[Harp-L] Re: Players to Listen To

[martin oldsberg <martinoldsberg@xxxxxxxxx>]

OK guys, I get it as per recent discussion: We shalt not listen to harmonica players in order to improve as harmonica players.
  Interesting. As for the blues harmonica players I´d say there´s a very strong tendency among not so few that what you really strive for is to sound completely like somebody else (LW, BWH, SBW etc). 
  I normally take exception to that -- but the context of my original question was to give pointers to an almost newbie/at best intermediate on how to behave in a band; and then I found that Butterfield live concert and it seemed like sound advice to present before him: "Try something like this."
  No way I´m going to say something mysterious about "finding his own style", or, "Bill Evans, man, that´s what you oughta listen to ..."
  We´re talking almost damage control here, and "his own voice" sounds like total crap at this point so that´s not an option.
 
Generally when learning the arts, stealing is a good thing. There´s a limit to it´s usefulness -- but don´t you all think you are Miles Davies in 1959 when you´re starting out. Be traditional at first and see what you can discover as you live and learn. Originality is at times of very high value, but just sounding good is not catshit (as we say here in Sweden). 
 It was John Popper who said, "My favorite harmonica player is Jimi Hendrix" (and I didn´t even know Jimi played the harp!) and of course, that´s really cool, but also of limited instructional use, as well as descrption of a style. (Jimi H was a very idiomatic electric guitar player last time I heard him, but I guess you can always throw him in and people will say "Amen".)
 
But if I shall join the club and name a few models/paragons as well, I´d say:
  Neil Young (who I don´t care that much for in a general way) for his insistent and rather crude gnawing on the neck of a guitar, until, at times something like a beautiful monster appears;
  Bill Frisell for his ability to make even the simplest melody come to new life by ... repeating it (erh, well);
  Don Byas (despite his mannerisms) for his absolutely shameless way of simply playing more and more beautiful things.
 
cheers,
Martin