Re: [Harp-L] Re: Overblows in the Blues - Check This Out

["Rob Paparozzi" <Chromboy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hey Bob,

Thanks for posting this!

I think the discussion is healthy on this topic and we are picking up some 
great ideas, of course a lot of what we say is subjective but still a lot 
can be learned for each individual trying to attain a certain 'Sound' good 
to THEIR ears,-)

What I LOVE about Cotton is that he is a TBer that doesn't use a Bullet Mic. 
To my ears it gets too dark and UNdynamic and after 2 or 3 songs all the 
color of our instrument is gone. If you really spent time to listen to the 
old masters....you hear the true sound of the harp not a total 'masked' 
tone..

I totally disagree that embouchures of TB, or Pucker have any bearing on 
Rich Deep resonant TONE, IMO, that tone is formed further back before it 
even gets to the front of your tongue, mouth and lips. But, it's how you 
'seal' the front that effects the final part of the tone released in the 
front.

I split all my time on Diatonic between TB & Pucker about 50-50.
I'm sure there are players like Sugar Blue that can play fast w/ TB, but I 
feel you have find a compromise as to 'how much' of the harp you want to 
EAT...too far back or too far front have their limitations and effects on 
sound and speed

I do not equate 'Darkness' with Fat, Rich & Deep Tone, that is something 
very different to my ears.

Rich Tone is James Cotton, Kim Wilson, Toots Thielemans and Paul Butterfield 
& Charlie Musselwhite, Both Walters to name just a few.

I like what Dennis G does with his Bullet, he WORKS IT and knows how to use 
cupping which allows the Bullet to bring back the dynamic range and colors, 
his tone is Rich as well.

My favorite Rig for Tone is an SM-57 or 58 thru a Fender 1 or 2 x12. I can 
get all the dirt and crunch I want by cupping styles and it allows for clean 
when I wish. For Chromatic Jazz I like a Fireball or Sm58.

Overblows, I'm still learning a fluency on which I haven't attained but I 
believe it IS a technique Valid, Viable in all styles and genres and here to 
stay.

my 2 cents,
Rob Paparozzi

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob Cohen" <bob@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "harp-l harp-l" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, February 15, 2010 12:06 PM
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Re: Overblows in the Blues - Check This Out


> On Feb 15, 2010, at 11:02 AM, Harri Haka wrote:
>
> > Here is one example of how a slow blues is played Blues Style:
> >
> > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBeuco0PgJs
>
> Great number.  James Cotton is undeniably a master of his craft.  I think 
> of music in the same terms as common law. At the bottom there is a rule. 
> Layered on top of that are the countless interpretations of the rule that 
> judges use to decide specific cases.  Musicians like lawyers live for 
> creative applications of the rules to suit their intentions. Yeah: that 
> James Cotton piece is a slow blues tour de force.  But so are many other 
> compositions that sound nothing like it.
>
> The bottom line is that there's room for everyone.  To quote Earl Warren, 
> a former U.S. Supreme Court justice: "We are now at the point where we 
> must decide whether we are to honour the concept of a plural society which 
> gains strength through diversity, or whether we are to have bitter 
> fragmentation that will result in perpetual tension and strife."
>
> Bob