[Harp-L] Subject: SPAH 2013 Review, Continued....

[EGS1217@xxxxxxx]

KILLER performance by Koei Tanaka, Jimi Lee and Tomoya (sp?)--Koei's very  
young chord player (who sat in on an afternoon lobby jam with us one 
day--what a  doll). During their Friday evening performance of Killer Joe they made 
that song  their own. Tomoya took a solo on chord and rocked it out! The 
kid is an absolute  marvel, playing melody and chords on his instrument (talk 
about the future of  harmonica!) and blew everyone's minds. It was a 
brilliant performance and he  knew it, grinning from ear to ear as we gave him a 
well-deserved standing  ovation. I was blown away. THEN Koei followed it with 
the most stunning version  of a traditional Japanese song he translated as 
'Memories of Summer'. You could  have heard a pin drop in the room: he is 
truly a master of his instrument and  plays exquisitely. I was near tears as 
the song drew to a close, the only word  coming to mind was 'sublime'.
 
 


Side note: I saw Koei play with Tower of Power backing him in Sacramento  
(with about 45 mins notice) and he was very, very good then, but he's now at 
the  top of his game: subtle when he needs to be, turning on the power when 
called  for. Definitely a force to reckon with.
 
 

Speaking of Jimi Lee, he simply doesn't need a PA system or any mic'ing.  
Listen to him sometime. That's how it's done. I've no idea how but he has 
lung  power for miles. He also made a point of thanking me for something I'd 
told him  some years ago which floored me (about a song which was perfection 
for him). A  real gentleman and a class act, AND I personally love his 
sing/play-alongs.  Great voice and personality. He's very loved.
 
 


Tom Stryker receiving (and so well-deserved) the Pete Pedersen award. I've  
gotten to know Tom more over the years and come to truly appreciate just 
what he  did for SPAH as its President for those 6 years. We might disagree 
about  'everything on a key of C chromatic' :) but agree on just about 
everything else.  He devoted his life to doing absolutely the best job possible to 
promote SPAH,  to ensure its survival and that it would endure and move 
forward while expanding  to include international players. We had a couple of 
lovely conversations at  this SPAH. He's a good man and a lovely harmonica 
player. 
 
 


I now see Winslow under the same pressure I used to see on Tom. It comes  
with the job. Being a volunteer officer of SPAH isn't remotely easy -  and 
only those with a deep knowledge of the inner workings of SPAH and who've  
already been volunteers for years (as Winslow has) seem able to take it on. One 
 needs broad and capable shoulders. These people (the SPAH volunteers and 
the  Club members onscene who actually put on a particular SPAH--in this case 
the St.  Louis 'Gateway' Club(who'll do it all again next year), work very 
hard to be  nearly invisible to the attendees. Don't be fooled: it's hard 
and exhausting--(I  doubt any of them averaged more than a few hours sleep in 
the weeks leading up  to the first day) but not a single one of them would 
change it. IF you attended  this SPAH, however--please remember to thank 
those behind-the-scenes folks who  worked to bring you this most amazing SPAH 
experience, from your registration  packet to your name-tag which introduced 
you to so many new friends, to  answering a myriad of questions and somehow 
managing to arrange not only  seminars but performances and yet still fit so 
many people into 10-people tables  for dinner yet having it all run so 
incredibly well it was seamless. I'm still  bemused.**
 
 

**My only comment about 'growing' SPAH (as some people keep talking about  
wanting to do) is that as the crowds get bigger, the comfort level tends to  
drop, at least for me. I was far enough away from the stage I could hardly 
see  Charlie (a big disappointment), and the brilliant flute/sax player was  
completely hidden by a large speaker from my seat. This is one problem with 
 bringing bigger crowds to the Convention. Another is that I missed 
touching base  with so many people I wanted to meet because of the crowds. You run 
out of time  to fit everyone in. Expanding it beyond the numbers of this 
particular 50th  Anniversary SPAH just might remove the intimate quality which 
makes SPAH what it  is, so something to consider.
 
 


Danny G personally donated a most expensive silver instrument to be raffled 
 off on Saturday night. I know because I'd been blown away by his 
generosity and  bought a whole slew of tickets just so I could try to win this 
instrument (hah,  I never win anything and knew it was an exercise in futility). 
:) Somehow it was  caught up in the other donations--with no realization of 
its worth. I hope the  winner realizes just what a prize he or she has 
gotten. It's a Suzuki but wasn't  one of the company's donations.
 
 
Didn't get to spend nearly enough time with my good friends Val and Phil  
Caltabellotta. He was fabulous during his HarpBeats set on Friday with 
George,  George's son Caleb and Herb Eck on Bass. Phil is such a natural--plays  
everything by ear which has always given me major hope for my own playing. 
His  tone is simply beautiful. Val is recovering from a major physical 
setback..is  doing very, very well and with their very recent move to Florida and 
the therapy  she'll get there will soon be back up and running. But boy, do I 
miss them up  here in NY.
 
 


Thoroughly enjoyed Robert Bonfiglio's Saturday night performance --again.  
I've now been present for so many of Robert's performances I must qualify as 
a  bonafide fan (have all of his CD's as well), so it came as a bit of a 
shock  when, on exiting the room for a quick break--an obvious country-music 
fan asked  me impatiently if 'that classical dude was still playing in 
there'. I'm not THAT  into classical music but Robert is such a beautiful player I 
happily listen to  him, as well as wonderful players from every genre 
whether I enjoy the 'style'  or not. I felt sad for that man--who'd no idea what 
he was missing.
 

Side note: Robert's performance at the last Garden State Harmonica Festival 
 in November 2011 run by Val Redler Caltabellotta was truly mind-blowing. 
He  played classical accompanied by his gorgeous wife Clare Hoffmann on 
flute;  ballads, blues with Rob Paparozzi and jazz. AND he excelled in all of 
them that  night, he was SO 'on'. It was a magical night all around. When I get 
around to  posting most of the footage I took (although I'm running far 
behind), you'll  see.
 

To be continued....