[Harp-L] re: video--"amazing grace"- HOWARD LEVY

[martin oldsberg <martinoldsberg@xxxxxxxxx>]

Turns out Richard´s personal perversion is a bit of a shared thing.
  As for me I find Levy´s somewhat earlier stuff aa well as when he´s guesting on other people´s projects more digestible. In the latter case he´s more reined in; in the former he has not developed all that technique yet.
  When you´ve aquired all his formidable proficiency it´s quite natural that you´re keen to show it off. This does not necessarily lead to things more interesting musically.
 
  The "Amazing grace" video is a case of "Look Mama, no hands!" and seems not to be about anything particularly "musical" -- it´s absolutely remarkable for what it is, of course (a display of technique), but perhaps more to be impressed by rather than enjoyed.
  But then again, I don´t care much for Coltrane either ...
 
  Cheers,
  Martin
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>From: Richard Hammersley <rhhammersley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>I am going to be heretical here - Howard Levy has the most amazing  
diatonic OB harmonica technique of anyone, but this showstopping  
performance did not move me at all. In fact, I have yet to hear  
anything played by him that moved me. I realise that this is most  
likely my problem rather than his, and I am going to keep trying to  
appreciate his music, but so far I can't get into to it.

Is there anyone one else on harp-l who struggles to enjoy HL, or is  
this a personal perversion of mine? I like world music and complex  
jazz, so it is not an issue with his type of material in general. Nor  
do I fail to hear that he has made the diatonic harmonica a serious,  
non-novelty, instrument.

It kind of bugs me I cannot enjoy his music, which I feel in one way  
ticks all the boxes of what I 'should' like, so if anyone has  
suggestions for what is musically best to listen to (not what is  
harmonically best) then I would appreciate it. My problem is that in  
what I have listened to so far, he loses my interest before he has  
finished soloing. Now, I am a chap who listens to later John Coltrane  
for pleasure, so it is not my limited attention span that is the  
problem.

In the past I have found that it sometimes takes me a while, and the  
right tunes, to 'get' where an artist is coming from musically. Please  
help me 'get' Howard Levy.

Richard