Re: [Harp-L] ....what is special about this?/Otis Mote?



Hi Rick

Yes, that's Otis Mote doing it all on "Tight Like That". On the other side of that 78 he does "Railroad Bill", and at the same session he and his brother, Tom, do two gospel numbers that feature harp too.
Get this ... Otis Mote was 14 years old!! This was Virginia in 1929. I have a feeling he was influenced by Foster - regrettably, one of the few. This kid was something else - reputed to be able to play two harps at once. Unless I hear any objections, I'm going to quote from an old post I made to Harp-l ;>)


>Jim said<

Been listening to a CD set I recently purchased: "Virginia Roots, the 1929
Richmond sessions" (Outhouse Records 1001). Info at
http://www.outhouserecords.com/

<sorry, now out of print<

I put off getting it 'cause of the
abundance of quartet singing. Turns out that stuff was really super. Sam G.
might like it too - kinda black barbershop spirtuals.
Anyhow, what might be of interest to this group is the great harmonica
recordings in the set. All the Blues Birdhead stuff is here - you know, the
guy of "first recorded overblow" fame. For those who already have this
material on "The Great Players, 1927-1936" (Document DOCD-5100), the sound
here is way better. The Bubbling Over Five cuts sound practically Hi-Fi,
with all the unusual instrumentation of this group in sharp relief.
The other bunch of harmonica work is of Otis Mote, which is quite a
revelation. The four cuts he's on were recored and released before his 15th
birthday! His "Tight like that" and "Railroad Bill" show him with a fully
mature technique that approaches Gwen Foster. "Tight like that" is kind of
noisy at the beginning, then gets good. You can hear it (from a different 78
copy) at
http://www.honkingduck.com/BAZ/baz_one.php?req=ARTIST&pg=11&auid=1311&tuid=3
61&cuid=20336A
I don't know how many of you have heard of guys who could play two harps at
once, but I never heard any examples until now. This will probably be
debated, but I think the evidence is right there on "Church of God is right"
and "Home in the rock", two cuts he recorded with his brother, Tom. I can
hear two harps and the second one is playing an abbreviated version in
perfect time. The missing notes, my guess, are the ones he couldn't get
"blowing" through his nose or whatever <g> he's using. The rest of the set
is filled out with great stringband, jugband, "Hawaiian", and "folk"
singing.

end quote<

Cheers, Staggerin' Jim Listen to Roots Harmonica at http://www.live365.com/stations/staggerinjim


----- Original Message ----- From: "Rick Dempster" <rick.dempster@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "David Payne" <dave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, September 07, 2008 7:33 PM
Subject: [Harp-L] ....what is special about this?/Otis Mote?



While we're trying to figure out what it is Dave, I might ask, re. the Honking Duck archive, who is playing harp on this. One is led to expect, judging by the harp only appearing without the vocal, that this is a one man act with racked harp. Uses a little of the technique used by Gwen Foster, but I don't think it's him. So maybe it is simply a new name to me: Otis Mote; the track is 'Tight like that'.
http://honkingduck.com/mc/audio_compact?page=9&apage=O


David Payne <dave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 8/09/2008 9:12 >>>
http://honkingduck.com/mc/node/312
I figured it out about halfway through. I'll not say what it is, so as not to deny anybody that "WOW!" moment I had. What it is, though, is incredible...
Dave
____________________
Dave Payne Sr.
Elk River Harmonicas
www.elkriverharmonicas.com




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