Re: [Harp-L] "All Blues" - Sam Friedman

[michael rubin <michaelrubinharmonica@xxxxxxxxx>]

Sam and Venky,
This time I disagree with Venky.  First off, this is a jazz song by Miles
Davis.  Conceptually I think the idea is all music, even jazz, is blues.
To me, Sam was playing jazz but brought in quite a bit of blues influence.
Also, I do not see much position histrionics in this song.  Unless I am
wrong, this was 2nd position all the way.

Personally I see this as a sign of progression for Sam.  Often I hear his
music as lacking cohesion although having lots of great ideas.  This solo
clearly suggested the chord changes every step of the way.  I knew exactly
where he was throughout the song, just by listening to the harp and not the
other instruments.  Of course, there is nothing wrong with atonal music
either.

Unless considering the obvious influence of Howard being a jazz diatonic
player who overblows, I do not think Sam sounds like Howard.  I definitely
am not interested in Sam learning to sound like Parrott or Klay or Del
Junco.  Even though there are things I do not like about Sam's music, I
encourage him to continue finding his own path.  Influences are great and
we all have them, but Sam has an opportunity to create something unique.  I
would love to hear what he comes up with in the future.
Michael Rubin
Michaelrubinharmonica.com

On Wed, Jul 25, 2012 at 10:07 AM, Venky Ramakrishna <jazzyvenky@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:

> Sam -
> The title should be- "Anything but blues"; there's some degree of confusion
> between the influences if I may add- Howard Levy style and others. If I had
> to take away all of your overblowing/ position playing techniques (which
> you are good at) from the show, the blues rendition is just aweful. And I
> don't understand the need for that extra playing- it affects the outcome of
> your product in a negative way. In this regard, Todd Parrot and TJ Klay
> stand out as impressive players.
>
> Also, listen to what Carlos del Junco has to offer and take it from there.
>
> Venky
>
> On Tue, Jul 24, 2012 at 7:25 PM, Sam Friedman <sammyasher@xxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
>
> > Hey all,
> >
> >  Here's a recent video of my trio playing All Blues. Unfortunately the
> > sound quality isn't great, so I recommend/encourage you to listen with
> good
> > speakers or headphones to be able to hear the bass well. Let me know what
> > you think!
> >
> > -Sam
> >
> >
> > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kwu3AZG_47k&feature=youtu.be
> >
>