SlickWillie
Guest
Oct 05, 2008
10:14 AM
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if you have the time please list these five "classic" harmonica players in order from your most favourite to your least favourite. why? you ask. sheer absolute curiosity. for me it's
1. Sonny Boy I
2. Sonny Terry
3. Sonny Boy II
4. Little Walter
5. Big Walter
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Anonymous
Guest
Oct 05, 2008
10:24 AM
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they all suck, time for more modern players like Adam Gussow and Jason Ricci.
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kudzurunner
120 posts
Oct 05, 2008
11:11 AM
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If I were forced to rank them, then I'd actually create two different rankings:
MOST INVENTIVE AND TECHNICALLY GIFTED:
1) Little Walter
2) Sonny Terry
3/4) tie between Sonny Boy 2 and Big Walter
5) Sonny Boy 1
MOST PASSIONATE & BLUES-FILLED:
1) Sonny Boy 2
2) Big Walter
3) Little Walter
4) Sonny Terry
5) Sonny Boy 1
But heck: that leaves poor ol' John Lee Williamson at the bottom of two Top 5 lists, and that ain't fair. Neither Little Walter nor Sonny Boy 2 would have existed if it hadn't been for John Lee.
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harmonicanick
17 posts
Oct 05, 2008
11:14 AM
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future harmonica:
jj milteau
j ricci
paul lamb
j popper
mark feltham
lee sankey
sugar blue
lee oskar
robert bonfiglio
rob paparozzi
Brendan power
joe filisko
steve baker
west weston
mark hummel
jon gindick
madcat ruth
try Christelle Berthon on you tube
Last Edited by on Oct 05, 2008 11:19 AM
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Oisin
16 posts
Oct 05, 2008
5:29 PM
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You you check out a guy called Giles King from the UK. One excellent harp player. He's got a myspace site.Plays with Lightnin Willie and the poor boys and formly of Bad Town Blues and also Hucklebuck. One of the most flamboyant players around.He's got a tone all his own!
I think he's also got a few youtube vids. Sorry I can't post the links but I'm at work at present and we don't have access to myspace or Youtube here.
Oisin
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kudzurunner
123 posts
Oct 05, 2008
7:00 PM
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If we're talking the future rather than the past--which is to say, forward-looking contemporary players--then it might make sense to add a few of the following:
Igor Flach
Greg Szlapczynsky
Nico Wayne Toussaint
El Fish
Moriarty
Kwak
Roland Van Straaten
George Armaos
Mick Kinsella
Vincent Bucher & Tao Ravao
I'm embarrassed to say that I'd heard of none of these players before my recent trip to Europe. My introduction to Flach came at Mundharmonika-live; the CDs that were played for me were noticeably better than most of the Flach on YouTube.
I was introduced to the other players on the course of a long drive north to Paris by Benoit Felten. Greg Szlap has a couple of OK videos on YouTube, but nothing that compares with the best cuts on his live album. The rest are all top-notch.
I'm afraid that most American harp players, of whatever level, are blissfully ignorant of the level of innovative talent in Europe and the UK. Overblowing seems to be the norm in France, for example, at least among the players I was exposed to. Remarkable stuff.
Joe Filisko, Rob Paparozzi, Mark Hummel, and West Weston are all fine players, but they certainly don't belong a list of "future harmonica." Joe would certainly place himself firmly in the "past harmonica" category: a guy reanimating the best of the past rather than forging new sounds for a new age. West Weston and Mark Hummel are revivalists, traditionalists, not innovators.
Last Edited by on Oct 05, 2008 7:06 PM
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Preston
57 posts
Oct 06, 2008
5:44 AM
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I don't see Carlos Del Junco on anybody's list. I think he is one of the best playing harp today. Definetely not a traditional blues player, but can lay down some good "Modern Blues Harmonica" licks.
