Harmonica World Winter 2022

HARMONICA WORLD

Winter 2022

Harmonica.uk

President: Paul Jones Vice-President: Ben Hewlett vice-pres@harmonica.uk

Patrons: Lee Sankey, Adam Glasser, Roger Trobridge, Pete Hewitt pete@harmonica.uk Ambassadors: Sam Spranger, Rachelle Plas, Cy Leo, Sarah Saputri

Executive Committee

Chair: Barry Elms chair@harmonica.uk

Secretary/Safeguarding: Simon Joy sec@harmonica.uk Treasurer: Phil Leiwy treasurer@harmonica.uk

Committee Members

IT/Acting Membership

Secretary: Barbara Tate memsec@harmonica.co.uk Communications Manager/ Accessibility: Suzy Colclough newsdesk@harmonica.uk

Editor: Dave ‘Dogfish’ Colclough editor@harmonica.uk

Outreach/Acting Membership Secretary: Richard Taylor, outreach@harmonica.uk

Without Portfolio: Gene Myers Without Portfolio: Andrew Hardy

Assistants to the Committee Assistant to the Editor: Zoie McIntyre Advertising: Keith Parker advertising@harmonica.uk Archivist: Roger Trobridge archivist@harmonica.uk

Outreach: Laina Freeman

Social Media: Louise Goodridge Newsdesk: Gary Newman Education: Dick Powell edu@harmonica.uk

Design and artwork: Differentia.co.uk

Cover: Al Jourgensen

Annual UK membership £20, Under 18 £10, Europe £25, Outside Europe £30

Registered Charity (England and Wales) No. 1131484 www.harmonica.uk

A MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAIR

Hello and welcome to the Winter 2022/2023 issue of Harmonica World, and the first issue in which I’m writing the Chair’s column. Some of you may recall I was Editor of Harmonica World from the Dec/Jan 2020 issue through to the Winter 2021/2022 issue. Since then, Dave Colclough has been doing a fantastic job in the Editor’s seat whilst I’ve been overseeing the whole of HarmonicaUK’s communications, as well as fulfilling the role of Vice-Chair.

At the time of writing, I’ve just returned home from our annual Harmonica Festival 2022 at Hillscourt, near Birmingham. We’ve had a fantastic weekend, full of excellent music, workshops and fellowship. Pete Hewitt decided the time was right to step down as Chair at the festival, and I have now taken on that role. Big thanks to Pete for doing a fantastic job over the last 2 years, transforming the organisation to be compliant and ready for the 21st Century!

He has his mark on many projects, including our rebranding and appointment of ambassadors amongst many others. Pete has now been appointed as a HarmonicaUK Patron, his main project being the Ambassadors. Gene Myers, Andrew Hardy and Dave Colclough have joined the Committee; you will find a short introduction to each of them later in this issue.

Next, some news hot off the press! Our next two Ambassadors have been announced: world-class musicians Sarah Saputri and Cy Leo. Rockschool London, a music exam board with students across the World, has awarded Sarah Saputri and Cy Leo, along with our existing Ambassadors Sam Spranger and Rachelle Plas, an Honorary Rockschool Diploma. The weekend before the festival, Pete Hewitt and I were invited to a Manfred’s gig as guests of Paul Jones, our President. Not only were we treated to an excellent evening of hits, jazz and blues, Pete got up on stage after the interval with Norton York of Rockschool, and presented Paul with an award, a Fellowship of Rockschool, to honour his contribution to the harmonica and British music. Following such an amazing festival we are all fired up! By the time you read this we will already be planning our next harmonica weekend event, which will be held on 28–30 April 2023, again at Hillscourt. Make sure you make a note of the date in your diary so you don’t miss it!

Happy Harping!

Barry Elms Chair, HarmonicaUK

EDITOR’S WELCOME

Dave “Dogfish” Colclough

Welcome dear readers, lots to talk about in this magazine!

With the announcement of two new Ambassadors at the fantastic October Festival and the collaboration with Rockschool there’s plenty to get your teeth into this issue: there are pieces about all the above in this edition.

We have new Committee members to welcome and to thank the outgoing team of Davina, Dave, Sam, and of course Pete, who were all awarded certificates at the Festival thanking them for their service.

We also have the Chair’s column by the newly installed Barry Elms.

Look out for Mike Hatchard’s funny observations of the Festival weekend; Mike was an excellent stand-in for Chris Collis who was unable to attend this year.

Well done Mike, and hope you feel better soon Chris.

There is so much to absorb, I’m going to let you get on and read it for yourselves!

All the best

Dave

PS Take a look at this cracking picture of the three previous Chairs on stage at the Festival, remember the Frost Report?

Harmonica Joke

Supplied by Keith Parker

Why was the blues harmonica player stuck outside his house all night?

He didn’t know what key to use or when to come in!

If you have a joke for the magazine, please send to editor@ harmonica.uk

NEWSDESK

Meet the new Committee members

Three new Committee members joined us at this year’s AGM at our annual festival. You’ll already be familiar with Dave ‘Dogfish’ Colclough, who has been editing Harmonica World since the Spring 2022 issue. Gene Myers has previously helped out at our events, including our online festivals and the most recent live festival in October; Gene brings a wealth of talent and experience to the committee. Finally, Andrew Hardy is joining us - as a Chartered Accountant he also brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm. I hope you will join me in welcoming them to the Committee.

Dave (Dogfish) Colclough

I have had jobs in the past including working in the building trade, working in a gym and as a DJ, before retraining as a massage therapist and achieving qualifications in counselling. Some of you might know me as the current editor of Harmonica World. I play mostly diatonic in all styles of music, although I play the big one with the button occasionally! I have been told I have a cheeky sense of humour and I love sea fishing, music, and socialising.

Gene Myers

When I was 16, I saw James Cotton perform for the first time in Connecticut at a renowned blues club, and soon after, bought a copy of the classic Folkways instructional album, Blues Harp. Within a few days I learned to bend notes. Throughout my life and careers, I’ve had a close relationship with and keen interest in music. I was a photographer and printmaker during my first 38 years, and during the second half of my life, a software professional. I’ve founded a few companies; the first developed a music festival app. I’m currently the Chief Technical Officer and Director at Wyld Networks, specialising in satellite IoT. In the last couple of years I’ve started playing the harmonica again, and helping out at events for HarmonicaUK.

Andrew Hardy

I am a qualified accountant and have practised as such for the last 30 years. There’s not much opportunity for making music in that profession, although occasionally clients sing for joy when I save them a bit of tax! I have always been interested in music and took up a few courses with Ben Hewlett. From this I developed my interest in the harmonica - it’s such an underrated and expressive instrument. I love all styles but am especially interested in zydeco and classical genres. These past few years I have met some lovely people on Zoom and am really keen to get more involved.

NEWSDESK

Newsdesk Winter 2022

There’s lots to look at in the Newsdesk section of our website, which you can check out here: www.harmonica.uk/pages/ Newsdesk.

We have tutorials from well-known tutors, concert and gig announcements and upcoming open mics.

