Re: [Harp-L] Butter TV spot

[Ev630 <eviltweed@xxxxxxxxx>]

Different strokes - exactly!

But in what sense was Butterfield an innovator? To my ears he played with
less of a sense of swing and using more of those arpeggiated on-the-beat
rock-style licks. (Apart from that I don't hear anything anyone else didn't
do). Is that what you mean when you say he was an innovator - that he moved
blues harp closer to a rock sensibility?


On Sat, Dec 19, 2009 at 5:06 PM, Rob Paparozzi <Chromboy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>wrote:

> I have to disagree, Wilson and Cotton are magnificent players, IMHO
> Butterfield was an innovator of the highest order
> Cats that a BZ  'copying and nailing Little Walter' have never floated my
> boat....different strokes I guess.
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ev630" <eviltweed@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: "David Brown" <nonidesign@xxxxxxxxx>
> Cc: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Saturday, December 19, 2009 12:55 AM
> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Butter TV spot
>
>
>  I didn't say he wasn't a blues musician. I just said that his rock
>> sensibility doesn't float my boat. And I hear his influences a lot when I
>> drop into jams and hear cats playing those arpeggiated licks that push the
>> beat.
>>
>> Regarding Muddy (one of my all-time favorite blues musicians) Muddy also
>> said that Kim Wilson was the first harp player who was closest to Little
>> Walter in nailing Muddy's preferred accompaniment. Just because Muddy
>> played
>> and recorded with someone doesn't prove anything. And what's to prove?
>>
>> I'm just making the observation that Butterfield - IMO - gets the most
>> props
>> from guys because he was the first great player many of them heard, rather
>> than being the best on the scene at the time. Give me his near
>> contemporary,
>> James Cotton, any day of the week. History, and that TV show, might have
>> been different if the TV executives had been willing to put Cotton on TV.
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Dec 19, 2009 at 3:17 PM, David Brown <nonidesign@xxxxxxxxx>
>> wrote:
>>
>>  Well, Muddy didn't agree with you. He put Butterfield in the same ranks
>>> as
>>> Wells, Cotton, and the Walters.
>>> I have a copy of "Fathers and Sons" which has a live version of "Same
>>> Thing" on it with Paul doing a job on harp that pretty much quashes any
>>> notion that he didn't qualify as a "blues musician".
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Fri, Dec 18, 2009 at 8:21 PM, Ev630 <eviltweed@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>>
>>>  Two observations on this:
>>>>
>>>> First, I could never get into Butterfield. His phrasing has too much of
>>>> a
>>>> rock sensibility for my taste. Like that arpeggio descending lick he
>>>> would
>>>> always do and that you hear at the intro of the TV spot. Not saying he's
>>>> a
>>>> bad player, but he just doesn't float my boat as a blues musician. Lord
>>>> knows I have tried and I know he was the first cat that hipped a lot of
>>>> white Americans to the blues, and that's one reason I think why he's
>>>> adored.
>>>> But I got into the blues listening to Wells, Cotton, the Walters, etc...
>>>> so
>>>> it just doesn't do it for me.
>>>>
>>>> Second, what a shame they couldn't have had Cotton or some other great
>>>> black
>>>> blues musician on that TV show.
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>>>>
>>>
>>>  _______________________________________________
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>>
>