Re: [Harp-L] Phil Caltabellotta receives the Bernie Bray Harmonica Player of the Year award

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

Phil -Â

I was really glad that the board agreed on you as Bernie Bray Recipient. You've been a deserving recipient for a long time.

It's great to hear a story about Bernie Bray, after whom the award was named.ÂI have a personal interest in this, as Bernie Bray was a sort of sideways relative of mine (father's sister's husband's sister's husband - got that? there'll be Âquiz). So I'm always glad to hear the legend made human with personal stories such as yours.

I've already posted Brendan Power's congratulation on your Facebook wall, but I'd like to also share it on harp-l:

This year, 2011 Bernie Bray recipient Brendan Power has sent the following statement of congratulation to 2012 awardee Phil Caltabellotta, as Brendan had to return to the UK for gig commitments and could not present the award in person:

"My warmest congratulations go to Phil Caltabellotta for winning the 2012 Bernie Bray Harmonica Player of the Year Award.

"I know Philâs many friends in SPAH andÂbeyond will be delighted that his wonderful playing and long-term services to the harmonica scene have been recognised with this prestigious award. It is richly deserved.

"As last yearâs Bernie Bray award recipient, I regret that I canât be with you to present the award in person to Phil, in keeping with SPAH tradition. I hope that this brief message can convey the honor I feel, both in having received the award, and in taking part on conferring it on someone as deserving as Phil."

Â
Winslow Yerxa
President, SPAH, the Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica
Author, Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5
ÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ Harmonica Basics For Dummies, ASIN B005KIYPFS
ÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ Blues Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-1-1182-5269-7
Resident Harmonica Expert, bluesharmonica.com
Instructor, Jazzschool for Music Study and Performance


________________________________
 From: Phil Caltabellotta <pcharps1@xxxxxxx>
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx 
Cc: gshcsunshine@xxxxxxx; madcat@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
Sent: Wednesday, August 22, 2012 12:12 PM
Subject: [Harp-L] Re: Phil Caltabellotta (Peter Madcat Ruth)
 

Thanks, Madcat for your congratulations and for sharing this list of past Bernie 
Bray Award winners! Winning the Bernie Bray Award has a very special 
significance for me, as I had met Bernie back in 1979 at The Garden State 
Harmonica Festival. 

There was a jam session going on in one of the hotel rooms, where I met Bernie 
Bray for the first time, together with Al Smith playing his triple decker 
chord harmonica and a nice looking lad playing the chromatic whose name 
happened to be Tom Stryker! At that time, I remember Bernie showing us a Little 
Lady that he customized into a chromatic with an actual slide button on it!! 
Then Bernie played his fabulous rendition of Sweet Georgia Brown. When I 
mentioned to him that I was also toying around with this number, Bernie asked 
me to give it a shot. I realized that I must have stuck my foot in my mouth, but 
after I played he said to me "Very good young man!" I was happy to have survived this 
ordeal! 

Who would have ever have thought that around thirty-three years later, I would 
actually receive the Bernie Bray Award, named after him. To make it even more 
astounding, the same Tom Stryker, now past President of SPAH was up on stage with
new President Winslow Xerxa presenting the award to me with Al Smith sitting in the
audience! How cool is that!!! I guess you could say it made my year and then some.....

Phil Caltabellotta