You can also find the results of the October Festival competition here www.harmonica.uk/articles/october-festival-2022competition-winners

You can view all the entries and the adjudicator’s comments here www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOXx4MA-yqnojU_ GKAKi87vhX5SfSrB2J

With the announcement of our two brand-new Ambassadors, Cy Leo and Sarah Saputri, you will be able to read more about them soon, alongside our existing Ambassadors Sam Spranger and Rachelle Plas, here www.harmonica.uk/articles/meet-theambassadors-two-new-ambassadors-announced

If you have something for Newsdesk then please send it to newsdesk@harmonica.uk

‘Blast from the Past’

By Roger Trobridge

This section will contain articles from past issues and is a look back to a time when opinions of the day may not conform to what current acceptability might be. HarmonicaUK does not endorse any controversial opinions relating to the thinking of this period.

Harmonica players started young in the 1930s. In the last edition we heard from Larry Adler, and here is news about a promising youngster called Tom Reilly from a 1936 issue of Accordion Times and Harmonica News. (Roger Trobridge)

Versatile Harmonica Player

Tom Reilly, aged sixteen, was born in Canada and was for some years the soloist in the famous Elmdale Chromatic Harmonica Band. Now he is over here as soloist with Al Marshall’s Harmonica Rascals.

A very versatile musician is Tom. He has played violin in a symphony orchestra and was an accordionist in the Elmdale Accordion Band. The Elmdale activities also included a bugle band. Tom was one of its members and helped it to win prizes. He will shortly be heard on the air from Radio Luxembourg.

Suzy Colclough Communications Manager

Two years ago, the team at HarmonicaUK began its search around the globe for their first two Ambassadors. Last year we were proud to appoint Sam Spranger and Rachelle Plas. This year Sarah Saputri and Cy Leo joined the team and we are excited to introduce them to you.

Sarah Saputri

Sarah was born in Bandung, Indonesia (September 28, 1990). She is an Indonesian singer, songwriter and a Seydel Artist Ambassador. She became known for her performances on original Indonesian Movie Soundtracks, some of which are: Manusia Harimau, Merry Riana The Movie, Ayat - Ayat Cinta 2, and many more. She started playing the harmonica in 2012 and was a student of Hari Pochang.

INTRODUCING OUR TWO NEW AMBASSADORS

Pete Hewitt, Patron

Overall, Sarah loves to use her harmonicas for various genres like blues, country, Sundanese and popular music in Indonesia.

At the end of 2019, Sarah released her first solo album titled Pengikut Hati, on which you can hear an instrumental song for harmonica. Sarah’s vision is to introduce the harmonica to new audiences, especially in her home country, Indonesia. Her mission is to play popular songs on harmonica in Indonesia and promote Indonesian culture. You can see her latest music video of Anugerah Alam Indonesia, which you can watch on her YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/c/SarahSaputri

Cy Leo (Ho Cheuk-yin)

Cy Leo (Ho Cheuk-yin) is a chromatic harmonica virtuoso, composer and singer-songwriter. By the age of 19, he had garnered 17 international titles, including Solo World Champion twice at the World Harmonica Festival 2009 and 2013. He has toured over 70 cities since his graduation from Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2016. He has collaborated with local and international stars including Keung To, Ruel, Ichika and Cory Wong.

In 2021, Cy Leo was awarded a full scholarship from Hong Kong Jockey Club Music And Dance Fund to study a masters program in Jazz Performance at New York University. He is now the cofounder and co-artistic director of the record label Ginger Muse Limited and Music Lab. YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/cyvivaldi

This year's HarmonicaUK Festival took place over the weekend of 21–23 October in the UK at the Hillscourt Hotel in Rednal, near Birmingham - a very nice hotel with signs of recent refurbishment in a number of areas. It certainly served our purposes very well, with all single rooms being booked out and all but two of the double rooms in HUK's name. Over the weekend it proved that the catering was very good and the bar prices reasonable.

People started to gather around lunchtime on Friday. It was very soon evident that we were all of the same intent, keen to get to know one another regardless of level of ability or which type of harmonica each preferred. Old friends, starved of face-toface meetings due to Covid, and new friends, made over various Zoom meetings, were able to meet, shake hands, swap news and expectations of the weekend to come.

HARMONICAUK 2022 OCTOBER FESTIVAL REVIEW

Michael Putt

For my part, even as a comparative ‘newbie’, I was soon chatting to Sam Spranger and Cy Leo, both very much younger than me, and each of a very different musical background. Other familiar faces began to appear and the vibe was palpable. So on to the evening when the programme started with the AGM. Because of good preparation, it was done and dusted in quick time. The HarmonicaUK Ambassadors then gave us a show of what we could aspire to. A short break then two concurrent ‘Jam Sessions’ - one for chromatic players in the bar area and the other for jamming with the Ricky Cool and the band on the stage in the Conference Room. A few ‘first-timers’ played live with the band, experiencing the very good lights and sound system to full effect. The closing number had five harp players plus the band plus Rachelle Plas’ partner Philippe Hervouët on guitar - wow, what a finale!

On Saturday the Workshops began, with two sets of three in the morning and another two sets of three in the afternoon. Several of the Ambassadors were heading up workshops. Those that I attended were fascinating, certainly shining lights into dark corners for me. Trade stands had been set up in the bar in the meantime, enabling delegates to peruse their wares in the refreshment breaks. In the evening came the announcement of the tie-up between

HarmonicaUK and Rockschool, and the issue of awards to Ambassadors, which is covered separately in this issue. Entertainment followed, this time from Shima Kobayashi and her husband on keyboard, who showed us the application of the harmonica to classical music. Mick Kinsella displayed his wide-ranging abilities on different harps, including a comedy element. Following on was Antonio Serrano, who treated us to a wide-ranging assortment of music, sometimes recording on a loop box and playing the piano left-handed whilst playing the harmonica. Rachelle and Philippe gave us harmonica and electric guitar - what a player she is! Finally, Sam Spranger and his band Bad Day treated us to some of the songs on their latest album - on sale in the foyer! Many of the attendees then went to the bar and several jamming sessions started up and lasted into the early hours.

Sunday morning gave us two more sets of three workshops; again, Ambassadors were involved in leading some of these. After lunch, the delegates were invited to showcase their wares. Mike Hatchard was in attendance to provide keyboard accompaniment when required. When

the list of performers was exhausted came the handover and closing speeches by Pete Hewitt and Barry Elms respectively. During the late afternoon, delegates started leaving, others later in the evening, while others stayed until Monday. The consensus is that it was a hugely successful Festival. I was a first-timer at one of Harmonica UK's Festivals and I hope I have portrayed that it was hugely enjoyable and educational. If you are a potential first-timer then I hope to see you next year.

In September I played a rare classical recital, for which I practised profusely, often from 6 in the morning till late at night, so determined was I not to mess up. I found this experience so intense, I enrolled in the Harmonica Festival almost because I needed a change. I approached it with trepidation as I hadn’t actually played much harmonica of late and, perhaps because I’d pushed myself so hard, I wasn’t feeling terribly well.

A NOW OR NEVER MOMENT

The journey was awful. It took twice as long as expected, traffic atrocious, and the weather - well, better writers than me tell me it’s not good to use the same adjective twice, but that was atrocious too. By the time I arrived I felt awful, and almost embarrassed to meet people that I’d only met before online. Still, the greetings all seemed to go quite well. Comments like, “Wow, you look much older than you do on Zoom,” and “You’re much shorter than I was expecting,” and “Sorry, who are you???”… that sort of thing… and I was overwhelmed by how nice everybody was.

