Re: [Harp-L] History of Bluegrass Harmonica

[Rick Dempster <rick.dempster@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

So what do you call 'Bluegrass' then?  I'm one of the 'instrumental lineup
definition' people. Gwen Foster, De Ford Bailey,Jimmie Riddle etc. etc.
have nothing to do with 'Bluegrass' in my book. Seems 'Bluegrass' has come
to mean just any kind of southern string band music.
To me it's a bit like a lot of other styles from the past, like
'rockabilly' that have become  stylistic folk museums,
conservative as hell, and totally constricted.
Oh yeah; Bill and Charlie Monroe's early recordings together ain't
'Bluegrass' in my book either.
I was recently invited, no, employed, to play and give a workshop at a
Bluegrass festival. Now there were some very good people there,
and a had one nice jam session. Most of the players though were uptight as
hell and showed me their backs as soon as the harp appeared.
I might add that I can actually play fiddle tunes, and know a decent slab
of the standard tunes of the Bluegrass repertoire, and knew them better
than some of the string players there.
The 'old timey' crowd, who have now been deliberately excluded from this
festival (they tend to be a bit feral here, dope-smokers etc.)
are much more open to the harp.
I feel quite happy for the term 'Bluegrass' to be applied the the
three-finger-roll-banjo-fiddle-flatpickguitar-mandolin-all-pretty-fast-unless-it's-a-waltz
genre, and
watch the whole thing ossify and sink to the bottom, while the rest of us,
unimpeded by strangulating terminology, get on with the business of
playing whatever we like, which is how 'Bluegrass' came about in the first
place.
But then I'm just a dumb Aussie so what would know about it? Hey, is
'Botany Bay' Bluegrass?


On 15 December 2012 06:46, Cara Cooke <cyberharp@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> There is not a lot of difference as long as they are not playing in
> the old-time string band tradition in unison.  A lot of the mountain bands
> became known as bluegrass in time.  Sometimes, the band or
> musicians themselves are the reason they may not be called bluegrass.  They
> may not want to be called bluegrass.  Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs were
> once asked if the Foggy Mountain Boys were bluegrass and they said no --
> only Bill Monroe's band can be called bluegrass.  They played country
> music.  Later on, they were classified as bluegrass, despite their response
> -- if for no other reason than that country music was changing.  Doc Watson
> never wanted to be called a bluegrass musician, but you would be hard put
> to find bluegrassers who would refuse to include him in.
>
> To some degree, since the sound of bluegrass comes from an ensemble, any
> single musician or duet could not be considered bluegrass.  Yet, if they
> are playing the music, in the style, with the instrumentation, what else do
> you call it?  Bluegrass shy a band?
>
> The music comes from the same regions and the same people.  Execution and
> performance can be indicators.
>
>
>
> On Fri, Dec 14, 2012 at 11:29 AM, John Kerkhoven
> <solo_danswer@xxxxxxxxxxxx>wrote:
>
> > Okay, George Pegram & Walter Parham are not bluegrass, but mountain music
> > from North Carolina. My question is what's the relationship between
> > bluegrass and mountain? Seems there's overlap there.
> >
> > Their album, Pickin' & Blowin', is from 1957.
> >
> > Here's a take:
> > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AC0rP9ePDk
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > John
> >
> >
> > > Depends on whether you include old-timey harmonica.
> > >
> > > For something close to bluegrass while being past old-timey, check out
> > Jimmy Riddle with Roy Acuff in the 1940s.
> > >
> > > Dave Payne and Cara Cooke may have something to say on this subject.
> > >
> > > Winslow
> > >
> > >
> > > Winslow Yerxa
> > > Author, Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5
> > >             Harmonica Basics For Dummies, ASIN B005KIYPFS
> > >             Blues Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-1-1182-5269-7
> > > Resident Harmonica Expert, bluesharmonica.com
> > > Instructor, Jazzschool for Music Study and Performance
> > >
> > >
> > > ________________________________
> > > From: Glenn Weiser <banjoandguitar100@xxxxxxxxx>
> > > To: "harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
> > > Sent: Friday, December 14, 2012 6:58 AM
> > > Subject: [Harp-L] History of Bluegrass Harmonica
> > >
> > > Calling all harmonica scholars-
> > >
> > > As far as I know, the first recorded instance of the harmonica in
> > bluegrass music is Charlie McCoy with Flatt and Scruggs in 1962. Is
> anyone
> > aware of any earlier examples? I have been in touch with the senior
> > historian at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville and we are
> trying
> > to piece this together. I will eventually do a Sing Out! column on this
> > topic.
> > >
> > > Glenn Weiser
> >
> >
> >
>



-- 
Rick Dempster
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