[Harp-L] harp and sax

["Mick Zaklan" <mzaklan@xxxxxxxxx>]

   I spent many years blowing simple unison lines with a sax player and
guitarist.  When it's right on, it's a great sound and pretty exhilarating
to the players.  Most horn players are "schooled" and usually the ones
writing the lines out.  The guy I play with is fussy about the intonation
and usually prefers me to blow the stuff on a chromatic and keep the vibrato
to a bare minimum.  For years I had trouble hearing myself because my
chromatics were a lot quieter than my diatonic harps and my amp was usually
maxed out to begin with.  The CX-12 chromatic is definitely louder and
easier for me to hear cupped.  I'd recommend it, especially for blowing
anything complicated.  And because it sounds more like a diatonic harp than
any other chromatic, at least to me.
   Having said that, however, there is nothing cooler than the sound of a
diatonic harp and a sax blowing together and the group War is a great
example of this.  And for me, the alto sax is my preferred partner if I'm
blowing lines with someone.  It just seems to have more of a "bite" than a
tenor.

Mick Zaklan