[Harp-L] A Question

[<alliance@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dear List:

Interesting and worthwhile comments on our friend Mr. Ross'
question/observation:

Before going further, I'd like to re-introduce myself to the List, as I've
been off the boards for several years now . . . As some may know, I was
fortunate enough to be right there at 'Ground Zero' at the inception of the
what I will call the birth of the overblow 'community' . . .  Although
Howard Levy had certainly been known in some circles, and The Flecktones had
just released their first CD, it was at Augusta in 1991 that the disparate
seeds of the core group of oveblowers first met . . . 

I walked into a room where Carlos del Junco, Larry (Iceman) Eisenburg,
Rosco, Sandy Weltman, along with great players like Pete Hastings and Tim
Quinn (a pure tongue-blocker btw), as well at the late Hank Bahnson
collectively met for the first time; and spent a week with Howard Levy.  

Although Carlos had spent the past two summers at Augusta with Howard, it
was the first time that Howard had a core group of players assembled that,
as a group, were ready to take the first steps toward playing more
chromatically on the diatonic . . . 

In 1992, Howard's last year at Augusta, guys like Bob Mehan, Lee Souder, and
Gary Green (former World Harmonica Champ) showed up.  Sandy Weltman and
Iceman hosted the gathering in '93-94 when Alan Holmes showed up, and George
Brooks showed up in Madcat's blues class in '95 (attended by myself and
Alan) . . . 

In 1996, I hosted a meeting of players interested in further sharing
insights/progress at my home that included Alan Holmes, Lee Souder, George
Brooks and Sandy Weltman among others, along with a visit from Howard.  

In 1998 I organized a larger and more ambitious event here in Chapel Hill
that brought together for the first time core members of the tongue-blocking
and overblow communities that included Rob Papparozi, Carlos del Junco, Joe
Filisko, Dennis Gruenling, Jelly Roll, Sandy Weltman, Winslow, Alan Holmes,
Chris Michalek, Randy Singer, Mike Peloquin and his psycho running buddy
Jeff "Hyper Harp" Grossman, George Brooks, Rosco, and Dave Pinzino, (as well
as visitors Buzzz Krantz, Bobbi Giordano, Nate Clark, and List-Member Bill
Hunneke, among others); that included a week's formal classes with Howard, a
film, and a sold-out concert by the above-mentioned players as well by
Howard's Quartet from Chicago.  

In 2000, I worked mostly behind-the-scenes to assist Chris Michalek in
putting together the Harmonica Summit in Minneapolis that put Howard and
Toots Thielmans on stage together, along with all the above-mentioned
players featured in many roles, along with Bonfiglio, Brendan Power,
Hendrick Muerkins; as well as club dates by a bunch of players that included
Kim Wilson etc.

 

So, bottom line, I think I have a pretty good perspective on the history of
some of the issues/questions that our friend Mr. Ross has brought up . . .  

 

Now, in my mind the real issue continues to be the lumping together of the
so-called 'goals' of the overblow community.  Rosco, for example, is about
as killer a rock and pop harmonica player as you'll ever want to hear, but I
don't believe he's spent a whole bunch of time thinking about playing those
pieces in twelve keys on one harmonica.  As for myself, trust me, I am
nowhere near the player to either make such or attempt, or to spend a whole
lotta time worrying about it . . . I sought Howard out simply because I
wanted to play the diatonic on pieces I was writing that were neither blues,
folk, or country; and after hearing the first Flecktones CD for about 15
seconds in 1990, knew that he had somehow figured out how to do it and went
looking for him . . . 

 

Now, as far as my good friend (and absolutely enormous player) Chris
Michalek's assertion that Howard can 'do it' etc; it's really a moot point .
. . If he 'can' do it on any particular piece or passage, no one is ever
going to be satisfied with hearing it; because as soon as he figures it out,
he's going to challenge himself to do something he knows he 'can't' do;
because in his mind that's the only way he's going to learn how to do it.  

Now . . . people may or may not like that or accept it or whatever; but
Howard just plain doesn't give a doodle because he's doing what he's doing
because that's what he's interested in doing.

I, personally, have heard him play achingly beautiful pieces, complex and
challenging pieces, flawlessly with exquisite tone and everything else you
would hope for; and if Howard wanted to be George Benson or Kenny G, he'd
make a whole lot more money and have a lot more professional opportunities.
I've had just that conversation with him on innumerable occasions; but
that's just not what he's interested in doing. 

So, if JR or anyone else is looking for that 'defining moment' from Howard
Levy, you will probably have to look somewhere else because he's too busy
playing on some bandstand, somewhere else in the world, playing something
'he' can't quite play flawlessly; but in his mind that's the only way that
he can address the next set of challenges that 'he' is interested in
addressing . . . 

 

As far as I'm concerned, that's about all there is to it . . . No one is
forcing anyone to listen, or play in any way that they don't think is the
way they want to play.  Lumping together everyone that is trying, or has
tried to do something different on diatonic is just plain silly . . . 

As far as I'm concerned, there are no 'rules' about how you go about
approaching to play something; nor should there be any arbitrary boundaries.
If you don't think someone is making good music coming at it from a certain
perspective, than you either don't listen or don't buy their CD or don't go
to their concerts . . . Pretty simple . . .  

Again, these guys are not idiots . . . they 'know' if what they are playing
sounds good or not . . . Believe me, they spent a lot of time in their rooms
working out the first set of challenges with no one around; but at a certain
point the only way to take that next 'step' is to take it public and see
what you can or can't do . . . I'm quite positive that our friend Mr.
Bonfiglio can tell us that there have been many 'steps' in the classical
world's acceptance of the chromatic as a legitimate approach to playing that
music.   At what point should those 'steps' not have been taken???

 

Comments???

 

Regards,

 

Paul Messinger

Chapel Hill NC