Re: [Harp-L] In Praise of Paul deLay

[Roger A Gonzales <gonz1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Harp-lers,
Do yourself a favor and listen to the harmonica solo in the song "I cant quit you no" 
originally found on Paul's CD "Paulzilla".  It can also be found on the Evidence Records 
release "The it from the Turnaround".  Many of the things that Wolf has described here can 
be found in that solo.  Some of the best 3rd position playing I have ever heard.  Extremely 
hip!!!  Give a listen and you'll understand what Wolf is explaining.
Thanks Wolf...Paul was one of the best ever.

regards,
Roger Gonzales
Fresno, CA  

----- Original Message -----
From: Wolf Kristiansen <wolfkristiansen@xxxxxxxx>
Date: Thursday, February 26, 2009 4:03 pm
Subject: [Harp-L] In Praise of Paul deLay
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx

> 
> Paul deLay, Portland songwriter, singer and harmonica player, 
> deserves to be heard by all on this list.  He died on March 7, 
> 2007. Most of you will have heard him, on recording at least, by 
> now. For those who haven't, seek out a CD or two, and listen!  Your 
> ears will be opened.
> 
> I've been listening to him a lot lately.  His first recordings were 
> clearly blues based; his later ones not so much.  He always 
> retained a bluesy feel, to my ears.  His songs always had a spark 
> of originality.   In his later years, he had the advantage of 
> having a jazzy, talented, rhythmically sophisticated organist and 
> arranger in his band, Louis Pain. 
> 
> He was much more than a harmonica player.  But-- since this is harp-
> l I'll focus on what I hear in his harmonica playing:
> 
> 1.	Subtle manipulation of tone by hand placement.  Not for him the 
> constant supertight grip to get a dark compressed tone à la  
> typical "Chicago Style" blues harp.  His normal grip was a looser 
> grip, with the corresponding treblier sound.  He would throw in 
> contrasting darker tones via tighter grip when appropriate.  He 
> often darkened the tone when he hit the low notes.  The tone 
> changes added a lot to the character of his playing.
> 
> 2.	Wonderful use of a delay pedal.  He should have written a book-- 
> "deLay on Delay".  Anyone know what he used?
> 
> 3.	Use of arrangements to add power and punch to his live and 
> studio offerings.  Some of his solos, to my ears, are clearly 
> improvised, but there are always parts in his songs that have been 
> carefully thought out.  As an example, he often uses what we used 
> to call "pushes", where the band plays ryhthmic shots in unison at 
> some point in the song.
> 
> 4.	Absolutely original note choices, runs and harmonies.  You will 
> hear things in his playing you haven't heard anywhere else, either 
> before or after Paul's moment in the sun.  He was equally original 
> with chromatic or diatonic.  His third position diatonic playing 
> was outstanding, and wasn't limited to minor key songs.
> 
> 5.	A preference for a cleaner sound than most blues based harp 
> players.  Despite being relatively clean, the notes had plenty of 
> body.  The cleaner sound let him put in more detail.  He had plenty 
> of musical detail to offer.
> 
> 6.	Perfect pitch.  Few or no rhythmic missteps.  He swung when he 
> wanted to, but played in all sorts of rhythms.  Whatever he did, it 
> was always rhythmic.
> 
> Anyways, I just thought he needed fresh acknowledgment on this 
> list, especially for the benefit of the newcomers who may not have 
> heard him.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> wolf kristiansen
> 
> 
>      
> __________________________________________________________________Yahoo! Canada 
Toolbar: Search from anywhere on the web, and bookmark your favourite sites. Download it 
now at
> http://ca.toolbar.yahoo.com.
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org
> Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx
> http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l
>