Video of the Day 21 July 2011: Brendan Power, “Sweet Georgia Brown”
This performance is a lot of fun, and it demonstrates so many cool things that you can do with a harp and a couple of pieces of gear (and talent, of course) that I don’t know where to start. Brendan lays down the chord changes…
Video of the Day July 13 2011: Otavio Castro
Otavio Castro is a Brazilian jazz harmonica virtuoso in his early 30s. As this piece shows, he can make the diatonic harmonica do some pretty amazing things. I’m amazed at how strong his tone is at the velocity he’s playing at in this piece, not…
Charlie Musselwhite’s “Rough Dried” is the real thing, live
I’ve been an avid follower of Charlie Musselwhite since his recording of “Cristo Redentor” on his “Tennessee Woman” album on Vanguard changed my life in 1969. Charlie has always had a unique sound and approach to the harmonica; his rhythms and his notes alway seem…
Video of the Day 4 July 2011: Big Shoulders with Ron Sorin, “I Got Love,” 1989
Ron Sorin is the harp player on this cut, a very enjoyable Bo Diddly groove with a lot of free reeds in the mix–the lead singer is playing a squeezebox. The mix of amped-up harp and squeezebox is totally cool, the rhythm section drives like…
Video of the Day 1 July 2011: Philip Achille, “Genevieve Waltz”
Philip Achille is based in the UK, and his Myspace page lists a lot of jazz and R&B influences, though as this clip shows he’s obviously at ease with more classically-oriented genres. Here he’s playing Larry Adler’s best-known composition. Comparisons are inevitable, and Achille compares…
Digitech RP Patch set update this week!
I’m releasing an update to my patch sets for the Digitech RP250, 255, 350, and 355 this week: a set of four patches designed to cover a range of acoustic harp performances. These patches were in fact developed by me for use with my solo…
RP Tip #8: Louder, Louder, Louder
If there’s one thing harp players need, it’s loud. As in, to be loud. Louder than the guitars. Loud enough to hear yourself over the band. Loud enough for the audience to hear you over the band. The RPs can get pretty loud, but like…
Video of the day 18 May 2011: RealWeepingHarpSenoh
RealWeepingHarpSenoh is a band from Japan with three harp players. I never heard of them before this video was posted to the Harp-L list. Every one of these guys plays totally authentic blues harp–it’s really quite impressive. This piece is Jimmy Reed’s classic “Baby What…
Video of the Day 11 May 2011: Hazmat Modine, “Yesterday Morning”
Hazmat Modine is a very cool band, world music/blues/early jazz with a big beat and two harmonicas up front. This video is a live performance of one of my favorite Hazmat Modine tunes. (Check out the big sound of a POG (Polyphonic Octave Generator) on…
Video of the day 3 May 2011: Crystal Bowersox with John Popper at SXSW, “Kiss Ya”
Crystal Bowersox playing with accompaniment from John Popper. Bowersox sings nice and strong, don’t she? Popper’s playing on this piece is very interesting stuff, plenty of colorful accompaniment, and a solo that seems more like free jazz than R&B. He pulls it together by the…
