Re: [Harp-L] Re: Shakin Smith

[Paul Routledge <kingley@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Surely the point of listening to people play is to enjoy their ability 
to play within the style of music they are performing.
Sometimes a simple line played with feeling is more impressive than a 
flurry of notes at a million miles an hour.

I mean if someone is playing overblows and chromatic runs time and time 
again this becomes mighty tedious to listen to. Used in the right 
context though it can be awe inspiring.
But if you are trying to recreate that '50s blues style you wouldn't 
play those techniques if you remained authentic to the music.
If however you were playing Rock Blues or Jazz they could be used a lot.
The single most important thing is that whatever you play fits into the 
song you are playing.

Lazy Lester once said "Man, that fits like a saddle fits a pig"

Paul

On 24 Apr 2005, at 18:24, Planet Harmonica wrote:

> << As far as blues is concerned the only fresh and groundbreaking blues
> chaps are cats like:
>
> Jason Ricci
> Dennis Gruenling
> Michael Peloquin
>
> Those are the only guys that can hold my attention for an entire
> night. Shakin Smith couldn't hold my attention for more that a few
> bars.>>
>
> Well, two of these three can hardly be defined as blues, and the third 
> (Gruenling) isn't all that different from the masters that inspire him 
> (and I say this as someone who enjoys this stuff).
>
> I think defining freshness in blues as 'people who don't do blues' is 
> a bit silly. There are some players who manage to remain well within 
> the blues idiom and still sound fresh. Yes, they are rare as rocking 
> horsehit, but they exist. Steve Guyger is one of the them, Steven de 
> Bruyn was one of them (he doesn't do blues anymore), Paul deLay, when 
> he does blues, is one of them, and there are probably a rare few 
> others around. That doesn't mean it's not possible, just that it takes 
> someone special to do it.
>
> So, to sum it up, I agree with you that there is precious little 
> interesting released in blues today, but what there is isn't people 
> taking a bit of blues and moving outside of its realm (interesting 
> though Jason may be, he's more a rock act than a blues act, IMO, and 
> Michael is a lot more into soul and jazz to my ears than 
> straight-ahead blues)
>
> Ben
>
>
>
> > ---- Original Message ----
> > From: AV1901@xxxxxxx
> > To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> > Subject: RE: [Harp-L] Re:Improv in Blues : Re: Shakin Smith
> > Date: Sun, 24 Apr 2005 10:58:51 EDT
> >
> > > Mike:
> > >
> > > I said I listened to all the MP3's on the web site you referenced.
> > My
> > > comments clearly stated this, and did not generalize to the artist's
> > work as a
> > > whole. I stick with my statement based on what I heard there. If you
> > only listen
> > > to those MP3s on his site, and you know and use the licks of SBWII,
> > you gotta
> > > say Shakin' was influenced by SBWII. His own posted bio tends to
> > support my
> > > position. And being influenced by SBWII is not a bad thing.
> > >
> > > I'll say this, as a general statement, many harp players sound
> > better live
> > > than on CD/MP3. I'll take your word for it on Shakin Smith, as I've
> > never
> > > seen/heard him live. You clearly know more about this player than I
> > do. Does he
> > > ever get outside Buffalo? I'm near Philly.
> > >
> > > Just my opinion - on the MP3s *you* suggested Harp-Lers listen to -
> > I  didn't
> > > hear much new ground, except the last cut. And I like 'old ground'
> > stuff
> > > done well, which is what Shakin' seemed to be doing there. New
> > ground for  new
> > > ground's sake sometimes leaves me cold.
> > >
> > > Its all good.
> > >
> > > Andy Vincent
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org
> > > Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx
> > > http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l
>
> Chris Michalek
>
> www.michalekstrone.com
> CD Available
> http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/michalekstrone
>
>
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