonica superstar. He was born in 1914 and he took the chromatic harmonica onto the concert stage and into films, playing popular and classical music. This recording was made in 1998 for the BBC when Larry was 84. Larry Adler’s Century was broadcast as seven weekly programmes but Larry produced […]
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 […]
Homage to Toots – Steven De bruyn
When I started to play the harmonica 27 years ago, Toots was big in Belgium. He did not only play on films and in concerts, but also on many local music shows and local television series. He was also the godfather of the great Jazz Middelheim Festival and played the national anthem before an International […]
Toots’ Funeral – William Galison
On Saturday 27 August, I attended the funeral of my friend and mentor, the incomparable Toots Thielemans. I was on tour in France when I heard the news of Toots passing, and I knew I had to go to Belgium to pay my respects. I drove with Belgian harmonica player, Steved De bruyn, to Toots […]