[Harp-L] 10 Blues harp essentials.

I would suggest the following as a good set of basics for any aspiring blues harmonica player:

1. Yazoo Harmonica Masters:

http://www.amazon.com/Harmonica-Masters-Various-Artists/dp/ B000000G8V/ref=sr_1_2/105-5840779-3259608? ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1191182445&sr=8-2

This covers many pre-war players well-named as masters. Deford Bailey, Gwenn Foster, Jaybird Coleman, etc...a must have recording, especially for those who want to learn how to play chord rhythms.

2. John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson. If you can find them, get the complete Bluebird recordings, however this from Amazon should suffice:

http://www.amazon.com/Bluebird-Blues-Sonny-Boy-Williamson/dp/ B000026RRZ/ref=sr_1_9/105-5840779-3259608? ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1191182632&sr=1-9

Williamson was one of the most influential blues harp players, and it is his basic style which became the basis for most of the amplified Chicago players (Walters, Wells, etc...), IMO.

3. Sonny Terry. Any, really, but try this:

http://www.amazon.com/Sonny-Terry-Folkways-Years-1944-1963/dp/ B000001DHN/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/105-5840779-3259608? ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1191182889&sr=1-2

Actually, for my taste I'd highly recommend "The Complete Brownie McGhee", while not Terry's best showcase, it does also include the excellent Junior Webb. Terry is a must-listen for new players, as he shows so many old techniques and yet often incorporates them into a more modern folk context of the 50's and 60's.

4. Little Walter. Any, again, but "The Essential" is as good a starting point as any:

http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Little-Walter/dp/B000002OBZ/ ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/105-5840779-3259608? ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1191183024&sr=1-2

What needs to be said about Walter. He is one of the most influential players ever, both for his ideas and for his sound.


5. Big Walter Horton--there's a live CD I have somewhere which I love, but this one should cover enough ground for a beginner ""Mouth Harp Meastro":

http://www.amazon.com/Mouth-Harp-Maestro-Walter-Horton/dp/B0000009G2/ ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/105-5840779-3259608? ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1191183081&sr=1-2

A favorite of many players, Horton was a challenger to LW's supremacy in Chicago and to me he consistently shows how to underplay in any situation and still make a huge mark.

6. Sonny Boy Williamson II (aka Rice Miller, Alex Miller, Sonny Boy Williams, etc...) "Real Folk Blues/ More Real Folk Blues":

http://www.amazon.com/Real-Folk-Blues-More/dp/B000062YBL/ ref=sr_1_9/105-5840779-3259608?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1191183391&sr=1-9

SBW2 mixed an older more acoustic style into post-war electric blues in a very distinctive way. His almost vocal approach to the harmonica is something to which students need to be exposed.

7. Jimmy Reed, "Blues Masters: The Very Best Of":

http://www.amazon.com/Blues-Masters-Very-Best-Jimmy/dp/B00004R5ZV/ ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/105-5840779-3259608? ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1191183614&sr=1-2

As good as any for a start, Reed is one of those people who crosses most musical lines which were drawn up after his career. Blues, rock and roll, r&b, who knows and who cares--Reed is a forefather of all three genres. His high-end harp playing with a lot of blow bends and slurring from note to note are massively influential, and was a rather new take on high-end playing (compare this to some of the stuff on the Yazoo CD, very different styles, but both high-end harp blues).

8. Junior Wells, "Live at Theresa's, 1975".

http://www.amazon.com/Live-Theresas-1975-Junior-Wells/dp/B000HEWG0Q/ ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-5840779-3259608? ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1191183777&sr=1-1

I like "Live at Theresa's, 1975" because it shows both Wells' older Chicago-style approach and also includes some of his more funk- influenced (or just plain funk) playing as well. I'd also recommend "You're Tough Enough", but it seems to be out of print, which is odd as it was just rereleased, IIRC.

9. James Cotton, 100% Cotton:

http://www.amazon.com/100%25-Cotton-James-Blues-Band/dp/B0000ZMGXE/ ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/105-5840779-3259608? ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1191183970&sr=1-2

Masterful playing, and a great example of how you can mix blues into another genre and create something new rather than a mishmash.

10. Paul DeLay, "Nice and Strong":

http://www.amazon.com/Nice-Strong-Paul-deLay/dp/B0000014QM/ ref=sr_1_5/105-5840779-3259608?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1191184048&sr=1-5

I could have chosen most any DeLay album. This is a good example of his use of chromatic in the blues, something he did as well as anyone has.

That's ten--it of course could be longer. DeLay was the only new player, and that's because I feel his chromatic playing shows something very distinct with that instrument. I would suggest that new players and students need to learn from and listen to the people who originated the styles of playing in question before moving on to newer players--after all, people like Kim Wilson, Dennis Gruenling and the like all learned from the players listed before they developed their own thing.



 ()()    JR "Bulldogge" Ross
()  ()   & Snuffy, too:)
`----'





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