[Harp-L] Re: Butter

[Michael Easton <diachrome@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Glad the thread is still going.

Butter, like most of us was a closet jazz musician.  We just play  
blues because it's the closet thing to
playing jazz on diatonic without playing overblows. Also blues is  
harmonica friendly.

Butter was going to jazz clubs on a regular basis in his teens.
That's where my friend got to know him. He knew Butter was underaged  
but let him
in the club anyway.  Herbie Hancock was in his teens as well and my  
buddy use to let him in too.

Like a lot of young  jazz and blues artists your first recordings are  
tributes to the masters of the past then by the 3 lp/cd you start to
bring out your own sound and show where you stand on your instrument.

It was frowned upon for Chicago harp players at the time  to copy  
another person's sound or technique in order to steal shows. You learn  
first from
previous players but you better get your own sound quick.  I'm sure  
Butter knew this and it only made it easier for him to want to phrase  
more like horn players
rather then harp players.

Butter was listening to bebop jazz players but playing harp players  
songs at the time. That's why, IMHO, why he could record LW tunes  
without imitating LW and getting is
butt kicked.  He didn't travel the southern country blues route to  
Chicago. He WAS Chicago rooted at the time. Full of hard playing jazz  
innovators that pushed the limits in their solos.
I think his sound was more representative of actual home grown  
Chicagoan then the guys that came up from the south and plugged in.

I guess that is why there is a divide among diatonic  players. Either  
you lean toward the died in the wool Chicago sound on harp which has  
it's roots in folk blues, or you
have a taste for more progressive exploration in your style and  
Butterfield leads the pack with those types of players.  Check out  
Harps and Heavy Breathers for player influences.
Butter's name comes up a lot whether the player is into blue, jazz or  
country style. Butter was the alternative to the electric country  
blues sound.

For some that may think he is a busy player that is far from the  
truth. His fast solos actually make sense compared to some players I  
hear today that are known for their speed.
There was always a climax in his soloing. And if you listen closely  
there are breaks in his phrasings that are built upon each other, not   
just a bunch of scales ripped up and down the harp. I think Jason  
Ricci is one of the few speed demons that understands that concept. He  
doesn't play fast just to play fast. He builds upon each phrase and  
the solos take you somewhere emotionally.

Also, Butter's  slow playing made sense.  He could do fills behind  
other singers with just a few notes but make it powerful as hell with  
his vibrato.  After 37 years of playing I finally mastered what he  
learned in his 20's. Most of the songs my bandmates pick are guitar  
based with no harp. I have to create harp fills.  Rather then play  
busy with a lot of chords and notes, distracting the vocals,  I play a  
few notes or a single note with heavy vibrato using bends in the  
process.  This adds power to the fills  while leaving the guitar  
players to add their own chord work or single note phrases.

Like Butterfiled I also went to jazz clubs in my teens.  I spent 5 to  
6 nights a week in a Hotel jazz bar when I was 19 while playing in a  
rock band.   A closet jazz player.
While I did play sax at the time I had  to give it up due to serious  
asthma problems. My approach to playing the harp though is a lot like  
a trumpet player or Butterfield.

There is the Little Walter school of Chicago sound and the Butterfield  
school of Chicago sound.  Both are great and should be honored.
If you can accept and utilize  both styles it will only broaden your  
abilities as a musician to play across genres.

Happy Festivus:)

Mike



On Dec 24, 2009, at 7:34 AM, harp-l-request@xxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> Message: 10
> Date: Thu, 24 Dec 2009 05:06:27 EST
> From: MundHarp@xxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Butter TV spot
> To: hvyj@xxxxxxx
> Cc: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> Message-ID: <c20.70ec7247.38649723@xxxxxxx>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
>
>
> In a message dated 19/12/2009 17:02:16 Malay Peninsula Standard Time,
> hvyj@xxxxxxx writes:
>
> <<
>
>
> Amen!  Butterfield knocks me out. No one was playing harp like  that
> when PB emerged.  His technique was powerful and HE DIDN"T  PLAY A
> HARMONICA LIKE IT WAS A HARMONICA.  He was the first to  approach the
> instrument like that. And there is great emotion in his  playing.

Michael Easton
www.harmonicarepair.com