Re: [Harp-L] re: Will Scarlett and my overblowing journey

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

michael rubin wrote:
<This is what I believe is the importance of Will Scarlett.  I haven't
<heard the Wolfgang's Vault's music, but I have heard the two Hot Tuna
<CD's.  He often sounds out of tune and to me his ideas are not always
<cohesive.  I do not like his playing on those CDs.  However, I know
<those CDs sold many copies because Hot Tuna was a brother band to the
<Jefferson Airplane.  Harp players MUST have heard them!  If I was a
<harp player in 1969, pre-Levy's Harmonica Jazz, I would have gone
<crazy with excitement at what I heard Scarlett do.  The overblows are
<very obviously notes that other harp players were not playing.  There
<is nothing subtle about it.  He was playing using a full chromatic
<scale.  True, I did not think it sounded good, but still,
<revolutionary!

I haven't heard these tracks by Scarlett, so I'm not commenting on his playing when I say that I believe that it's important to sound good.  I think it's great to push boundaries, and it's a lot better to push them with enough control over what you're doing to make your point convincingly--at least by the time you put it in front of an audience.

I am not a conservative.  Anyone who's heard my stuff knows that I've pushed hard in a lot of directions.  I believe firmly that whatever's presented to an audience, whether it's fully traditional or as far out on the edge as you can go without falling off the edge of the planet, ought to be well-considered and presented with a high level of craft. I appreciate that this is not a modern point of view, and in fact plenty of modern artists openly express contempt for solid execution.  (It's practically dogma for a lot of modern painters.)  But what can I say?  All the artists I admire on harmonica, from traditional heroes like John Lee Williamson and Little Walter to contemporary masters like Brendan Power, James Conway, and Steve Baker, have one thing in common: they can really play.  There's very little distance in their work between intention and execution.  

I'd like to note that I've heard Michael play on several occasions, and I admire and enjoy the way he mixes very traditional sounds with a modern sensibility. (I said as much to him after one of the blues jams at SPAH 2009.)  So regardless of the fact that as per his post, he's not entirely satisfied with some of his past performances, the work is paying off with a convincing and very personal style.

Can't make an omelette without breaking eggs, man.  I just try not to smear the eggs all over the stage in front of an audience...

Regards, Richard Hunter

author, "Jazz Harp"
latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://myspace.com/richardhunterharp
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Vids at http://www.youtube.com/user/lightninrick