[Harp-L] Virtuosity- A digression

["samblancato" <samblancato@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

After reading that most recent on this seemingly endless thread I had to
give my 2 cents worth.

Sometimes I wonder why I should spend any more time on this instrument.
It's got to be one of the hardest instruments to master- it's just not
designed very well and we're left to make it work in all kinds of situations
it was never intended for.  Very few people have any real appreciation for
the harmonica as well.  But when I think of taking up the guitar (I played
when I was a teenager) it just makes me yawn.  There are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
many good guitarists out there. They're everywhere; what does the world need
with another guitarist?  So on the one hand I get sick of the harp and it's
limitations and on the other I see these limitations as a challenge, and
that's not even considering *my* limitations.

And yet I ask myself where is the world where my harp will fit in?  I think
it's dying.  Yeah, there are guys like Jason Riccis out there, who make it
fresh and new, but ask the average person who he is - what's your bet that
they know at all?  On the other hand there are hundreds and hundreds of guys
warring bowling shirts and playing some flavor of Chicago blues harp and as
much as I love that style -its mainly what I play- it is getting to where it
sounds pretty predictable.  And still, it's obscure.  People just don't
flock to venues where this kind of music is played.  So people like Jason
Ricci start to look real good.  This guy's chops can hold up in a modern
setting - but that's a tough act to follow.  I'm just touching on some
issues here. I'm not trying to pass judgment on the state of the harp.  And
you guys out there in the bowling shirts, more power too you.

But having considered just a corner of the limited world of harmonica music,
I come to this question of who the virtuosos are and what makes them so and
I think I have come up with a different answer than the rest of you guys and
it is this: I think it's an irrelevant question. We don't need virtuosos to
set some sort of standards for us.  What we need is a context/world/culture
where this becomes a question worth considering not just by players but by a
public that is actually interested. We need a pop music environment where
there's not just one harp guy that people know of- John Popper- but rather
one where there are dozens of John Poppers. Because, let's face it, to play
the harp means playing music that's obscure, that's on the fringe somehow.
The Flecktones are great and I love what they do, and there's wonderful
harmonica in there, but there is only one station on my town that'll play
their stuff and then only a couple of tracks per week (they have too long a
list of other obscure stuff they have to get to). Somebody said that -was it
Howard Levy?- said that he feels like he's only scratching the surface of
where this instrument can go and I agree.  Until the harp starts seeping
into lots of kinds of music, weather a guy is a "virtuoso" won't really mean
anything beyond his or here little subculture.  Then again, maybe I just
need some Prozac or Welbutrin or something.

There. I think that amounts to about 02.00 worth.

Sam Blancato, Pittsburgh