Subject: [Harp-L] Re: new age era/REVIEW of Sonny's music.....

[EGS1217@xxxxxxx]

Sonnytone writes (snipped):
 
"Madcat always gave it up, Peter I hope to meet you someday, I think   
we could communicate without saying a word with just harp talk, I have  
totally  respected your playing and inspiration for all these years,  never 
got a 
chance  to say that or speak with you, if there is anything  I can do for you 
in 
some way  for any amp you have just holler.  _www.sonnyjr.com_ 
(http://www.sonnyjr.com)"
 
...You're so right.  That's one of the many appealing things about  Peter.  
His affability and approachability at Buckeye & SPAH and  willingness to share 
his extensive knowledge in the corridors with some  people who saw him with 
his ukulele and were intrigued enough to stop and  talk to him was most 
enjoyable...but MadCat is an extraordinary player (way  up at the top of my list).  I 
was aware he was light-years beyond my  capabilities...but joined his teach-in 
tables just to hear him play and  hold forth. What I probably enjoy the most 
is his Sonny Terry "whoops  and calls" style playing.  You probably already 
know how  much you have in common and how closely your playing resembles his at  
times.  
 
I suppose this is my cue to segue into the next of my  "procrastinated 
reviews still to be done:
 
My hesitant  review of his (Sonny Jr's) older CD and some of  his newer music 
(Caveat...Sonny is aware I have no real technical know-how and  just wanted 
my opinion, good or bad):
 
I've listened to his "Sonny Live CD.....this is now my 5th or 6th run  
through.  I have it on now, turned up loud so I can hear it... the last  track is 
coming on again...and it is BY FAR my  favorite.   Forgive me for not knowing 
the names of most of  the songs (it's unlabeled) ....but the  piece is 
incredible!  His  tone just blows me away....I could listen to (and have!) that one 
track over and  over again.  Jason does a number or two where he slows everything 
down  and plays like this and it always makes me sit up and take notice....so 
it is  something in the sound that grabs me.....and Sonny is  an absolute  
master of it.  Wow!   I knew of him only as  "the Amp Man"  here on the 
list....but had no idea he'd be this good a player!  

For some nutty reason I thought people went into the tech side of it  because 
they weren't the  best at  playing (my mistake).  That is  SO clearly not 
true for Sonny.  I enjoyed his spoken  interchange on the CD with James Cotton - 
he was actually opening for  him.  How cool is that?  
 
A big surprise for me is how youthful Sonny sounds on the CD and  on his 
newer music tape too, by the way. I suppose my impression  of him on the List was 
always as the "elder statesman - Amp  Guy"...  after all he'd known, traveled 
with and played harp with  Sonny Terry..so he should be ancient by now, right? 
 Not so.  As  already mentioned, I'm nuts about ST's "whoops" type 
playing...have been a  big fan of MadCat's style of doing that and there Sonny was, 
doing Sonny Terry  whoops and calls as if inhabited by ST's ghost on the CD.   
Unbelievable....quite gave me chills.  But then there's another side to  
SonnyJr....he accompanies a wonderful female vocalist on two numbers  (one  happens to 
be a long-time favorite song of mine: "Since I  Fell For You by Lenny 
Welch")....and proves he can be an able  sideman...taking the harp lead when required 
and playing sweetly and  beautifully. This was done live in the Studio..no 
overdubs, one take, the vocals  blending with the instruments with real 
Soul..that's what I call  "seamless".  Very nice indeed. He is SO  far advanced  
technically than anything I could dream of ....with unbelievable vibrato,  control, 
other techniques I honestly have no idea yet how to describe  (because I'm 
still too much of an amateur harmonicist to be able to discern  from listening 
exactly what techniques a player is using  (vis-a-vis TB'ing, OB'ing,puckering, 
etc.)) ....He plays  Corinna,  Corinna..."with feeling" and it was so good, 
then switches to an A  harp and launches into more of the Sonny Terry Whoops 
that are unerringly  accurate with a little "Down by the Riverside" as taught by 
Sonny  Terry. Then switches gears to something he wrote/created on an F harp 
with a  friend of his who is a Reverend..... nice, upbeat... I like those high 
single  notes....trilled bits (I don't know how else to describe them).  Then 
 a cowboy/western bit... very nostalgic (he really can play in every style)  
then switches to the big low C harp made famous by ST..that deep  vibrato that 
always grabs me and knocks my socks off (and made me first  want to learn to 
play the Blues on diatonic).  I really felt his emotion in  this music.  I 
know Sonny has some medical things coming up that are a bit  scary and perhaps 
even this he put into these tracks.  It's almost  painfully raw at times  
...passionate... always real emotions feeding  his music.  It's high time he put all 
of this together and recorded a CD  (in my humble opinion).  He's as good as 
anyone I've heard.  
 
Something else...if all that I just listened to is being played  through his 
own Amps (and I've no doubt it is though we haven't discussed  it)....then I 
now understand why everyone who has a clue craves playing  through one.
 
Elizabeth