I met the very talented and terrifyingly young Cy Leo and we rehearsed a blisteringly difficult piece he’d written. Experience has shown that when rehearsals go well, gigs normally fall apart, which made me nervous. I suffer from something known as ‘ageing.’ I don’t know if I’m alone in this regard. I suspected I wasn’t but I mentioned it to Cy Leo and he seemed puzzled; if you do suffer from it too, you’ll know it means long drives in the rain can cause fatigue, a general inability to concentrate and a feeling that going to bed might be a wiser option than working through it. Nevertheless, I battled on and the concert went well, Cy Leo and I finishing in the same place, always a good sign. I then took my piano to the bar as I understood I was the accompaniment to the Jam Session there, a sort of veggy alternative to the meaty stuff upstairs. Probably, I thought, an hour of twelve bar blues and Summertime; I could pay lip service and go to bed.

A few people came up and played tunes with me, and very well too; I felt guilty I wasn’t a hundred per cent on it. Then takers dwindled so I played a solo, and the conversation level rose. I’m not whining here, that always happens. If you go from an instrument plus piano to piano on its own, there is bound to be an energy drop and I accepted that. However, just as I got halfway through My One and Only Love, Antonio Serrano approached and asked if I minded him joining in. Minded??? I recalled how I felt when, at 16, Brigitte Bardot asked me if I’d mind seducing her… actually… I might have dreamt that… anyway, Antonio came in and, boy, did the energy levels go up. A while ago I bought a Fitbit, a device that goes on

Mike Hatchard

your wrist and usefully measures your heartbeat. Opinion is divided on whether or not I needed one (my wife says I don’t, I say I do, nobody else seems to care one way or the other). My conviction has been enhanced by the fact that I can actually see the point, on a graph, where Antonio started playing with me. My heartbeat went to about 160 which is, apparently, ‘dangerous’. Shortly after Cy Leo joined us, when it upped to 180 (‘very dangerous’, apparently). Then Rachelle Plas joined in. At this point it went off the graph completely. I contacted Fitbit to discuss this anomaly, they said 250 was officially: “for Chrissakes, stop playing piano and get some sleep”, but they hadn’t included it, as they didn’t think anybody would need it. I have played for world class musicians before (James Moody, Cleo Laine, Matt Monro, Renee and Renato, etc.) but never three at a time where I was the sole accompaniment. Awesome is a much overused word but I propose to overuse it again. It was awesome, awesome, awesome as the poet Truss might have put it. If that wasn’t enough, the overwhelmingly smiley guy at the nearest table turned out to be Mick Kinsella, not known at all for jazz, but extremely capable in that genre: his rendition of Autumn Leaves was awesome (sorry, there it is again). This was even better than my imaginary night with Bardot (note to self: I must stop thinking about her. Even at 16 she was probably too old for me).

That alone would have made the trip worthwhile, but there were many other things, too. Jim Hughes’s Last of the Summer Wine made me literally cry. Meeting Jim McLoon was a joy. He’s a man who lost the use of one arm in a motorcycle accident and has the air of someone who has triumphed over circumstance, a lovely man with an infectious drive. He has customised two of my harmonicas, making a wooden cover for an old Larry Adler 48 which is a privilege to own. Suzy Colclough - what a star. The first time I accompanied her it went a bit awry as I gather she had forgotten to take her anti-rejection medicine and was feeling quite unwell, but, being a real trouper, she came back for another go, performing a Mancini tune so elegantly I was again almost in tears.

But my highlight has to be that I was awarded Jazz Harmonica Player of the Year. Hearing this, I assumed I was the only entrant, but apparently there were others even if it wasn’t exactly oversubscribed. What an honour. The last time I received an award was a ten shilling postal order when I won the Swanage Sandcastle Competition (under 8s). This time I got a cup, certificate, shield… everything (except a postal order, hint hint). Actually, thinking about it, perhaps it’s time to cash that postal order. I understand 50p goes quite a long way these days. I’d like to thank too many people to mention for the opportunity to accompany them, and hope to do so again soon.

Rockschool announces the first regulated Harmonica Grades in partnership with HarmonicaUK

By Tim Bennett-Hart, Chief Executive Officer, RSL Awards Ltd

During the HarmonicaUK Festival, RSL Awards, global provider of qualifications in the creative and performing arts, announced their partnership with HarmonicaUK, which will see the creation of the world’s first regulated graded qualifications in harmonica performance, to be launched under the RSL Awards brand Rockschool.

The partnership with RSL Awards will see HarmonicaUK provide the expertise in creating a new set of qualifications for learning and performing harmonica. These qualifications give a progression route from the very first steps on the student’s musical journey to the creation of performers with the skills, knowledge and confidence to be able to perform pieces of popular music specially arranged for the instruments. RSL Awards Chairman, Norton York said, “In 2020

I heard an interview with a harmonica player on the radio about the impact of the pandemic on musicians. I realised quickly that harmonica players faced the same issues that we had solved for guitarists, drummers, and bass players in 1991. They needed the same formal recognition that other musicians have received for years. HarmonicaUK are the natural partners for RSL Awards, and we are very excited to welcome harmonica as the next instrument in the Rockschool grades.”

The new syllabus will cover the first five graded exams and method books published to accompany Premier and Debut Grades. The method books have been designed to be used in individual lessons and classroom teaching, offering a brand-new route for wholeclass music teaching.

At the recent HarmonicaUK Festival, Rockschool provided a first look at their new Graded Syllabus for Harmonica. Author of the books, Ashley Hards, presented a session that took delegates through the first two publications in the series. The method books have been designed specifically for non-specialist teachers to access the instrument for the first time. They have also been written with whole-class ensemble teaching in mind.

HarmonicaUK President, Paul Jones FRSL (Hons), was recently awarded an honorary Fellowship of RSL Awards in recognition of his services to music. He commented, “For years, HarmonicaUK

members have asked the traditional music exam boards to give harmonica players the same recognition as other instrumentalists. It is brilliant that RSL Awards has achieved this with us, and HarmonicaUK are delighted to work with RSL Awards to ensure that harmonica playing across the globe gets the recognition it deserves. We need to ensure that the education community are aware of the benefits of playing these accessible and inclusive instruments, and inspire future generations of players.”

During the conference RSL Awards, CEO Tim Bennett-Hart was able to award a number of honorary diplomas (DRLS Hons) from RSL Awards to HarmonicaUK Ambassadors Sam Spranger, Rachelle Plas, Cy Leo, and Sarah Saputri, along with a very special award for Ben Hewlett, who has been one of the main drivers for the collaboration.

The syllabus and method books will be published before the end of 2022. To sign up for more details and to be kept in touch, follow this link: www.rslawards.com/rockschool-harmonica-coming-soon/.

Right: Norton York, Chairman of RSL Awards (Rockschool), presents an Honorary Fellowship to Paul Jones.

Ministry frontman and songwriter Al Jourgensen is one of the visionaries of industrial music. The band’s albums Psalm 69, The Mind Is a Terrible Thing To Taste, Twitch and more have changed the course of heavy and electric music and influenced artists across musical genres for four decades. Anyone with more than a passing familiarity with Ministry knows Jourgensen grew up in Chicago and plays harmonica. Listen closely to Ministry’s defiant music and the humble diatonic will show up amid the rancour, most notably in a gnarly second-position solo on the song Filth Pig (the eponymous track from the 1996 Ministry album).

