[Harp-L] Little Walter tribute

[Mick Zaklan]

   The Chicago Blues Festival line-up is out.  World's largest free blues
fest.  They're running something called "A Tribute to Little Walter" on one
of the main stages, June 9th.  Harpists listed are Billy Branch, Kim
Wilson, Corky Siegel, Rick Estrin, Sugar Blue, Magic Dick, and Billy Boy
Arnold, among others.  That's a lot of "Juke".
   Speaking of Little Walter, I was revisiting my copy of "Blues With A
Feeling, the Little Walter Story", and ran across an interesting Charlie
Musselwhite quote.  For years, I've heard stories of Big Walter Horton
playing gigs with one diatonic harp.  Charlie recounts one evening he saw
Big Walter switching back and forth between a D harp and a C harp on a tune
in the key of A.  When Charlie mentions this to Little Walter; Walter tells
him: "That's nothing, you can play in E on a C harp, too!"  So apparently
both Walters were using 4th and 5th positions back then.  Makes you wonder
what else they had figured out back then.  And Charlie says that "this is
what got me to thinking about how many positions there might be..."



Mick Zaklan