Re: [Harp-L] Michalek Blues

[Tom Albanese <reedwrecker@xxxxxxxxx>]

"The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their
bones"

- Little Willie

On Fri, Oct 19, 2012 at 9:55 AM, Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>wrote:

> Rick Dempster <rick.dempster@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > Bears witness to what people generally observed about Chris; that his
> true
> > nature belied the rather belicose exterior he often displayed.
>
> Chris's "rather bellicose exterior" was his "true nature," as much as, or
> more than, any other aspect of his personality.  His arrogance and
> narcissism were prominent parts of his demeanor, not a clever disguise. How
> many people choose a nickname that designates them as a god?  Chris did. He
> loudly and frequently anointed himself the most important harmonica player
> of his generation, and made a point of denigrating his peers and
> contemporaries--anybody remember Chris's casual assertions to the effect
> that chromatic harmonica players all sucked?--but in the end he didn't
> produce much to back up his claims.  I can't think of any harmonica-related
> innovation, technical or compositional, that originated with Chris, and his
> recorded output is astonishingly meager for a professional who came of age
> in the last two decades of the 20th century.
>
> Music is a personal relationship business, and I have no doubt that
> Chris's narcissism and general abrasiveness damaged his career in music
> significantly.  Nobody likes to be stuck in a windowless studio for hours
> on end with a guy who comes on like Napolean.  It's difficult otherwise for
> me to explain why a player with such strong skills and obvious commitment
> produced so little recorded output in his 40-plus years, and almost all of
> that self-produced.
>
> Chris played well. But the idea that his "true nature" was angelic is
> flatly ridiculous.  To put it as concisely as possible, he was a jerk--a
> talented jerk, but a jerk nonetheless.  And he paid for it with a
> drastically limited career.  That's the lesson.
>
> Regards, Richard Hunter
>
> author, "Jazz Harp"
> latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://hunterharp.com
> Myspace http://myspace.com/richardhunterharp
> Vids at http://www.youtube.com/user/lightninrick
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> Twitter: lightninrick
>