Jourgensen again broke out the diatonic harp for the 2021 Ministry song Good Trouble, written during worldwide protests against police violence in 2020. Jourgensen says the inclusion of a harmonica in industrial music makes perfect sense if you look closely at Ministry’s songs, which he calls “blues-based with industrial noises. I just incorporate sounds from the current society, but my music is blues”

THE HARP IS A TERRIBLE THING TO TASTE

Ministry’s Al Jourgensen on diatonic harp and his Chicago blues roots

Justin M. Norton

Photos by Derick Smith

Jourgensen tells Harmonica World. He talked to us about his journey with the world’s most peculiar instrument and how he made the harmonica work in Ministry songs.

When did you first pick up a harmonica?

I was in high school like 45 years ago. I was a sophomore and was friends with a kid named Phil, who dropped out of school. He sold pot and played harmonica in a park where kids hung out. This was in the late ’60s and early ’70s. I thought the guy was cool, so I started to drop out and smoke pot and play the harmonica (laughs). Phil showed me the basics, like using the tongue and breath and how to play the harmonica. He was like two years older than me and became a mentor. That was my introduction.

Did you see any legendary Chicago players in the late ’60s or early ’70s?

I saw Big Walter and Buddy Guy and all of those guys. The thing for young white dudes with long hair to do in the ’70s was going to blues clubs. The clubs were somewhat integrated by then and it was super cool.

What did you love about the sound of the harmonica? How shrill it is. The instrument jumps up and down and says, “Listen to me”. There is very little subtlety unless you are someone who can play it like a built-in rhythm section. But often, the instrument screams, “Listen to me! I’m here! I’m trying to say something!”

How did you learn to bend and get bluesy sounds out of the

harmonica?

Phil taught me. Otherwise, I’d be playing Oh! Susanna and the like. You need to know how to use the tongue, breathe, and bend. I’d say bending is the hardest thing to do and requires some upkeep on the instrument. I started on Marine Bands. A harmonica is a personal instrument. When they started using plastic combs, I found it a tough transition.

Did you ever have a hardcore practice regimen, or was it mostly learning from friends and going to shows?

My life quest for a month was to learn the intro to Whammer Jammer note for note. After I did that, everything fell into place. You learn riffs by learning pieces of music. I did the same thing with the guitar, except I listened to Yes and learned how to finger-pick those chords. You can take parts (of songs) and fashion them into your voice. I didn't have much of a regimen outside of “I’m stoned, so let’s try some stuff on the harmonica” (laughs). I like fitting the harp into the scope of a band and multi-dimensional music. I was never into the solo stuff, which sounds like a car horn going off for too long. But the harp can be beautiful when it’s worked into a song.

Did you ever pick up a chromatic?

We did a Ministry acoustic show in front of 20,000 people at Neil Young’s Bridge School benefit. I wanted to do the Midnight Cowboy theme (the original featured chromatic legend Toots Thielemans).

I could do most of it on a diatonic but there is a pitch shift. Right before we went on stage, I had to learn that part on chromatic and then go out and do Midnight Cowboy. It was hair raising because I did not know what I was doing. Somehow, we got through it.

Ministry’s music is based around dark sounds and the minor pentatonic scale and I think diatonic would be a better choice. Yeah, and you throw in distortion too. I love when a harmonica is overblown and there is feedback going and it sounds like an aggressive instrument and not like something for a polka. It does fit and you can make it work. A harmonica can transcend all musical genres if you do it well.

Everyone knows the solo in Filth Pig. Where did that come from?

I have no idea. It was a single take. It's a slow, heavy and bluesysounding song and I tried to match that. When I did it in the studio, people looked at me and said, “Done.”

There is also a harp on the new song Good Trouble, which is about police violence in the African-American community and worldwide protests about this violence.

This instrument is historically one of the few instruments AfricanAmericans could afford during sharecropping. It was important to have it in this song. I played my style over it and it seemed to fit perfectly and work.

Do you get a good crowd reaction when you take out the harmonica for Filth Pig?

Ministry went through a phase where I wasn’t playing harp on stage. The feedback makes it difficult to get the sound I want with our volume. Even Lemmy from Motörhead said we were the loudest band he had ever heard. When we brought the harp back into the set, I was amazed because people would clap after the harp solo. People went crazy for it and I felt vindicated.

Many people can play the harmonica and get a chord or a note. For that reason, popular music has a lot of bad harmonica. How difficult is it to play the instrument meaningfully?

It’s all about the situation and use. Superfluous harmonica is boring. You find the right song, tempo and player and it’s a seamless fit. Finding a place to put it is tough with some types of music. When you do find the right scenario, it can be haunting and effective.

I’ve heard it compared to hot sauce. A few dabs make the meal. A meal loaded with hot sauce is ruined.

In traditional blues, the harmonica can do it all and even be a rhythm instrument. It can replace a rhythm guitar and solo. In other music, the harmonica is something to be unleashed in limited quantities. I couldn’t make the harmonica a lead instrument for Ministry. But it can be the most beautiful instrument in the world if given the right support system.

Website: https://ministryband.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UC6fUV-AHqV7lpvK9L4PB4yw Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/user/ministryband Instagram: www.instagram.com/weareministry

INTERVIEW WITH BOAZ KIM

Sam Spranger

After speaking to chromatic maestro Isabella Krapf from Vienna last issue, I journeyed to Philadelphia to speak with Boaz Kim. There isn’t a type of harmonica that Boaz Kim doesn’t play and I’ve been really impressed by his videos on YouTube and social media, where he demonstrates a fluency in a range of genres and styles. Like many, he began on a tremolo harmonica before progressing to the diatonic and chromatic. However, he has become particularly renowned for his work on the chord and bass harmonicas as well as for his skills in restoration and maintenance. My first question is always the same. How did you come to the harmonica?

Like most, we had a harmonica in the house when I was a kid. My dad had a Yamaha tremolo harmonica and my sisters and I would fool around on it. Since it was a tremolo it seemed like everything you played on it sounded good! After that, it must have been The Blues Brothers movie and the song Spokey Dokey from the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack that made me pick up a diatonic. From there, I had to figure everything out on the instrument from my basic piano training. I learned to bend pretty well, but didn't know about the concept of overblowing (all pre-youtube). Frustrated with the 'missing half steps,' I quit playing harmonica at the end of high school with the intention to focus on the trumpet. Later, I went to West Chester University to study music education on the trumpet and I had an issue with my chops so had to re-audition for a vocal major. It was then that I really started to pursue the harmonica again with the goal of playing professionally.

As far as I can tell, you play every type of harmonica. How did you get started on the bass and chord harmonicas? It progressed from wanting to be a more versatile studio musician as many of the pros like Tommy Morgan, Rob Paparozzi, Ross Garren, and even Howard Levy can also play bass harmonica if they get the call. So I bought one and fixed it up myself using my knowledge of how to customise diatonics. From there I met a guy named Bill Morris who fixes up chord harmonicas and I thought that’s crazy cool, I have to get one! So it started as wanting to be a more versatile player but then I really fell in love with the old harmonica bands such as Borrah Minevitch and the Harmonica Rascals, and the Stagg McMann Trio and I’m really into playing the instruments seriously now!

So you started repairing instruments by first customising your diatonics to overblow?

Yes, sure, overblowing is a technique more than anything but there are things you can do to help! So I started gapping, tuning, and cleaning and now I work on everything. As you can imagine with the number of reeds involved, repairing and maintaining chord harmonicas are really big jobs, but it’s also a privilege to restore instruments that are often very old and very unique.

What’s the music scene like in Philadelphia?

