Re: [Harp-L] Greatness goes unnoticed

[Ansel Barnum <Ansel.Barnum@xxxxxxx>]

Well, I didn't expect harp players to be defending the "neglect" of their instrument's greatest 
innovator! While Levy certainly does receive recognition, it seems but a trifle for a musical 
colossus who should be playing at Carnegie Hall. That he's not is simply one of the injustices of 
the universe (a natural perspective of any fan, right?) Sure, to those who dismiss the harmonica as 
a novelty act, it's understandable that he'd be treated with little regard. While Keillor does have 
enough sensibility to invite him on stage, it's a shame this "kingmaker" of lesser known artists 
doesn't shine more of his radio spotlight on one of the most amazing musicians to have graced his show.

But what to some might be just a mere toy, to us is clearly much more significant. So it would seem 
that harp players at the very least would turn out in droves when the revolutionizer of our 
instrument comes to town (or on air). But rarely is that the case. Amongst Levy's shows that I've 
attended (in major metropolitan cities no less), the audience was surprisingly small. One gig was 
even canceled due to insufficient turnout! And then even when he appeared on the radio, where 
accessibility and convenience doesn’t get any better, there still was little notice taken. So it's 
just perplexing. We play an unconventional instrument that has a small public appeal and an even 
smaller group of players and an even smaller class of virtuosos. Conventional instruments (piano, 
guitar, bass, violin, etc.) each have long lists of legends who took the instrument to sublime 
heights of accomplishment. Even the chromatic has quite a number of marvels who play(ed) at the same 
sophisticated level as any other concert musician. In the case of the diatonic however, few have 
applied it to training in musical disciplines, for few have unlocked its chromatic potential. But 
one man has done so to such an extraordinary degree that he's transcended the instrument's physical 
constraints to achieve an omnipotent command of every note. Levy's technique alone is a singular 
feat amongst diatonic players, and what he does with it is unique even amongst musicians, for few 
possess a virtuosity that extends over such a diverse range of styles, from jazz to classical 
(including composing the first concerto for diatonic) to eastern music. While there certainly are 
many phenomenal diatonic players in the world, Levy is really unnatural--if not supernatural--in the 
extreme technical mastery that's allowed his creative genius to be expressed on the harmonica with 
the same versatility and grace as any other instrument.

I don't mean for this to be a gushing paean to Levy, for as many have already pointed out, he's 
already a well appreciated musical wonder. But if such is the case, then it's puzzling that this 
profound player doesn't draw more attention from, at the very least, fellow harpists. For if the 
discussions on harp-l are any indication of the consciousness of the harp community, he doesn't seem 
to generate much study or excitement (unlike, say, Jason Ricci) nor do his performances elicit much 
notice (again, unlike the aforementioned). Maybe the reason is that the preponderance of players 
focus only on one genre (blues), leaving the others--and their innovators--unexamined and, 
unfortunately, deprived of a mass population needed for cultivating new movements and masters. Every 
other field has its own luminaries who are studied, emulated, celebrated, poured over, sold-out, 
and consumed as a natural course of appreciation, if not of musical study. But curiously, Levy does 
not seem to have that large an impact on the bulk of aspiring players, instead existing more as a 
myth who's spoken of rather than an inspiration who's taken to. Yes, there are a few exceptional 
players adopting his techniques, but most student's growth gets stunted at second position. Whereas 
Little Walter is on the shelf of every harp player, a dogeared copy of War and Peace is more likely 
to be found sitting next to it than Levy's instructional video which teaches elements as basic to 
realizing the full potential of the harp as the black keys on a piano. Even his seminars don't seem 
to stir much popularity, despite being a rare opportunity to learn from the source of innovation 
himself.

I don't know what the explanation is for why study of the diatonic seems to chronically stagnate in 
a few crossharp licks, where the majority of players stop short of undertaking the theory, scales, 
chords, chromaticity--in other words, the musical rudiments that are fundamental to the education of 
any other instrument. The consequence, however, is quite clear in the abundance of blues harpists 
and paucity of, well, anything else--a disparity that would seem to make the progressives players 
all the more appreciated for their rare skills. But even if advanced levels of play exist in a 
stratosphere beyond reach or beyond desire, I'd think the paradigm shifting pioneer of our cherished 
instrument would alone generate an intrinsic interest in listening and, perhaps, even playing beyond 
the imagination. Here we live in the same moment of history as this diatonic deity, a stroke of 
serendipity that would seem to make him all the more alive in the lives of harmonica players!

Just my $.02 (worth even less with the weak dollar).


Ansel


P.S. It just so happens there's another chance to hear him on Prairie Home Companion tonight--that 
is, if anyone is interested....