[Harp-L] Harmonica Listening(s)-Michael Peloquin

[<alliance@xxxxxxxxx>]

I've had a bunch of harmonica cd's sent my way recently, and thought I'd
pass along some thoughts etc . . . 

 

Michael Peloquin:  House of Cards/Various 10-Hole Sightings

 

I first met Mike Peloquin in 1998, when he came to the Chapel Hill gathering
that I hosted with Howard Levy.  While a lot of the guys there knew each
other, either personally or by reputation, Mike was more of a 'rumor' (as no
one had heard him play or knew much about him). From SF, pro horn player,
current Hohner World Harmonica Champion; he showed up dressed all in black,
with a goatee that turned his face into a permanent scowl, and basically
looked (and acted) like a pretty scary dude. Of course, by the end of the
week, Mike showed himself to be the 'resident goofball' of the group, as
well as the expected monster player; and I've been an enormous Mike Peloquin
fan ever since.

Recently, I've been listening to two Michael Peloquin cd's:  House of Cards,
a collection of mostly self-penned and self-produced, and Various 10-Hole
Sightings; a compilation of various LIVE side-man and studio work.

House of Cards is a work of love.  It's the harmonica player's dream to make
sure the harmonica gets the love and respect that we'd all like to think it
deserves in the studio setting, and Mike gets to live the dream here.
Remember, Mike is also a top Bay Area sax player, so he gets to surround his
harmonica parts with  horn-section parts as well.  The productions are
mostly from the 'massive,' Memphis R&B tradition . . . with a more modern
'sheen' to them . . .  

The more I listen to the tunes he has written, the more I understand the
'narrative' flow of his writing and thought process.  For example . . . the
first tune, 24 hours in a Day, laments that, although there's 24 hours in a
day, his 'love interest' doesn't even have one hour for him. Later, in 23
Kinds of Fine, I'm thinking that perhaps he's found someone that has turned
things around in that respect . . . Well, even if that's not quite what he
had in mind, the song writing consistently has something to say; and that's
a good thing . . . 

Harmonica-wise, he basically puts on a clinic of how to produce and play
modern blues-based (and other) harmonica parts and solos (there's some
chromatic, and more melodic pieces wedged in as well).  The thing that
surprised me is what a great blues player he is, as I've always been around
him in non-blues settings . . . He's got all of the elements of the modern
blues arsenal, wrapped up in a gorgeous tone with great control.  His
tb-ing, chord-playing, horn-line part playing alone are enough to grab the
harmonica community's interest and admiration. Then, add his sax-player's
musicality and fluid comfort with the positional/overblow tools of the
trade, and you've got what Norton Buffalo in his fine introduction calls
"The New Breed of Renegade Harmonica Monster" . . .  If you are interested
in figuring out what the heck that means, check out "House of Cards," and
let me know what you think . . . 

Finally, I want to quickly make mention of Mike's side-man cd, "Various
10-Hole Sightings."  Bottom-line, I really enjoyed it because it's a bunch
of great tunes with a bunch of great harp parts; from blues to bluegrass . .
. I especially enjoyed the several live cuts, with great bands, and killer
harmonica parts and solos . . . Mike shows that when he's on the big stage,
he has no problem stepping it on up . . . 

 

Paul Messinger/Chapel Hill NC