Tributes and Obituaries

I recently asked my friend Rob Paparozzi about the death of Stan Harper. He posted the question on Facebook and it was apparent that there was little or nothing online. I had just edited some tributes to Franz Chmel and Toots Thielemans for the October 2016 issue of Harmonica World and we both thought it would be better if there was an online resource to gather together links to any articles, tributes and the descriptions of the lives of the great chromatic harmonica players who have died in recent years. Their life stories show how the harmonica developed from a new novelty at the beginning of the 20th Century into an instrument fully respected by Classical, Popular and Jazz Musicians.

Anyone who is interested in harmonica history and the players who helped to create it will get more satisfaction from a good book rather than relying only on Internet resources. I created a post about harmonica books harmonica books but if you only read one book, it should be Harmonica, Harps and Heavy Breathers by Kim Field. It is not perfect but it is a work of scholarship and deserves recognition for the research which went into it.

I will add more posts to include links to tributes to Stan Harper and other harmonica players.