[Harp-L] re: Is Howard Levy the most technically advanced harmonica player?

[martin oldsberg <martinoldsberg@xxxxxxxxx>]

This was interesting. 
  Pray tell, in what way is, for instance, James Cotton "equal or greater" technically to Howard Levy?
  I´m not being sarcastic -- but I´m wondering if I´ve missed something?
  James Cotton is in my book an all right blues player, somewhat repetitive (but that´s an artistic preference) and technically solid but perhaps not overly proficient. Basically sticking to the stuff he learnt in the 50´s ... -- or isn´t he? (LW and BWH considerably greater both technically and artistically, IMO.)
 
  Technically Levy is almost disturbingly good (and I think it actually hampers him some -- but that´s also an artistic statement) who´s been in constant progress for a few decades and appears to be discovering new things all the time. 
  But maybe I´ve missed something?
 
  Please enlighten us on this.
 
  I do not say my evening prayers to St Howard, and I don´t even like some stuff that he´s done, but I think when it comes to technique there are other standards involved. Let´s call them, for lack of a better word, "objective".

Cheers,
Martin
 
Michael Rubin wrote:
> As far as I am concerned, living diatonic players like James Cotton,
> Rick Estrin, Kim Wilson, Joe Filisko, Charlie Musselwhite, Charlie
> McCoy, Gruenling, Ricci, Del Junco, Michalek, Power, Gazell and many
> others equal or surpass Levy's technical ability.  They may not use
> the same techniques that Levy does, but the amount of techniques they
> have mastered are equal or greater than Levy's amounts.  If, as i've
> listed for Howard's strengths,  pleasing tone is technical ability,
> many of these players are also equal or greater than Levy.
>