[Harp-L] Rick Dempster and Body & Soul

[Jason Rosenblatt <jason@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Guys,

I don't know if I'm making Rick's point below or refuting it, but 
here's a crack at Body & Soul.

http://www.shtreiml.com/bodySoul.mp3

Yeah it's a difficult song to be sure and I don't know if it will ever 
lie "naturally" on the diatonic harmonica, but keep in mind the 
technique of treating the diatonic harmonica, chromatically is in it's 
relative infancy. I've only been doing it for about 4-years. I think 
through proper education (both general musical education and that 
specific to the harmonica) and time (read practice) more people will 
discover that there is more to the harmonica than 12-bar blues. Sure 
maybe not every composition or musical technique may be applicable to 
the harmonica. There's no harm in trying to expand one's skill through 
trial and perhaps error.

J. Rosenblatt

P.S. the noise in the background of the clip is my wife practicing 
trombone.



Rick Dempster writes:
"The overblow thing seems to be an important ingredient; damn
things  sound so awkward and ugly that it's easier to get away with it 
in
freak-out  type material, or takes on eastern scales that most 
westerners
expect
to  sound weird anyhow. The day I hear someone play - on a diatonic - a
credible
version of, say, 'Body and Soul' perhaps, with good improvisation a  la
Lester,
perhaps, and with the tone of Charlie McCoy playing 'Ruby', that  will 
be the
day
when I can feel that all this messing around with overblows  has 
amounted to
more
than an outlet for idle curiosity. Somehow I doubt that  day will come. 
(I'm
sure
I won't be the blowing at its dawn either)"

Hey List,
 I guess Rick doesn't like the sound of overbends??
 That's okay, anybody can like or not like anything they want.

 But...um... Rick, FY I -  improvising over the chords to  Body & Soul 
(I
think it's Eb,D,Dm,-just about the hardest modulation  to play  on 
diatonic!) is
not why I play overbends. It's easy to  set up that kind of  straw horse
argument to try to make a point, a  la: "The day I hear Toots play a 
convincing
version of Roller Coaster on  chromatic is the day I'll accept it as a 
blues
instrument."

You'd have to listen very carefully to tell where the overbends are on  
my
recordings, which are plain old rock/pop. (Not " freak-out type  
material".) No
one has ever said they sounded awkward & ugly, but it's true  I can't 
play the
changes in B&S. (Yet.) So what? How did using  overbends get 
intrinsically
mixed up with playing jazz or playing in all  twelve keys? I can play 
pretty
comfortably in seven or eight positions  (depending on the tunes,) & 
overbends
are necessary to make the scale &  interval ideas I want to use in the 
music I
play. I have way more trouble  getting half step bends to sound right 
than I do
overbends.

 When you say you haven't heard Michalek yet, well, then, you haven't  
heard
him. Like the other poster who slammed Michalek the other day, how can 
you
criticize something you haven't heard? (See my long post #45003, near 
the end)
Next to Howard Levy, I would say Chris is the best OB player out  
there. His
overbends don't stick out to me.

 Incidently, I've personally heard  Levy play the s**t out of  Body & 
Soul.
Raised the hair on my arms.  Rick, maybe you wouldn't dig  it, but I 
sure did!
There are probably a few others who can play B&S. Maybe  even Chris. 
Maybe
George Brooks. Maybe one of those South American whiz kids.  Maybe a 
bunch of
folks. .

 BTW, I've been enjoying harp-l a lot lately. Thanks to all the  
posters &
especially to the administrators (you sexy boys).
Later,
Rosco
_may.be  au.gust_ (http://www.maybeaugust.com/)

download or stream live recordings: _may.be au.gust_
(http://www.maybeaugust.com/Live.aspx)