Re: [Harp-L] Is it all Howard Levy's fault?

[46long Blake <46long@xxxxxxxxx>]

I guess my first, glib response is that Levy is more like Hendrix than
Elvis. Not in style, of course, but in the sense that Levy is equal
parts a virtuoso and a profound innovator of technique. He's not just
a pretty face, good entertainer (but  adequate talent) who makes
something appeal to a broad audience like Elvis.  In fact, I think
that we tend to forget that there really is no broad audience for
advanced harmonica. Nobody, outside of harp players and a tiny, quirky
subculture of music fans, knows who Howard Levy is. Really, as good as
he is, he's hardly a household name. Even John Popper, who comes as
close as anyone since Butterfield to be a virtuoso harpist with mass
appeal, has fallen off the radar screen. It's been a long time since
Blues Traveler Four. Popper hasn't been on the radio in regular
rotation for fifteen years.

So, harsh realities aside, my opinion is that, as Bela Fleck once
said, Howard Levy is a once in a lifetime musical talent - and not
just for harp. He's in a whole other universe than all but a handful
of folks with whom we share an instrument, and really that handful is
a step or two down in the stratosphere and are mainly acolytes. But
he's not Elvis, in my opinion. Maybe not even Hendrix, as everybody
knows Hendrix. Jaco Pastorius, perhaps? Steve Vai?

On 2/6/12, michael rubin <michaelrubinharmonica@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Randy Singer posted a clip of of Sam Friedman playing diatonic jazz.
>
> Remember Elvis?  I maintain that Elvis would have happened without
> Elvis.  The blues, R and B and Gospel were already popular and well
> developed musical styles.  All we needed was an Elvis, a talented,
> good looking, white singer to bring it to white culture.  It could
> have and would have been someone else if Elvis had not come along.
>
> Remember the Beatles?  Although they also studied these musical styles
> and it showed on the first couple of albums, suddenly they started
> putting out VERY original music.  In my opinion you could not have had
> the Beatles without the Beatles.
>
> I maintain overblows were in use at least since 1929.  I maintain
> Theilemans, Turk and Scarlett used overblows in an advanced way as
> early as 1967 and there are probably many other examples I did not
> know about.  Jazz was a popular and well defined musical style long
> before Levy began to play.  In my metaphor, Levy is Elvis.  We could
> have had Levy without Levy.
>
> All due respect, he is a great player and what I am saying is
> conjecture.  In harmonica history, Levy popularized overblows and no
> debate can take that away from him.
>
> What do you think?
> Michael Rubin
> Michaelrubinharmonica.com
>


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