[Harp-L] Re: The Greatest? (Aongus MacCana)
>From: "Aongus MacCana" <amaccana@xxxxxxxxxx>
Aongus wrote on Mon, 24 Dec 2007 17:12:49 -0000
>The night before last, on a UK chat show I happened on an archival clip of
>Larry Adler playing a duet with the classical violinist Perlman. It quite
>took me back and made me wonder how I had lost the true faith after all
>these years. In my youth there was only one "Mouth Organ Player": Larry
>Adler! and everyone in the world had heard about him. Mostly he seemed to
>play a 12 hole chromatic, which largely due to his efforts was beginning -
>grudgingly - to be acknowledged as maybe a 'real' musical instrument
I have shown this clip many times at the NHL festivals, and once at
SPAH in Denver when Larry was recognised with a Special Achievement
Award. Larry died just before Douglas Tate could present it and I
brought it back to his family.
When I was looking for this particular clip I found another one which
I have just put on YouTube. With some superb editing by persons
unknown, Larry plays Summertime with full orchestra, alone with his
own piano and finally with Itzhak Perlman.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoCM_NLQTcs
The UK was fortunate to have the greatest entertainer and musician
ever to play the harmonica, on its radio and TV screens for over 50
years. He had a mastery of tone and feeling for music rarely
approached by anyone else, as well as the ability to liven up any chat
show with his stories. Larry was also the President of the NHL.
If you would like to see the full performance with Itzhak Perlman
which was repeated on Parkinson's chat show this week, I have just
found that it is already on YouTube. Just watch them watching each
other and having fun.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmC4SJ42Z-s
Roger
>. Big time art music composers like Vaughan Williams even wrote pieces
>for Larry Adler. I only
>once heard Larry perform live. That was at an intimate little theatre in
>Dublin in the mid nineteen fifties. Larry reminisced for an hour or two,
>with musical interludes where he held the harmonica in one hand and
>accompanied himself on the piano with the other. He showed his usual ease
>with and mastery of the instrument.
>
>Thinking about Larry Adler's musical legacy reminded me of an Irish
>parrallel. At about the same time as I heard Larry Adler perform in Dublin a
>genius of Irish Traditional Music one Sean Maguire was just beginning to
>make his name. Sean Maguire brought Irish Traditional Fiddling to new
>undreamt of heights and was unchallenged as the greatest living Irish
>Fiddler for over fifty years until his recent death. Strangely though he was
>kind of written out of the script in the Irish Traditional Music scene. It
>was as if eveyone decided that he was in such a different league that we
>needed to "forget about Sean Maguire- now let's see who is the best
>traditional fiddler?" The Culture Police occasionally alluded to the fact
>that Maguire had had a classical music education - the suggestion being
>that this might have polluted the purity of his traditional music. Some of
>these people had the view that true traditional players could and should
>only acquire the tradition from their mother's milk and/or by osmosis from
>other older trad players, who happened to live in their immediate
>neighbourhood.
>
>I began to wonder whether the late Larry Adler might not also have suffered
>from a similar unspoken cultural exclusion. Sean Maguire and himself shared
>another trait. Like Muhamed Ali neither of them had any doubt that "they
>were the greatest".
>
>One way or another I think it is time for me to augment my meagre library of
>Larry Adler records and start listening to them again.
>
>Beannachtaí
>Aongus Mac Cana
>
>
>
>------------------------------
>
>Message: 7
>Date: Mon, 24 Dec 2007 09:20:10 -0800
>From: "G. E. Popenoe" <gpopenoe@xxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: [Harp-L] Seasons greetings!
>To: Harp-L <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
>Message-ID: <41B834A9-D93A-4097-95BB-3DDA06BB1AF0@xxxxxxxxx>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes
>
>Gary Popenoe here. Just joined harp-l but I go way back with Spah
>having played before two of their national conventions as a member of
>the Original Harmonica Band back in the late 80's.
>
>Just wanted to give a shout out to everyone for the holidays.
>
>I've been playing with singer songwriters here in LA. Next gig is at
>Kulaks Woodshed on January 4th with Severin Brown and James Coberly
>Smith. It is a live webcast. Log on to www.kulakswoodshed.com at about
>9PM Pacific time to watch.
>
>For archived sessions accompanying David Stone(ukelele), search my
>name on you-tube.
>
>
>Sent from my iPhone
>
>
>------------------------------
>
>Message: 8
>Date: Mon, 24 Dec 2007 09:33:18 -0800
>From: Tom Buttram <tomb500@xxxxxxx>
>Subject: [Harp-L] (no subject)
>To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
>Message-ID: <BAY112-W22BC44C2F466FE1C9F0AAE4590@xxxxxxx>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
>
>tomb500@xxxxxxx
>
>------------------------------
>
>Message: 9
>Date: Mon, 24 Dec 2007 13:35:52 -0600
>From: "Mick Zaklan" <mzaklan@xxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: [Harp-L] The Greatest?
>To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
>Message-ID:
> <88bfaf130712241135r2b7d7576sec48a88c6769762e@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> I was lucky enough to catch Larry Adler back in the 80's at the now
>defunct Tango Restaurant in Chicago. He worked there twice for extended
>engagements. The first time through he brought maybe the greatest piano
>accompanist ever, Ellis Larkins. That was the best duo I ever saw, in any
>genre of music. It was like listening to a great singer go through the
>American songbook. In fact, very few singers could have equaled what Larry
>was doing tone and phrasing-wise night after night in that little room.