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bluemoose
20 posts
Oct 06, 2008
12:08 PM
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And Paul Delay...damn I miss him....
moose
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cm16600
9 posts
Oct 06, 2008
1:55 PM
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Hi, i am glad that Adam mentionned Vincent Bucher he is the guy that made me start playing harp. JJ Milteau as well ,he doesn't seem to be famous in the US but in france he is Huge !!
Last Edited by on Oct 06, 2008 1:56 PM
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Gray
29 posts
Oct 07, 2008
2:55 AM
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Nice one Adam.I love the european styles.
No order-
Norton Buffalo
Robert Susz
Ian Collard
Jim Conway
Chris Wilson
Chris Mickalek
Pierre Lacocque
Charlie Musselwhite
Greg Zlap
Frederic Yonnet
Richard Sleigh
And the list keeps on building thanx to harp masters like Adam Gussow.
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Luiz
6 posts
Oct 09, 2008
12:23 PM
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Cool lists!
Since we're also talking about players without the US, I will add Jefferson Goncalves, he's been doing a very nice job playing the blues harp with a typical Brazilian touch.
Some videos with him:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjYoJHQFjys
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GYU5_eXJR4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw_iltGkWQU
Last Edited by on Oct 09, 2008 12:25 PM
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Aussiesucker
34 posts
Oct 18, 2008
7:26 PM
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Amazed to see that no list mentions Howard Levy. If we could learn to play like this guy all we would need to carry is one harp in the key of C.
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oldwailer
258 posts
Oct 18, 2008
10:45 PM
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Just FYI, Howard Levey, in an interview in the book "Harmonicas, Harps and Heavy Breathers," Said he thinks on a G harp--so I guess that's all we'd need.
I always think of Levy as a genius--but I don't think I've ever heard a record by him--does anybody have any favorites by Levy? I guess he's more of a jazz guy than blues. . .
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Aussiesucker
36 posts
Oct 18, 2008
11:55 PM
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Oldwailer I agree some of Levy's stuff doesn't grab me. I did download his version of Amazing Grace which I find to be sheer genius. Towards the end of what is a long and varied rendition he produces a sound just like Bagpipes ie a sustained drone (circular breathing?)with the melody over the top.
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eharp
104 posts
Oct 19, 2008
5:18 AM
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aussie- i think that drone is levy using tongue blocking. when he is playing a draw, he is letting air in thru hole 2. when he is playing a blow, he has hole 3 open.
i did not watch the video. i heard a couple of others play and produce the same bagpipe or drone effect. that is how it was explained to me.
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Aussiesucker
40 posts
Oct 19, 2008
4:32 PM
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eharp your explanation for the bagpipe drone sounds logical.
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Christelle Berthon
1 post
Nov 01, 2008
11:00 PM
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Hi there,
I'm quite sad to see that I'm not on your list, for the future of harmonica. May be you're right I don't deserve that...
Adam may be you felt embarassed to meet me at Saint Aignan. Sorry!
Last Edited by on Nov 01, 2008 11:05 PM
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oldwailer
301 posts
Nov 02, 2008
9:08 AM
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Hi Christelle,
I just posted to you on another thread--but I wanted to point out that you were mentioned on this thread--about four posts down from the top by Harmonicanick--
"try Christelle Berthon on you tube"
I have been around here since the board began (a hopeless addict) and you have been mentioned before--with proper awe. . .
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Vicksburg
1 post
Nov 02, 2008
9:20 AM
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Christelle is awesome!
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Christelle Berthon
3 posts
Nov 02, 2008
9:52 AM
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hi guys, thanks for your words, but I was just saying that Adam is not considering me as one of the major harmonica player in France.
I was really happy to see him in france and I was guessing he was too, but it seems that back in the USA, finally he's not considering me as a good harp player at all
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Aussiesucker
53 posts
Nov 05, 2008
1:29 PM
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Christelle, I think you play just great. I am in Australia and I look out for your Youtube shows. I love your renditions of Hallelujah, What A Wonderful World & Amazing Grace. I like your presentations of these classic tunes to which I can relate. Whilst I like the blues I much prefer both your style of playing and I also like country. On Youtube you are truly a star performer.
David
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