Re: RE: [Harp-L] riffing in unison

[Garry Hodgson <garry@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"MLeFree" <mlefree@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Everybody is always raving about Jason, with very good reason, but his band
> is RED HOT!  

so true.  it's so easy to fixate on jason and miss how good the whole band is.
and how *really* tight they are.

> Shawn has an incredible range and depth in his guitar skills,
> very much comparable to Charlie Baty, IMO, and that's a high compliment,
> believe me.  

as great as he is when he's out front, what really impresses me about shawn 
is the incredibly elegant, subtle fills and riffs he plays in the background,
adding texture and supporting the mood.  listen to "snowflakes and horses",
from the 2/22/05 show, while jason is rapping about dependency.  shawn
plays some lovely stuff behind there.  he can wail when he wants to, but
elegance is a lot harder to achieve than power.

> Maki, the young Argentinian drummer, lays down a terrific
> groove in any genre you choose and can really kick in the after-burners in a
> solo.  

a drummer i met told me he'd tried to play along with maki's stuff on 
the 2/25/05 recording.  finally gave up in disgust, wanted to throw his
drums away.  "tell me about it," i replied.  "i'm a harp player".

> Slim, the venerable bassist who recently recovered from open heart
> surgery, was good before his operation but the cat really rips 'em up on
> that bass now that his heart is beating on all cylinders.

i hadn't heard him before, but he's certainly on top of is game now.  he and
maki lock into a groove that is both rock solid and turn-on-a-dime agile.
really, really tight.

> As long as you can get over the dark side of being a mere mortal harper
> witnessing true greatness, a Jason Ricci and New Blood show is about as good
> as it gets, IMO.  Next chance you get to see them, try to reserve some of
> your consciousness to enjoy the terrific musicians backing the great one up.
> Of course, it may take a few shows before you can see and hear anything but
> Jason wailing.  ;^)

one of the advantages of having the live recordings is that you can
go back again and again and pick up the stuff you overlooked at first.


----
Garry Hodgson, Technology Consultant, AT&T Labs

Be happy for this moment.
This moment is your life.