[Harp-L] Subject: RE:J Geils Band w/harmonica interest/Lead Instrument/Jason & Christelle

[EGS1217@xxxxxxx]

You made perfect sense Brad, lol...fever or not.  Sure hope  you're taking 
good care of yourself...lousy time to get the flu just as the  weather is about 
to drop - here in the Northeast anyway.
 
As far as I'm concerned, the harmonica is 'always' the lead instrument -  
given that I play chromatics at this point - and consider it in lieu of the lead  
singer's 'voice' on any song.
 
I do occasionally play behind the music - and thoroughly  enjoy harmonizing 
if anyone gives me the opportunity (at a convention, say)  - but for the most 
part I'm playing lead over instrumentals on a CD  -  mostly piano, guitar, 
saxophones etc.  It's a completely different approach  and mind-set from playing 
blues on a diatonic.  Some day I'll be able to do  that too, but in the 
meantime ...'lead' instrument/voice it is :)
 
The 'future' diatonic Bar keeps getting raised for me, though - since  my 
diatonic heroes are Jason Ricci and now Christelle Berton. I probably won't  be 
satisfied until/unless I can play even a fraction as well as either of them.  
It doesn't help that both have brilliantly inventive minds, aren't bound by  
someone else's ideas of how they 'should' play - and both can take their musical 
 ideas to wonderful improvisational heights. 
 
Seeing and hearing Jason play Live for the first time is  truly life-altering 
for just about everyone who's been there, and each  subsequent experience 
just gets better and better as one becomes more  aware of the nuances, subtleties 
and phrasing he inserts into his music. (At  this last SPAH when he played 
even the tiniest bit - people who hadn't heard him  before would stop in their 
tracks, mouth agape - and then feel the need to come  over to talk to anyone 
who knew him about what they'd just heard).  The  huge difference between 
Jason's 'playing fast' and those who do only play 'fast  with no real direction' is 
marked enough that even older strictly chromatic  people would comment on just 
how brilliant his musical ideas were.  I was  impressed by how attuned a lot 
of these folks' ears were to what they were  hearing...particularly the 
classical phrases he'd slip in.
 
When he demonstrated Brad Harrison's new prototype harp in one room - you  
could scarcely get in or out of the door. The second he put the harp to his lips 
 - people flocked into the room, drawn by his sound.  It's a phenomenon I  
haven't witnessed with any other player.
 
I only hope I have the chance to see Christelle play in person too before  
long, since I'm quite sure she'll have a reasonably similar effect on her  
audience....I've played her Youtube videos for people who know nothing  about 
and/or don't particularly care for harmonica music and they're always awed  and 
transfixed by the beauty of her sound as well. She's giving me more  confidence 
as a woman playing harmonica.
 
Elizabeth
 
********
"Message: 4
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2008 11:56:06 -0500
From: "Bradford  Trainham" <bradford.trainham@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: RE: [Harp-L] J  Geils Band w/ harmonica interest
To: "'Bob Boyd'" <bboyd@xxxxxxxxx>,  <martinoldsberg@xxxxxxxxx>,
<harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Message-ID:  <200810191629.m9JGTfVj024069@xxxxxxxxxx>
Content-Type:  text/plain;    charset="iso-8859-1"

>From a strictly rock  perspective, that said perspective not always showing
the harp in its best  possible light, even the song Flame Thrower, very late
in the game for them  has an interesting application of "harpage".
It's not so much a situation  wherein he "cuts loose" and displays his
virtuosity, but it shows how the  harp could sneak its way into places as a
lead instrument a lot more often  than it does. 
(I tried to make sense;  I'm running a fever!!)
Brad  Trainham"


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