There are less gigs following on from Covid, but I was very proud to premier in a new musical called Little Things earlier this year. Luckily, I’m still getting studio calls and doing online teaching as well.

I saw you collaborated with Rob Paparozzi on some online videos.

Yeah, I met him at a charity concert when I got to sit in. I was just messing around on the chord harmonica and he reached out to me and said, “I want to put a chromatic lead on that!” He’s such an amazing performer as well as a great player. A few years ago he also recommended me for some session work and I can’t thank him enough for that.

How does one begin on the chord and bass harmonicas? Walk me through the main techniques. Yeah sure, I’m getting a lot of requests for that as there isn’t enough quality instructional material out there. The chord harmonicas are arranged in the circle of fifths. The top row features major chords on the blow, and dominant 7th chords to resolve to that major chord on the draw. The lower harmonica on the chord harmonica is tuned to the parallel minor on the blow, and the draw is composed of diminished and augmented chords. In terms of practice, a great technique is trying to play your scales but with chords! You have to hold the instrument at each end and try as much as possible not to look but use your ears. If you’re even more advanced, you can figure out chord extensions to play some of the jazz chords as well. Those extensions are what made me really fall in love with the chord harmonica.

The bass harmonica is similar to the chromatic in as much as the lower harmonica is tuned diatonically to C (with an extended E in the bass) and the top row of the instrument is in C#. Like the chromatic, however, there are a few note substitutions. Again, if you want to learn, it’s a process of learning scales and then trying out different melodies on the instrument.

What are you looking forward to in the future?

I’d love some time to sit down and do some composition and arrangements building upon the ideas of the old harmonica big band groups. In addition to that, I want to keep developing my recording reputation and pick up more studio work. Also, to all your readers, I am teaching via Zoom at the moment and would be happy to take on new students from your readership!

For more info on Boaz Kim see his website: www.boazkimmusic.com

To watch the interview in full see: www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDxRD9fKXWw

Down the Pits

Pic: Jon Frost

FATAL ATTRACTION - MY LIFE WITH THE HARMONICA

Part 4

Phil Hopkins

I am introduced to my new home. It’s a square wooden soundproof box, lined with acoustic foam, 3 metres by 3 metres, in which I am to play percussion and harmonica. It is located directly underneath the stage of the Shaftesbury Theatre in London’s West End, and it’s going to be my office for the next six months. The rest of the orchestra will be in the traditional pit in front of the stage, but current sounddesign thinking requires the noisy and space-consuming percussion instruments to be placed in a booth away from the rest of the instruments. My link to the orchestra will be via headphones and TV monitors. As well as the marimba, conga drums, side drum and other instruments accompanying me to this musical desert island will be my trusty chromatic (Hohner Deluxe, key of C) and a diatonic harmonica (Lee Oskar, key of C).

Pic: Jon Stewart

It’s 2013 and the show is Sir Tim Rice’s new production From Here to Eternity. The musical director and arranger, David White, is a lovely and talented man but, more importantly, a harmonica fan and he has decided that this story about American GIs set in WWII needs some harmonica. It is my third production featuring harmonica for David and I wish there were more like him in the corridors of West End power.

During the rehearsal period, there’s been quite a lot of chromatic harmonica (my instrument of choice) scored into my part, but sadly, many of the sections where it really shines eventually get cut. This is the reality of a collaborative world such as musical theatre - there’s an awful lot of content fighting to be included, and if there’s a moment you love, you hold your breath until Press Night. Up until that moment anything’s fair game to be added or removed - after Press Night, when the show gets reviewed, the show is set in stone, for better or for worse. Some chromatic moments remain in From Here to Eternity, and I look forward to them every night. It’s always a nice change to put down the mallets and sticks for a while and pick up a harmonica. But, amazingly to me, the most prominent harmonica feature stays in the show - a tune called Ain’t Where I Wanna Be Blues. I say ‘amazingly’, because in this number I have a diatonic solo, and it has survived the cut - even though I have never considered myself a blues harp player and never will. There’s no glory, however. While I wail my little heart out every night into a microphone in my soundproof box, upstairs on the stage an actor mimes the harp solo with a whisky bottle. Hardly glamorous, is it? However, I

don’t mind, because I still get the fun of playing this solo a couple of hundred times over the ensuing months, and even do it live on This Morning on ITV. Plus, I’m getting paid.

Although I’m a chromatic player, I’ve always respected the diatonic and its deserved niche in the world of popular music. Years ago, I realised that I would inevitably get asked to play it, so I bought Don Baker’s book on blues harp, among others, and diligently worked my way through it. I bought a Sonny Terry album and played it endlessly, as well as checking out many other diatonic geniuses such as Jerry Portnoy, whose work with Eric Clapton on Me and Mr Johnson I’ve much enjoyed. I’ve recently been learning that Toots Thielemans used to carry diatonics around with him, as did legendary Hollywood chromatic player Tommy Morgan. Versatility is definitely a lesson I’m happy to learn from these all-time greats. In fact, one of my most memorable musical moments was diatonic-based - I will never forget the thrill of finally achieving that hole 2 draw wholetone bend on the diatonic. As I felt that chunky reed vibrating downwards I wanted to run down the street and share the news with anyone prepared to listen!

When a theatre show’s up and running, the musicians are allowed to take the odd performance off, to do other work or just have a night in with the family, and at this point they organise a deputy. The ‘depping’ system is the oil which greases the life of the West End musician. But in this area I have a problem. None of my harmonica-playing colleagues play the marimba, and vice-versa. So an ingenious solution is proposed by the sound engineer to allow me time off. He’s happy to record me playing all the harmonica cues (maybe 30 in all) onto a sampler, which he then allocates to keys on a midi-controller keyboard. On nights when I’m absent, my percussionist deputy will use the keyboard to trigger the harmonica cues as they arise in the score. To allow for fluctuating tempos, the chunks of audio are divided into one-bar phrases. It’s all in a day’s work, and many musicians would prefer to be onstage rather than under it. But to be a team player you have to check your ego at the door, and if that’s what it takes to play my instruments every day for a living then I’ll gladly take this one for the team.

Website: www.philhopkins.org.uk/ You Tube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCp2HzSYG7L_KRPC_weZyZCA

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2IK3uJCkpsnHdTXtRQbgoP

Harmonica Paradiso: https://philhopkins.bandcamp.com/album/harmonica-paradiso

Here’s what you get:

• Three one-hour zoom calls a week with Ben, other teachers, and fellow students

• Access to the HM90 community group of 170 students

• A group where you post your daily practice written Diary for feedback

• A group where you post your daily progress Video diary for feedback

• Access to a Buddy group for weekly accountability and support

• Access the structured video tuition system (75 courses - more than 100 hours of video)

• Access all 20 of Ben’s harmonica tuition books

• Exclusive access to top level harmonica guests

• Access to our Open mic sessions to test your skills

This is a bespoke service for you if you need a great learning structure, a proper system to help you succeed, daily mentoring and coaching from the Team. It’s for people who want to roll their sleeves up and do some work - not for the faint of heart! To learn more and book a chat to discover if it’s a good fit for you please visit:

“In

Thinking about doing this interview, I thought maybe I should approach this as if I might hire this guy? So, Ben, I wrote down lots of questions here, let’s start with the last one first.

What started you with music?

I guess I was always interested. For some reason, singing in the school choir. I even remember doing a singing solo in a school musical when I was probably eight or nine - I still have a recording of it. It's fantastic.