> As far as Larry Adler being forgotten about; I'm sure that being
>blacklisted during the McCarthy era here in the States didn't help. And
>Larry's cockiness was legendary and probably didn't sit well with a lot of
>people. A wonderful player, though, and the guy who put the harmonica on
>the map. He was as important to our instrument as Segovia was to the
>guitar, as Coleman Hawkins was to the saxophone, and as Bill Monroe was to
>bluegrass music.
>
>Mick Zaklan
>
>
>------------------------------
>
>Message: 10
>Date: Mon, 24 Dec 2007 14:49:13 -0500
>From: Robert Bonfiglio <bon@xxxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: [Harp-L] (no subject)
>To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
>Message-ID: <872A2312-11EC-422B-B0A2-8DAEBFCADAF3@xxxxxxxxxx>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed
>
>To All Fellow Harmonica Players,
>
>Merry Christmas and a Harmonica Happy New Year!! Happy Harmonica
>Hanukkah too!!!
>
>Harmonically yours,
>
>Robert Bonfiglio
>http://www.robertbonfiglio.com
>
>
>
>
>------------------------------
>
>Message: 11
>Date: Mon, 24 Dec 2007 20:16:03 +0000
>From: Paul Routledge <kingley@xxxxxxx>
>Subject: [Harp-L] Harp L (no Subject)
>To: Harp L L <Harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
>Message-ID: <186280D6-6097-461B-9004-9A55684FEA33@xxxxxxx>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes
>
>Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.
>
>I hope you all have a great time and listen to and play some great
>music!
>
>Paul
>
>www.kingleyharp.co.uk
>
>
>
>
>------------------------------
>
>Message: 12
>Date: Mon, 24 Dec 2007 15:30:59 -0500
>From: "Rob Paparozzi" <Chromboy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: [Harp-L] Remembering Oscar
>To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
>Message-ID: <C4992AC7E37A4DFEA2A033170CBAF386@Bedroompc>
>Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
> reply-type=original
>
>Oscar Peterson Dies at 82...not exactly a member of our community....but
>here's a COOL rccord he did back in 75' at the Montreuux Jazz Fest in
>Switzerland with Toots and Company...I still play my VINYL copy!
>
>http://www.ejazzlines.com/c847/OSCAR-PETERSON-BIG-SIX-OSCAR-PETERSON-BIG-6-LIVE-AT-THE-MONTREUX-JAZZ-FESTIVAL-p2961.html
>
>he will be missed in the Music World..
>
>Happy Holidays,
>
>all the best,
>Rob Paparozzi
>www.myspace.com/hudsonriverrats
>
>
>
>------------------------------
>
>Message: 13
>Date: Mon, 24 Dec 2007 15:17:52 EST
>From: IcemanLE@xxxxxxx
>Subject: [Harp-L] My Larry Adler story
>To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
>Message-ID: <cf3.22e4f284.34a16df0@xxxxxxx>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
>
>Larry Adler - my experience.
>
>It was at the Trossinger Hohner International Competition in '95 (I believe
>it was '95, or close to that year anyways).
>
>Larry Adler was a guest of honor and was staying at the only real nice hotel
>in Trossingen. It was breakfast/brunch time. It appeared to me that everyone
>was avoiding this small skinny man with big glasses as he moved through the
>buffet line, sitting by himself in the corner and eating.
>
>At the time, I was, in a sense, new to the old chromatic masters in my
>understanding of who they were and what they have done in their lives. I was also
>fearless and a bit daft at the time, not really understanding the major
>figure he was. So, I wandered over and asked if he would mind if I joined him for
>breakfast. He seemed glad that someone actually came over to talk to him
>rather than avoid him.
>
>I introduced myself, mentioned that I knew who he was and admitted that I
>was new to the "scene" and therefore only had heard of him through reading, so
>was unfamiliar with what he had done. Apparently, this was a somewhat new
>experience for him, so he really relaxed and opened up, glad for the company for
>a moment. We chatted inconsequentially through the breakfast. Joe Filisko
>snapped a picture of the two "Larry's" chatting which I have somewhere in a box
>of photos.
>
>Larry was pretty down to earth and had lost none of his sharp mind nor wit.
>If I had realized exactly his stature, I probably would have either never
>approached him or started gushing. As it was, it was just a cool breakfast.
>
>Later on I competed in the World Diatonic Competition. After my "spot", when
>I left the small stage, Larry came up to me and shook my hand. He told me
>"I'm pretty well known for not liking the short harp, but I really enjoyed the
>way you play and your tone."
>
>It was only later that I realized the amazing compliment - especially in
>regards to the diatonic.
>
>
>
>**************************************See AOL's top rated recipes
>(http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004)
>
>
>------------------------------
>
>Message: 14
>Date: Mon, 24 Dec 2007 15:50:02 -0800 (PST)
>From: David Payne <dave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: [Harp-L] Re: The Greatest
>To: Harp L Harp L <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
>Message-ID: <686323.45953.qm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
>
> remember when I was a kid, maybe eight, I read a larry Adler biography. It was a whole new, strange world of playing to me at that age, the instrument, style and even, to some degree, lifestyle, was far different than anything we had on rural Elk River in W.Va. Reading about Larry got me thinking about music more seriously, thinking about more than maybe learning Stephen Foster from tab. I don't think any chromatic player has ever inspired me more than Doug Tate, but Larry got me thinking about a lot of things. Wish I could have met him, the closest we ever had to a big-name on the river, I think, was when David Allen Coe played this dive bar in Sissonville back in the early 1990s.
>
> Dave
>
> ________________________
> Dave Payne Sr.
> Elk River Harmonicas
> www.elkriverharmonicas.com
>
>
>------------------------------
>
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>End of Harp-L Digest, Vol 52, Issue 52
>**************************************
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