[Harp-L] RE: Dixieland Jazz Harp? Chute YEAH Bebbeee !

["Hurricane Ramón" <party_man1@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Hurricane sez :

Ah plays lots of dat stuff . Here in the Palm Springs area of southern California , if you don't do Standards & Dixie you just don't play many of the really hot jam sessions here that are " Happening "  or get hired by the country clubbers for " casuals " which I do . I can't decide what or who or which I like best of the genres to be truthfull , my " ruthers " are dependant on who the players are around me at the time , you see  I like to " accomodate " other musicians first ( it is the reason I becane pretty good at this so take this to heart if you want to advance in things harmonica , remember the key words to say when asked what you want to play when first ask when you hit a jam  , -- Say " what evers easy man , try it if you can , it opens up doors fasssssst) , once I nail something that way on stage with a new set of musicians I have never played with I always get asked later by them once I have their attention and respect " Hey man what do [YOU] want to play now " . 
That's the way to make friends and infuence musicians :)And den :

" rip it up and ball tonight ! " ( Little Richard ! )   

Any of you guys rip on " Back Home In Indiana " , Benny Goodman ripped on that number and for cross harpin ( 2nd position ) it feels like it was meant for a diatonic . I [do] rip it up big time on that song. I loves it and have an story about it and a guy considered the " Benny Goodman " Of Finland that happened when I toured with a certain Finland group when they worked the Palm Springs Jazz Festival & other southern California venues on New years of 90/91 it's a good one . I won't name the group or person though . 

I can say this about those Fins with out fear of contradiction :

" Man can they put the Finlandia vodka away in  the morning like I drink straight orange juice for breakfast ! ! " ( I am no tea toldler either :)   

When I play casuals it's always the case and not the exception to hear some one approach me after a Dixieland set or a show and say :

" I didnt know you could play THAT on a little ( diatonic ) harmonica 

. . or . .  

I never heard a harmonica like that do justice to Dixieland , wow , you sound like a trumpet player ".

It's no wonder I have phrasings that sound a lot like a trumpet player , my foist evah musical studies were of Louis Armstrong & Bix Biederbecke when I was 4 . I listed to all their recordings my grandfather had . The impression left by those two has been a wonderful and powerful building block from where to base my/your(s?) style from . 

Other's I listened too were Hoagy Carmichael , Scott Joplin , Fats Waller , Ellington , Harry James , Al Hirt , Pete Fountain , Jach Teagarden , The Dorsey Bros.( I have a mint set of Fat's 78's in those album holder sets with pic's of Fats that I have had since my grandfather died in 1969 , they still sound great ) . At the same time I listened to the Harmonicats too . It was after I had studied theses guys first in the 1950's did I begin to study Sonny Boy(s) , Sonny Terry , James Cotton , Duford Bailey , Charlie MacCoy , James Cotton , Little Walter , Paul  Butterfield , Charlie Musslewhite and others throught out the 1960's , the 1970's I began to realize what I wanted to sound like and started to formalize and create my style of playing a harmonica taking and stealing from all the above and more I have not mentioned like the " OLD HOBO " . 

It was fun to see where other hitters were at then with their harmonica playing , like Magic Dick & Lee Oskar my contemporaries at the time in Rock harmonica playing in those 1970's

Rock your socks off with Dixieland man it is to much fun if you open up and " LEARN " something different if you have not considered it yet . 

What the hey - - Ain't nutin but a thang , don't make a mistake and let the ole " Generation Gap " bug bite ya ! 

Why that thing happened for the firt time in the 50's and then on and on later for the life of me I have never understood why there was or is any generation gap in music - - - - It is a totally unacceptable attitude ( Yep you guys & gals know who you are too , SHAME SHAME SHAME if you one of dem ! ) to have no matter who or how old you are simply put if you call yourself a musician at all . Every generation has their proponets and detractors in music , intelegernt musicians sort out the wheat from the chaffe  

To quote Duke Ellington :

" Music is neither old or new "  

Sincerely :

HR 


Aka :

Party_Man1@xxxxxxxxxx

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