Re: [Harp-L] RE: Gil Scott Heron Harp Player

["Robert Paparozzi" <chromboy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Wow!...Nice homework was done by both Tom Ball and Dave!!

   Tomorrow my friend Bernard Purdie is back in from Chicago, I'll ask him 
if he remembers any of this as I know he did many records with Gil-Scott and 
toured with him and worked alot with Stevie around that time. I went to see 
Gil Scott Heron Live at my College back in the early 70's....

little did I know, that about a decade and 1/2 later, I'd be using that 
drummer in MY band,-)))

thanx for the interesting history lesson guys,-)
best,
rob



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dave Shannon" <daveshannon@xxxxxxx>
To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2005 2:40 PM
Subject: [Harp-L] RE: Gil Scott Heron Harp Player


> =====
>
> I wrote:
>
> > Does anyone know who plays the superb chromatic harp solos on Gil
> > Scott-Heron's Storm Music -- from the album Reflections -- and on
> > the live version of The Bottle which was a bonus track on the album
> > Winter in America?
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> > Dave Shannon
>
>
> ======
>
> Tom Ball wrote:
>
> Hi Dave
>
> According to ArtistDirect, the harp player on "Storm Music" is Glen 
> Turner:
> http://ubl.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,160134,00.html
>
> Dunno whether the live version of "The Bottle" of which you speak is
> the same version as the one on "Best of Gil Scott-Heron," but if so,
> according to MyMusic, the harp player is either Glen Turner or Bital
> Sunni Ali:
> http://www.mymusic.com/product.asp?curr=1&myptr=theiceberg&muzenbr=73297
>
> cheers,
>
> Tom Ball
>
> ========
>
> Thanks, Tom
> I have done a little research myself and found that Gil Scott Heron toured 
> with Stevie Wonder in 1980. The following from Amazon synopsis of the Gil 
> Scott-Heron book The Last Holiday:
>
> In the autumn of 1980, Stevie Wonder embarked on a 41-city tour of North 
> America - The Hotter than July Summer Superblast. It had been a long-held 
> ambition of his and the purpose of the tour was to lobby for Dr King's 
> birthday to be officially made into a national holiday. Scott-Heron and 
> his band were brought in at the last moment as Stevie Wonder's support act 
> when it became clear that Bob Marley, who was lined up to preform 
> throughout, was not going to be leaving hospital. This volume tells the 
> epic story of this tour and more. It is also Scott-Heron's autobiography, 
> a portrait of Stevie Wonder and a heartfelt testament to the man who 
> inspired the whole enterprise. Whether it is on the civil rights movement, 
> the music industry, the media or growing up in the US South, Scott-Heron 
> uses his outspoken insights to create an account of many remarkable 
> people's lives. In 1986 Martin Luther King's birthday was officially 
> declared a national holiday in the US.
>
> I am guessing that Gil closed his show with his biggest hit ? The Bottle ? 
> and perhaps Stevie joined him on stage for this encore. This leads me to 
> think, what I have suspected for many years, that the harmonica player on 
> Storm Music, released in 1981, a year after the Stevie tour is not Glen 
> Turner but none other that Stevie Wonder...!
>
> Is there a Glen Turner out there? Does anyone know him or Bital Sunni Ali?
> Can any of the Stevie aficionados out there recognise any trademark Stevie 
> trills?
>
> Whatever, I love those tracks and I'm very happy that there is a Martin 
> Luther King Day.
>
> Thanks and peace
>
> Dave Shannon
>
>
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