[Harp-L] S.P.A.H. and an underappreciated player

["Mick Zaklan" <mzaklan@xxxxxxxxx>]

  These days it would take a stick of dynamite to blow me out of my house
and separate me from the TV remote on any given night.  I drive all day long
for a living.  The prospect of fighting Chicago's road construction traffic
for two hours in the evening in order to catch someone playing harp in the
city no longer appeals to me very much.
  Occasionally, though, I'll make an exception.  I don't know how Joe
Filisko managed to coax harpist extraordinaire Jim Liban out of Cheeseland (
i.e. Wisconsin) for a harmonica workshop at the Old Town School of Folk
Music a couple of weeks ago, but I'm grateful he did. To the best of my
knowledge, Jim hasn't had a harmonica in his mouth in Chicago for well over
a decade. Furthermore, at the workshop Jim confirmed what I had suspected.
Despite nearly forty years of brilliant harp playing in public; he had never
before addressed a group of harmonica players about what he does on the
instrument.  Apparently, no one had ever asked.
  "Professor" Liban spoke and played informally for about 90 minutes that
evening.  For me, it was worth the trip alone to see the look of mild
bewilderment on his face after receiving two standing ovations from the
class and being swarmed at the end by harpists buying his hard-to-find
cds--two and three copies at a time.
  I'm not the first guy on the list to bring this up; but I do so for a
reason.  There have been three major harmonica conventions in Denver over
the last few years.  Not one of them managed to incude Dave Therault as part
of the entertainment.  A guy in their own backyard with a long-standing
underground reputation as a significant, big-time player.  A guy who
could've used the national exposure.  For whatever reason, it never
happened.  I would hate to see history repeat itself in Milwaukee next
year.  Jim Liban lives in Milwaukee.  He could fall out of bed and be
anywhere in town within a half-hour.  Including a S.P.A.H. convention.
  We're not talking about a good local player here.  We're talking about an
elite, important player.  A player Mark Hummel identified as among the "best
of the best".  A player Joe Filisko called "one of the greatest living blues
harmonica players".  As a guy who has tracked Jim for roughly 30 years, I'll
throw in my two cents.  Chronologically; Jim started out at around the same
time as Paul Oscher, Rick Estrin, Rod Piazza, Jerry Portnoy, Mark Hummel,
and Kim Wilson.  Skill-wise, chops-wise, and dues-paying-wise; he more than
belongs in their company.  Moreover, of that group, he is stylistically the
most distinct and versatile harpist. I can tell you that Jim is also a fine
country harpist (ask Kirk Johnson and David Allan Coe about that), a superb
r&b player, and the best rock and roll harmonica player I've ever seen.  And
he plays a mean Cajun harp, too. "It's all music", he'll tell you.
  I understand that Jim has turned S.P.A.H. down before.  That shouldn't be
held against him.  S.P.A.H., the Milwaukee Harmonica Club, and Jim himself
need to do the right thing here.  It would be a tremendous oversight to have
a convention next year in Milwaukee that didn't include this man.  Front and
center.  Frankly, S.P.A.H. would have a hard time finding a national or
international harpist who plays American roots music as well as this local.
Just my opinion, of course, and I don't mind being the first to pop-off
about it.  Better now than after the convention entertainment is set.

Mick Zaklan