[Harp-L] Re: Stevie Wonder Question

["Jonathan Metts" <jonathan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

My introduction to Stevie's harmonica playing was "For Once In My Life", and it's still my favorite example.  The solo in this song is mind-boggling; he is bending into and/or out of every note, at lightning speed but with plenty of long and soulful notes too.  He isn't playing the melody but rather creates a new melody that is just as interesting as the vocal one.  His harmonica is reminiscent of the human voice, but it does things and reaches pitches that even Stevie's amazing voice cannot achieve.  Like the best guitar solos, you can almost sing along with this harmonica solo, and even though it gets away from you at some point, you will come back into it when you can because it's irrestistible.  You can experience this same phenomenon in "Alfie" from the Eivets Rednow album, which is my second-favorite Stevie harmonica piece.

Jonathan Metts