Re: [Harp-L] Others borrowing from us (was tidbits)

["Bob Maglinte" <bbqbob917@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mojo Red" <harplicks@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "Robert McGraw" <r_mcgraw@xxxxxxxxxxx>; <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, November 12, 2004 9:40 AM
Subject: [Harp-L] Others borrowing from us (was tidbits)


> --- Robert McGraw <r_mcgraw@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > ...anybody else got info about other instruments
> > borrowing from harmonica?
> > WVa Bob
>
> Hey Bob,
>
> I don't know about other 'known' players doing
> this, but the guitarist in my old band, Jimmy
> Seville (now in San Diego) used to cop my licks
> right and left. He loves the harp and would tailor
> his licks around my playing. We'd often do
> call-and-response and play in tandem.
>
> He told me he often tries to play his guitar "as if
> it were a harp," just because he likes the sound of
> it so much. I miss that guy.
>
> Would be inneresting to hear other stories like
> this.
>
> Harpin' in Colorado,
> -Ken M.

Hi,
Some years back, I had a conversation about different musical influences 
with my friend Sax Gordon and while we were talking about not only styles, 
but musicians as well as instruments, he told me that he took a lot of stuff 
from harmonica players. Now Gordon is a monster sax player, and I told him, 
with a chuckle, that's coming full circle because harp players, most notably 
LW, took a lot of stuff from sax players. If one listens to the guitar 
playing of Albert King, a number of his phrasings sound easily as if they 
could very well been played on harmonica, and he had said one of his 
important influences was Sonny Boy Williamson. It goes to show you that many 
of the "heroes" of a wide variety of instruments listened to far more than 
just people playing the same instrument that they do. This is the very 
reason why I ALWAYS tell other harp players to don't just listen to harp 
players exclusively because of reasons like these, or they just wind up 
running in place with nowhere to go. Now when you hear that someone like a 
Sax Gordon took tons of stuff from harp players much as did LW did from 
horns, if the bell doesn't ring in your head to wake you up, nothing will. 
Too many harp players tend to freak out when there's a horn on the 
bandstand, whereas if anything, they should embrace it, and learn from them 
because it will do them a ton of good.

Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
MP3's: http://music.mp3lizard.com/barbequebob/