[Harp-L] SPAH

["jazmaan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx" <dmf273@xxxxxxxxx>]

I'm home from SPAH.  My lips are chapped from playing in the thin Denver atmosphere, but I wish I
could do it all over again starting now!

Too many highlights for me to even remember, but Jason Ricci's set was mind-bogglingly awesome. 
He inhabits a zone that I never even imagined existed on the harmonica!  His blinding speed and
white-hot energy must be experienced in person - his recordings just don't begin to convey the
experience.

Another eye-opener was Jimi Lee's set with George Brooks.  Man did they ever burn it up!  And then
the next day Jimi Lee was at the altered tunings seminar, divulging his secrets of playing Natural
Minor tuned harps in unusual positions.  Made me want to run out and buy a Lee Oskar Natural Minor
harp just to try it. 

The nightly Buzz Krantz led blues jams were just incredible.  It seems like the level of playing
of almost everybody there was just off-the-charts.  It seems like everyone has just gotten so
accomplished over the last few years!  These were all World-Class players, 30 or 40 of them
together just one after another.  I won't even try to name names because I don't want to leave
anybody out - and they were all mind-blowingly good (except for a couple of ringers who didn't
seem to understand the difference between 12 and 24.)

I got to sing a few numbers with the great Ron Kalina backing me on piano and the always wonderful
Mike Polesky on chromatic, and I got to proselytize endlessly about the XB-Melody.  I had some
great conversations with the great Robert Bonfiglio, who performed an superlative classical
program at the Saturday night finale.  I also had some great musical moments with Alan Holmes,
Chris Michalek, Jason Ricci, Jimi Lee (seems like we were jamming before I even got unpacked the
first night!), Marv Monroe, and so many others.

And finally let me thank Paul Davies for everything he did to make this such a fabulous week!