[Harp-L] new harmonica player expanding the sonic possibilities of the harmonica

[randy singer <randy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

hi harmonica friends,

this is one of the most unique harmonica players..not exactly sure  
what to make of it.):):):)  ...but i like it!!

http://www.cdroots.com/aito-kyhala.html
>  Jouko Kyhälä - Saalas
> RootsWorld - New Haven,Connecticut,USA
> Finnish harmonica virtuoso Jouko Kyhälä is part of a new generation  
> seeking to expand the expressive range of that instrument. ...

Saalas
Aito Records (www.aitorecords.com)

Finnish harmonica virtuoso Jouko Kyhälä is part of a new generation  
seeking to expand the expressive range of that instrument. A member  
of the eclectic harmonica ensemble Sväng and a doctoral student in  
harmonica at the Sibelius Academy, Kyhälä is accompanied on this  
outing by a sympathetic quartet of players (fiddle and kantele,  
bouzuki, bass, and percussion). These largely improvised sessions  
were recorded live without overdubs, resulting in a loose, playful  
feel. As Kyhälä explains in the Finnish and English liner notes, "I  
want to hear what people discover at the very moment they play music."


 Emblematic of this is "Polksa in F", which manages to be both foot- 
stomping and elegant. Other pieces draw on improvisational musical  
games taken from Finnish folk music. On "Mäkliinin Uni Ja Syrjälän  
Kaapoon Polksa" (Mäkliini's Dream and Kaapo Syrjälä's Polska")  
Syrjälä and fiddle player Piia Kleemola apparently looked into each  
other's eyes, each trying to anticipate whether the other would alter  
the tempo or play another section of the melody.


Kyhälä has customized some of his vast collection of harps, which  
results in sonorities not generally thought possible on the  
harmonica. On "Maanitusia" ("Persuasion"), Kyhälä plays a diatonic  
harp tuned to allow him to play both a constant drone note and the  
melody, in imitation of the bowed harp. On other tracks he relies on  
technique alone to produce unorthodox sounds, as on  
"Kaikuja" (Echoes), where his harmonica evokes the droning overtones  
of a Jew's harp.

Saalas is not always successful. Because the recording is so weighted  
toward polksas, some of the tracks tend to blend together and lack  
emotional complexity. However, Jouko Kyhälä and his crack ensemble  
are to be commended for expanding the sonic possibilities of the  
harmonica, and in allowing the listener to experience the sheer joy  
of musicians at play. - Michael Duke

CD available from cdRoots