Is what they say, what we do?

[haandruss@xxxxxxx (Harvey Andruss)]

I keep getting these ~Request~ mailers from a promo Musicland was running
with CD purchases (regional retailer HQ-ed here in Minnesota).   I haven't
usually read it too carefully, but found this interesting and thought you
might also (apologies for the length, and some redundancy with past praises
of Clarke/Primich, but hey, these guys are good !).  No affiliation, no
permission.  Sosumi.  Hope Mr. Glover gets a kick out of this,
fellow-lister Dave Ray :-)
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"A Bunch of White Guys Sitting Around Blowing" by Tony Glover
(p.15 March 1995  ~Request~ 7500 Excelsior Blvd., Minneapolis, MN 55426)

"The wailing, driving blues harp is everywhere these days.  Not only did
Eric Clapon take Muddy Waters harp alumnus Jerry Portnoy on his arena tour,
but the visceral, funky sound has become a Madison Avenue staple as well.
Harp has turned up on spots for shoes, tacos, beer, and automobiles --
anytime admen go for the grit.  IN the past year, more than a dozen albums
have been released by blues bands led by white harpists.  Alll which
suggests that Chicago blues has become the Dixieland jazz of the 90's.
Dixieland was the earliest form of ensemble jazz.  It thrived in teh early
1900s, then faded as players died off or turned to newer forms like swing
and bop.  But the music survived because middle-aged white record
collectors who loved the sound started getting together on weekends with
clarinets, banjos, and trombones to re-create thier favorite recordings,
often whil dressed in the period clothes like striped shirts and straw
hats.

"Chicago blues was made an art by Waters, who took his Mississippi musical
roots, added bass, drums, piano, and guitars, and then amplified it all,
along with the searing blues harp of innovative genius Little Walter.
Chicago blues ruled ithe chars in the '50's and seeped into the folk market
in the '60's, before it to began fading as originators like Howling Wolf,
Sonny Boy Williamson, and Waters passed away.  Now it's making a comeback
in the hands of middle-aged white guys, often dressed in oddly colored
polyester suits.  It seems every neighborhood has a corner-bar five-piece
kicking out the Chess Records repertoire of '50's blues classics.

"If the glut of recent albums is any indication, the entry-level ability of
harp players has definitely improved. Every one of them has a high degree
of basic chops and technical expertise; in fact, several have published
harp instruction books/cassettes/videos.  Unfortunately, you can't learn
creativity or taste, and all too often these records offer little more than
banal xeroxes of past glories.  With the original records still readily
available, what's the point?

"The best of the batch so far are by West Coast harpist William Clarke and
Austin, Texas, player Gary Primich.  Like Muggsy Spanier, Bix Beiderbecke,
Eddi Condon, and Bud Freeman -- first-generation Dixieland revivalists who
worked around Chicago in the "20's -- both learned their music on the
scene.  They sat in with the original bands and paid dues in bar and
dance-hall gigs.

"Clarke's ~Groove Time~ mixes Chicago funk with California sing for a
jump-blues sound that features stand-up bass and saxlike harp riffs.  A
disciple of another ex-Waters harpist, George "Harmonica" Smith, Clarke has
a fat and nasty tone, and uses lots o octave chording.  He writes most of
his material, which is based on the genre but offers more than just
reworkings of old themes.  Despite unfortunate costume choices -- he seems
to favor fluorecscent suits a size or too small -- Clark is a compelling
performer.

"Primich's ~Traveling Mood~ is eclectic, ranging form acoustic to electric,
with rockabily blues, Chicogo grit, and Latino-jazz-style instrumentals
adding to the stew.  Prmich plays with taste -- sparsely or filling with
nasty growls as need be -- and this original numbers might make you grin.

"Imitation may be flattery, but creating is what counts: these guys add to
the music and inject vitality.  Like Dixieland, Chicago blues is past its
prime, but it sure ain't dead and gone."
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Harv <HAAndruss@xxxxxxx> -- opinions mine

PS -- to Chris M -- if Willie Murphy hates "harp players' so much, what's
he doing producing ~Bill's Blues~ for Big Bill Hickey, with Jimmy Rogers
and Hubert Slumlin?