[Harp-L] JJM:s Blue 3rd

[martin oldsberg <martinoldsberg@xxxxxxxxx>]

Ben,
 
I give you the point: "anonymous" was too harsh, he´s certainly better than that that. It´s just this disturbing feeling I have that something musically interesting also went out when he "gave up flash" -- althought i don´t particularly care for flash as such (can do it myself; gets kinda boring after awhile).
  So "Routes" sold poorly .. well it just goes to show ... 
  If I understand correctly -- I think it was you who said it several yrs ago -- there are no plans to re-issue his earlier material? (Maybe "Blues harp" is still widely available, but ...) A blasphemous thought is that perhaps he, in these days of copyright piracy, should do mankind a service and put, say, "Routes" out on the Net? As I understand it he is not well known in the US and possibly that could spur an interest in his other work? (I´m presenting this, of course, purely as a hypothetical stratagem; not actually encouraging such a heinous crime ...)
  As far as the general public´s interest in purely instrumental music, harp or otherwise, we may have hit an historical low, sad to say. Apart from the dwindling jazz scene (and the electronica stuff) the idea seems to be a crappy singer -- but perhaps good looking! -- anytime before a purely instrumental group, no matter how skilled. I recall all those somewhat dorky but charming pop instrumental hits from the early 60s; that tradition appears to be stone dead. Tempora/mores,
laments
Martin

Hey Martin,

You've certainly laid down the dilemna alright, although I would disagree with one thing : on these tracks on his own albums, and this is especially the case in Blue 3rd, where JJ takes the sideman seat, I don't think he's anonymous. That's why I feel that he may have found a high road our of the dilemna. After all, there is a long tradition of the harmonica as a side instrument, and indeed one could suggest that there's a lot more striking genius in diatonic harmonica accompaniment as there is in diatonic harmonica lead. And this is undoubtedly where JJM is coming from.

I had a kind of epiphany seeing him live in St Aignan a year ago. I honestly didn't think I would enjoy it that much. I had seen him live over a dozen times, and I didn't find much to it anymore. And then, that concert. Just him and Manu on guitar, and the most beautiful, full bodied, warm yet powerful harp sound I'd heard in years, if ever, sparse playing, something akin to musical zen. It made me listen to Blue 3rd in a whole different way. Listen to the intro to "Some Kind of Pressure". First of all, the thing that catches your ear is the vibration of the double bass, and then, as if in response, comes the vibration of the harp. THAT's where JJ is going. He's not quite there yet, it's hit and miss, but it's certainly not anonymous. It's unmistakebly Milteau.

And I also agree with you that Routes is the ultimate harmonica album. It's also Milteau's poorest selling album of the 90s, believe it or not. I think he has understood that the general public does not want to hear harmonica music played for harmonica players, and although, IMO, Route isn't in that category at all (unlike a good many instrumental harp albums), that's how JJ interepreted its failure.

Ben FELTEN
http://harmonica.typepad.com





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