kudzurunner
187 posts
Dec 04, 2008
12:27 PM
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One key to my own development on the harp was the community of harmonica players that happened to exist in New York City in the 1980s and 1990s. Some of them are now dead (Bill Dicey, Bob Shatkin, Nat Riddles); others have scattered. I believe that Danny Russo, who recorded in a handful of Spivey Records in the 1970s, is still around; I sat in with him several times. Miguel Weissman is on MySpace. Rob Paparozzi is known to many here. William Galison is alive and well and recently had a hit on YouTube--an Obama song.
One guy I rarely mention but who is alive, well, and flourishing on the current NYC scene it Peter "Trip" Henderson. Google him. He plays with at least half a dozen different groups--mostly acoustic stuff, quirky old Americana. He has a terrific natural sound on the harp. What's funny is I first came to know him as an amplified player. One day in 1984, I believe, he showed up at Dan Lynch with his 1955 Bassman and blew an amazing version of "Juke." Later he and I became friends. Now I own the amp! (He sold it to me for $1500 in 1989 or so.)
Here's a link for the MySpace page of one of his groups. There are some excellent clips:
http://www.myspace.com/ssuccotash
If you're a NY-area player, or if you plan on vacationing or business-ing in New York, make a point of checking out Trip in action. He's fond of the old-timey music, but he's incredibly fertile within that arena. These days he and his main squeeze, a dynamic experimental vocalist, are doing some sort of new duo/trio thing.
Anyway, Trip Henderson is a great harp player. In the early 1990s he made the turn from amplified playing to unamplified playing, which was where he'd begun many years earlier. I used to go to the gigs he played with a band called The Hounds, which was a big deal in central Jersey in the 1980s and 90s. He always let me sit in. I owe much of what I've become to Trip. He was always happy to give me advice about amping, repertoire, the best recordings, etc. Check him out.
Last Edited by on Dec 04, 2008 12:30 PM
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