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

["Rick Dempster" <rick.dempster@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I am not really a 'free jazz guy', preferring older forms of music with
repeated patterns etc. However, I can listen to Coltrane for instance,
and at least not be irritated by it, even if I feel I don't really 'get'
it, altogether.
I think that Buddha had it when he described himself, in reference to
this topic, as a (forgive me if this is not quite right) 'funky dude' or
some such.
I don't think Howard is a 'funky dude', and his explorations on the
harp or piano are venturing into the world of modern and/or avant-garde
'classical' or European orchestral music, and the influence of the
Afro-American tradition is far less in evidence, even if he is playing 
a traditional American tune, jazz standard etc.
Most people who subscribe to this list are either centred in, or have
come from, mostly Afro-American music forms, or at least from ethnic
music forms of one sort or another (Celtic, Canadian etc.)
I know Richard Hunter has produced pieces that reflect the influence of
some of the European 'moderns', and I'm sure Bonfiglio is no stranger to
Debussy, Ravel, Milhaud and doubtless a lot of other lesser known or
more recent people I've never heard of.
But the rest of us are more or less 'funky dudes' and are perhaps less
likely to dig Howard's cerebral sorties, even when he is not
showboating.
RD

>>> martin oldsberg <martinoldsberg@xxxxxxxxx> 8/04/2009 20:54 >>>
ThatÂs true, but thereÂs a certain "ostentatiousness", for lack of a
better word, to (some of)ColtraneÂs playing that could apply. It was
RichardÂs mention of Coltrane that prompted my comment, which in
hindsight falls under the heading "un-necessary".
Cheers,
Martin


Date: Wednesday, April 8, 2009, 4:04 AM

"But then again, I donÌt care much for Coltrane either
..."..........but
then this wasn't the same thing as Coltrane, I don't think.
RD

>>> martin oldsberg <martinoldsberg@xxxxxxxxx> 7/04/2009 21:53
>>>
Turns out RichardÌs personal perversion is a bit of a shared thing.
  As for me I find LevyÌs somewhat earlier stuff aa well as when heÌs
guesting on other peopleÌs projects more digestible. In the latter
case
heÌs more reined in; in the former he has not developed all that
technique yet.
  When youÌve aquired all his formidable proficiency itÌs quite
natural
that youÌre 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" -- itÌs
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 donÌt care much for Coltrane either ...
 
  Cheers,
  Martin
-------------------------------------
>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





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