So you got bit by the bug?

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF BEN HEWLETT

Vice

President of Harmonica UK

Creator and owner of the Harmonica Mastery 90-Day Coaching and Mentoring Program

By Jerry (“Gizmo”) Guy

I thought everybody did it. I thought it was normal. So I was in the choir. My parents went to church; I didn’t particularly go along with that stuff, but I had singing and it was good. And then at school, at 10, the head teacher said, “We've got a new boy coming to join the school and he's a trumpet player, so we've engaged a trumpet teacher. Would anybody else like to join?” And my hand went up. I don't know why. That's how I got started.

How many years were you trumpet playing?

I've still got one over here. I don't play it so much these days. I just had a half-hour lesson once a week and that was it, with two boys in a class and one teacher. That pretty much defines my trumpet thing. Just half an hour once a week.

What kind of harmonica was your first?

A tremolo. My grandfather used to do a little jig, McNamara's dance. Actually, it's a reel, but he thought it was a jig. So, I figured out that if I was breathing out a bit, I could play “My name is McNamara I'm the leader of the……” then I'd have to breathe in to make it work, “......band”. I figured out from age seven that the breathing-in and the breathing-out was like a question and an answer. So, to me, that was obvious - simple and easy with no brains required!

So you didn't see a big challenge in what was going on… a natural?

100% natural! Whereas the trumpet was not. It was really hard. It still is. So I struggled with the trumpet; played, and did my grade exams up to Grade 5. I was learning Haydn's E Flat trumpet concerto, reading the music, which I found very difficult. I didn't really get much help and support from the system, which is why I now like to find the best possible way for people to learn, which is ‘blended learning’. Because that's what I didn't get; I'm now redressing the balance. So now, having training on books and videos and reporting students’ progress back to

some peer groups, and then having one-to-one sessions online, made for blended learning and I can't think of a better way of learning than that.

So ‘blended learning’ kind of defines your Harmonica 90Day Mastery Program?

Yes, it does. I was told by a university lecturer that what I've produced is called ‘blended learning’. I had no idea, I just put it together.

When did your music become a job? Was there a turning point or did this just sneak up on you?

No, there was a precise turning point. I started learning harmonica and enjoying it, and I was having lessons with a guy called Brendan Power in London, in 1990 or thereabouts. He had set up a series of evening classes, I think it may have been five classes. He had to be away for one week, and said, would I take the class on a Wednesday? And I said, “No, you have to be crazy”, and he said, “Just come and watch”. So I did and during the class, he said, “This is Ben, he's taking next week's class”, in a good-natured way, and he said, “As a matter of fact, we're going to split into two groups now. You lot with me, you lot with Ben. Let's go”. So he was a very pragmatic man and he didn’t take prisoners. He pushed me into that and I found to my surprise that, even at that very early stage, I could answer their questions quite well. So a bit later Brendan went on tour with Riverdance for, I don't know, a couple of years; perhaps three years. So he said, “ You’d better take over all my evening classes. I'm done with that stuff now”, so I took over five one-hour classes.

Thus, Ben's Harmonica Teaching/Touring Journey was launched.

Dear reader, I hope you have enjoyed this brief conversation with myself and Ben. The previous words only lead us up to Ben's early entry into the world of harmonica playing and teaching. To dig deeper, the full interview is available by following the link below. You'll learn more about his journey and get information on his latest project: Harmonica Mastery 90 Day Coaching and Mentoring Program, which explores and harnesses the blended teaching approach that was touched on briefly here.

Link to full Interview: https://youtu.be/MFFq3yqn5JE

Link to Ben's Harmonica Learning offerings: https://harmonicamastery.com

The standard harmonica note layout, developed in the 19th century and known as the Richter tuning, has served us well. While most players use this tuning exclusively, some look to alternate tunings for specific music styles.

The most famous alternate tuning player is Charlie McCoy, whose style is based on Country Tuning, where the five draw is raised a semitone. This allows second position melodies to be played with all the major scale notes, without overblows. Brendan Power comes next; his best known tuning is Paddy Richter, where the blow three note is raised a tone, allowing first position tunes to be played without the awkward whole and half-tone bend on hole three.

SHIFT TUNING

Tony Eyers

Brendan Power’s other tunings include the Power Bender, where all draw notes can be bent. The amazing Will Wilde has a similar tuning, which underpins his unique rock style. I developed Major Cross tuning in the ’90s, and have used it since then for fiddle tunes. Cary Moskovitz has a Fiddle Tuning system, which adds a low note to the Paddy Richter system. These four tunings are all available from Seydel, at https://www.seydel1847.de/.

The alternate tuning players mentioned here, myself included, are motivated by the same thing: a desire for a harmonica which better suits their music. While I’m mostly a tune player, I’ve recently started playing blues, swing, and country styles again. My guitar player uses 1940s jump horn lines a lot, I struggle to match them with standard Richter tuned harmonicas. Hence my latest idea, called ‘Shift Tuning’, outlined below.

Jump style riffs often feature the same pattern over a I, IV and V chord. Moreover, the starting note, the root of the I chord, is generally the lowest. This doesn’t work so well in second position, however. A I chord riff, starting on the two draw, usually lays out

nicely. But repeating this riff on the IV and V chords (respective root notes being four blow, four draw) generally requires overblow notes.

There has to be an easier way.

The solution came to me one night. Move all holes one step to the right. Hole 1 moves to hole 2, hole 2 to hole 3, etc. Hole 9 becomes hole 10, meaning that we lose the Whammer Jammer note. This frees up hole number 1, which now has the old hole 3 notes, an octave lower. A standard Richter harmonica in C and its Shift Tuned counterpart are shown below.

Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Blow C E G C E G C E G C

Draw D G B D F A B D F A C Richter tuned

Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Blow G C E G C E G C E G

Draw B D G B D F A B D F C Shift tuned

Seydel has a nice feature on their site, the Harp Configurator, where you can design your own note layout. With the idea fresh in mind I went online, entered the Shift tuning layout shown above for an 1847 Classic model, and a week or so later it arrived.

The first thing to note is that nine of the Shift tuned harmonica holes follow the standard Richter layout, just moved over one slot. A question then: would all the regular bends still work in the new slots? To my relief, they did. So all the standard second position patterns remain, except the ones using the old hole 10, which no longer exists.

Note, however, that hole 1 on the Shift tuned harmonica repeats the hole 4 notes, an octave lower. Moreover, hole 1 blow on the Shift tuned harmonica is a G, the 2nd position root note for a C harmonica. You can also bend the hole 1 draw notes, just like you would for hole 3 on a regular Richter, but an octave lower.

This means that virtually any 2nd position riff which has hole 2 as its lowest note on a standard Richter harmonica can be played on a shift tuned harmonica, but then repeated an octave lower, starting on hole 1 blow.

This is a very powerful capability. Moreover, you have a complete

blues scale over two octaves, starting from hole 1. Interesting possibilities emerge for 1st and 3rd position as well.

Alternate tunings like this mean little unless you invest the time to make worthwhile music with them. I’ve taken the first step, and now have a full set of Shift tuned Seydel 1847 Classic harmonicas, shown in the picture. I’ve replaced the regular Richters in my bag with their Shift tuned counterparts. There is a learning curve for sure: I have to orient myself one hole to the right before launching my standard 2nd position moves. But I’m loving the low riffs that I can finally do, using the new hole 1 notes.

