Re: [Harp-L] Gussow in Princeton Alumni Weekly

[Jp Pagán <jplpagan@xxxxxxx>]

--- In harp-l-archives@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, Bob Cohen <bob@...> wrote:
>These discussions are always difficult because they pit change against tradition and strict notions of form against artistic innovation.  They ask the unanswerable question "What is [insert art form or style of music here].  Then purists and anarchists end up arguing (metaphorically) over who is the world's tallest midget or the shortest giant.  When is a blues, not a blues?  That depends on who asked the question.  On the other hand, if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and swims like a duck, it's probably a duck.
>

If it quacks like a duck, you probably need to open your throat cavity a little bit more and relax your face muscles. 

But seriously... Just to piggy-back on Bob's comment here, this is how it always is and probably always will be. We need people like Adam who push forward and people like Rick who preserve the past (this isn't to argue that Rick doesn't do anything new, mind you). We don't to lose our musical traditions, but we don't want to be boxed in by them either. I don't think we should get too upset with Adam. He may not be the most soft-spoken, but guys like him have been around forever. The first guy who ever bent a note was an Adam. The first guy who ever amplified his harmonica was an Adam. The first guy to play blues on a chromatic was an Adam. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for guys who didn't want to exemplify the traditions of their forbears.