A year from now I should have them under control, just in time for SPAH 2023 in St Louis.

Seydel Harp Configurator: https://www.seydel1847.de/harp-configurator

Chromatic Harmonica Quiz 2022

By Laina Freeman

1. How many Cs are on a 16-hole chromatic?

2. Who was the first player to bring jazz style to the harmonica?

3. Who played the highest number of film, TV & radio tracks?

4. Which company makes Grégoire Maret models?

5. What major and minor chords can you play on a chromatic?

6. What materials are used to make windsavers?

7. What other instruments did Toots play?

8. A popular brand in teapots (anagram)

9. Who was the first solo harmonica player at the Royal Albert Hall?

10. Who was the youngest player of Genevieve at the BBC proms?

11. Which virtuoso player worked alongside Hering on a 14-hole chromatic?

12. Who produced a full symphony CD, playing and recording all the chromatic, bass and chord harmonicas?

13. Who had a no. 1 hit at 13 and what was the song?

14. This talented musician also performs on piano, church organ, drums, accordion, cajon, double bass, guitar, banjo and musical saw

15. Which classical virtuoso plays mostly without amplification?

16. Who set up the world’s largest harmonica festival in 1997 and where?

17. Who released their new chromatic harmonica CD in July?

18. Who played a duet with Larry Adler as a young teenager?

19. Rearrange ‘Miami’s rain’ to reveal this artist

20. This jazz musician studied the saxophone and switched exclusively to playing the chromatic.

Robin Sunflower has made his living from the chromatic harmonica for 30 years. But you might not know of him.

Robin has his own regular gigs near Stockport. He is also in Baked A La Ska and other groups, including a quartet, The Robin Sunflower Band, with top jazz guitarist Adrian Ingram. Robin plays a mix of jazz fusion, swing, pop, country, reggae, ska, blues, Balkan, and Latin, with a relaxed but dynamic, melodic approach. He likes tunes by The Beatles, Bob Marley, Duke Ellington, John Lee Hooker and plenty of his own compositions. The Robin Sunflower Band does an annual week of Toots Thielemans tribute gigs around the North of England.

ROBIN SUNFLOWERA LOCAL HERO

Dave Taylor

Childhood piano lessons gave him a solid musical background (“I didn’t like Mozart and Brahms as much as Status Quo, Suzi Quatro and Medicine Head. So I gave up piano for many years.”) He didn’t play harmonica until about age 30. Robin ran a vegan cafe, and he told regular customer Victor Brox (yep, the legendary bluesman of The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation) that he got a cheap harmonica for Christmas. In a few months he learnt diatonic blues and was playing gigs with Victor’s band. But hearing Toots - the king of jazz harmonica - play Sophisticated Lady with violinist Svend Asmussen changed everything. That was the sound he wanted. Somebody else at the cafe told him a chromatic was for sale in a second-hand shop. Honeysuckle Rose was the first tune he played on chromatic.

During the pandemic, Robin finished sorting out the gigantic collection of confectionery wrappers and other pop culture ephemera that his father had amassed. This was celebrated in the book Wrappers Delight, written by Jonny Trunk, with an introduction by Jarvis Cocker and published by Fuel.

Robin and Toots

I visited Robin to find out more. So, Toots: is he any good? Ha ha ha. Well, people say, Toots is good, but Tommy Reilly, Charles Leighton, George Fields, Stan Harper, they’re better. But it’s about speaking music from your heart and Toots just does that. When I hear him, it’s just so beautiful, it takes me to a different kind of place. A lot of other players, I feel they’re trying to achieve, rather than being. They seem to be striving to be louder, faster, harder and more intricate. I don’t like that strive. When I listen to the blackbirds and the goldcrest here (in my garden) I don’t hear “this is difficult”, it just kind of happens. And that’s how it feels with Toots.

Your brother got you tickets for two Toots concerts in 2011. What happened?

I got on the Eurostar train and saw him for two nights in Antwerp,

•

•

Belgium. His manager said to just come down to the front of the stage after the show. Ten minutes after doing a two-hour gig, the 89-year-old Toots came out and sat at a desk, meeting and greeting people for another two hours. Amazing. We chat for a bit, then the following night I’m standing around, he calls me out from the crowd and beckons me to sit down next to him. “This man comes all the way from Manchester, UK to see me play, and I’m so touched”, he said. He was just the loveliest person. I also met people from Japan and Argentina who had come just to see Toots. How did you actually learn to play chromatic?

I am still learning. At first I just played scales, not from books, but from the piano: I made a map of the notes. I’ve never had any lessons. I do have perfect pitch though. I listened to Toots. You don’t instantly get tone on a chromatic, you need to learn about embouchure and it’s about putting your heart into it.

Have you ever given lessons?

No, but I say to people, I’ll speak to you for five minutes now and that should be enough. Music teachers will hate me for this. So, you’ve got a harmonica: can you play single notes? Should be able to play individual notes, up and down. The next part is familiarity with the instrument, knowing where notes are. Same as riding a bike or learning French.

What do you think about amplifying the chromatic?

People said an SM58 mic would be best, but I use an SM57; it’s easier to hold. I have a bespoke Mambo combo amp, made locally by Johnny Mambo. Can’t recommend them highly enough. Guitar star Larry Coryell ordered 50. It has a clean sound, and I have some FX pedals. I had a Polytone combo before, but it was stolen. I had a Pro Amp Viper some years ago, but the crunchy gritty sound was all it could do.

HarmonicaUK wants to bring new members in, because our average age is about 67. Can you think of any ways to appeal to younger people to try harmonica?

A lot of it is about the cult of celebrity and role models. So we need Billie Eilish, and Dua Lipa, etc. to start playing harmonica themselves, or get a harmonica player as part of their regular setup (like Micky Raphael playing for Willie Nelson).

Thank you Robin. Thank you Dave.

Website: www.robinsunflower.com/ Bake dal a ska: www.bakedalaska.biz/baked-a-la-who/ YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/robinsunflower

REVIEWS

The Blue 2 The Bone Blues Band

A review of Down Deep South (Scruffy Dog Records)

By Norman Darwen

Now this is a rather fine four-track CD EP running to 17 minutes, from this Gloucester (UK)-based four-piece band. It has a fine sound, mid-way between a traditional and a contemporary approach with harmonica player, lead singer and rhythm guitarist, Shaun Freke, making a very significant contribution. The songs are all original, generally running between four to five minutes. Lockdown Blues is an original, riff-driven blues composition influenced by the pandemic and its impact on the individual and the country. The harp breaks are breathy and effective. The title track is propelled along by a bruising rhythm section and some excellent slide guitar by Mark Beard, as Shaun leaves his harp on top of the speaker for this one. Blue And Alone is a low-down and dirty-sounding blues number, with a particularly fine blues harmonica break just after the halfway mark as the track suddenly changes tack and builds up a real head of steam.

Stop Your Howlin’ is musically close to some of the great Howlin’ Wolf’s best-known songs, though unsurprisingly (and perhaps wisely), Shaun does not attempt to imitate the Wolf vocally. His blues harp break, however, does recall Wolf’s style, and there is nothing at all wrong with that - plenty right in fact.

I enjoyed this a lot: plenty of genuine enthusiasm matched with musical ability and a sound blues knowledge. I look forward to hearing more from these guys but I am certainly pleased enough with this for the moment.

Website: www.b2tb-band.co.uk

Paul Jones - The Blues

Umbrella Music PJBROLLYLP1

Review by Barry Elms

I had the pleasure of being invited by Paul Jones to a Manfreds’ gig

REVIEWS

recently, at which I received a review copy of Paul’s latest album, The Blues, a compilation album brimming with, as you would expect, top quality blues numbers. As a long-time fan of blues music, I can begin by saying that this album does not disappoint! You’ll find songs by The Blues Band, Manfred Mann, and from Jones’ solo albums or with guitarists Mick Pini and Guido Toffoletti; all of the songs are either written or co-written by Jones.

As you would expect from an album by the President of HarmonicaUK, you will find a lot of fantastic harmonica playing throughout the 21 tracks of the album. We don’t have space to review each song here, however, I am happy to share with you my highlights.

Track 2, Sonny Boy Williamson, is a 1966 tribute to Sonny Boy Williamson, and is a treat for harmonica fans: the heartfelt playing is beautifully clear with only Jack Bruce's double bass providing backup on the track. As you might expect, there are a number of hits featured on this album; track 4 is the classic 5-4-3-2-1, written as the opening music for the television programme Ready Steady Go!, launched in January 1964, reaching number 4 in the New Musical Express chart.

When I first heard track 6, Noah Lewis Blues, I found that I have something in common with Jones, in that we both regard Noah Lewis as a harmonica hero! Lewis played in Gus Cannon’s Jug Stompers, as well as in his own jug band.

If, like me, you are a fan of jug band music, you will recognise mention of some of Lewis’ recordings, such as Going To Germany and Minglewood Blues

Track 15, a Blues Band number, It’s Got to Be the Blues, is a catchy number with some great horn work alongside Jones’ distinctive vocal and harmonica talent. The album closes with another Blues Band number, I’ll Be Home Again Tonight, written with Tom McGuinness, who contributes some excellent guitar work, alongside Jones’ vocal and harmonica. The song is one of two on the album about looking forward to getting home to your loved one after being on the road.

This latest release from Paul Jones is an album any blues fan should have in their collection. It is available on CD and vinyl, or via download/streaming.

Website: www.pauljones.eu

HARPIN’ BY THE SEA

Harmonica Festival & Learn to Play day

Join us for Harpin’ By The Sea 2023, as we go live again from 3rd5th Feb 2023 at The Brunswick in Brighton & Hove, UK. Now in its twelfth year, HBTS is a celebration of the diatonic harmonica and a headline event in the international harmonica calendar.

Saturday Workshops, Acoustic Jam & Guest Star Performances

The centre piece of our weekend is Saturday 4th Feb, which features a programme of tutored workshops in the company of Mark Hummel, Ed Hopwood, John Cook, Paul Gillings and Richard Taylor. Mark and Ed take care of our intermediate and advanced players, while Paul and Richard guide beginners on a journey from opening the box to first bends. Richard also deconstructs a William Clarke classic, while John Cook runs through his new ‘Signature’ tuning software. The afternoon provides discussion time with our Guest Artists in their panel session, before our popular acoustic jam. Saturday night is the climax of the day’s activities with our live show starring Ed Hopwood, Kat Baloun and Mark Hummel. Joining us exclusively from California, this is Mark’s first UK show in over twenty years.

Friday Harmonicas for Healing Symposium

Friday afternoon 3rd Feb sees our first ever Harmonicas for Healing Symposium. This is led by Chris Startup of Project Sounds who will run a live Harmonica for Lung Health workshop. Joining us from Barcelona, Quim Roca will then demonstrate his ‘Conscious

Kat Baloun

Breathing techniques. We will also explore the diverse recuperative and wellbeing qualities of harmonica playing. Friday evening is dedicated to our pre-registration party and open mic session featuring Paul Gillings & Danny R. Sunday Children’s Workshop and Electric Blues Jam

Sunday morning 5th Feb goes into action with our children’s harmonica workshop led by Richard Taylor, the UK’s leading schools’ harmonica tutor. Junior players enjoy two hours of fun harmonica activities, culminating in a live stage performance to parents/carers and free goody bags. After a lunch break, the programme is handed over to Brighton & Hove’s monthly electric blues jam team.

Information & Tickets

Full information and tickets are available on the event website at www.harpinbythesea.com

Turn up. Dig it. Tell all your friends!

Mark Hummel

Ed Hopwood

1. 11

2. Max Geldray

3. Tommy Morgan 4. Suzuki 5. C-E-G, Db-F-Ab, D-F-A, Eb-Gb-Bb

6. Various high-tech plastic, Mylar, Teflon. Vintage instruments used leather. 7. Guitar & accordion 8. Easttop 9. Ronald Chesney 10. Philip Achille 11. Stan Harper 12. Dror Adler 13. Stevie Wonder - Fingertips 14. Jacob Venndt 15. Robert Bonfiglio 16. Jim Hughes in Jersey 17. Phil Hopkins - Harmonica Paradiso 18. Antonio Serrano 19. Risa Minami 20. Hermine Deurloo

Editorial policy

Editorial policy is to let the enthusiasts write about their interests, with the aim of providing a balance of interest in the magazine that caters for all tastes. Editorial changes are made only if absolutely necessary, in order to retain the contributor’s own style of writing.

Members are invited to submit articles of 300, 600 or 900 words with relevant photographs, which should be JPEG files at 300 dpi and minimum 148mm wide. All photographs should include a credit and permissions to use in the publication. Harmonica World checks the ownership of all submitted images to the best of its ability. If you believe your copyright has been infringed, please contact us.

We reserve the right to edit or defer articles, and they might not always be used. Articles should be submitted either in an email or attached as a Word or similar format. Photographs can be sent as attachments or via WeTransfer. The editor’s decision is final in all matters relating to this publication.

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SEYDEL VOLCANY CHROMATIC – THE ERUPTION OF SOUND. WE ALL KNOW THIS, IT’S BOILING INSIDE YOU, IT JUST WANTS TO GET OUT. A FEELING THAT WE HAVE HAD FOR 175 YEARS. WE FEEL THE SAME WAY AS THE MUSICIANS WHO PLAY OUR HARMONICAS. WHETHER ALONE, WITH FRIENDS OR ON STAGE, THERE IS A MOMENT YOU WANT TO EXPLODE. WHEN THE PASSION FOR YOUR MUSIC DRIVES YOU FORWARD, WHEN DRAW AND BLOW CREATE SOUNDS THAT OVERWHELM YOUR SURROUNDINGS. WHEN WE VENTURE INTO A NEW PROJECT, DEVELOP A NEW INSTRUMENT OR IMPROVE AN EXISTING ONE, WE ALWAYS THINK FIRST OF THE PEOPLE WE ARE DOING IT FOR. THE VOLCANY CHROMATIC DEMONSTRATES THIS IN AN IMPRESSIVE WAY: MANY OF THE COMPONENTS ARE MADE OF SOLID BRASS, POLISHED AND HIGH GLOSS SEALED - THE HEART OF THE INSTRUMENT, THE REED PLATESMADE OF GERMAN SILVER AND THE REEDS MADE OF STAINLESS STEEL.

THE UNIQUE COMBINATION OF SOFT AND HARD MATERIALS ENSURES EXCEPTIONAL SOUND EXPERIENCES. COMPARABLE TO HARD STONE AND SOFT LAVA, THE RESULT - THE ERUPTION OF SOUND