Musical Ramblings

January 2007 Rambling Podcast: The Slide Show (Pun Intended)

Here it is, the new Rambling Podcast. It's the Slide Show (Pun Intended).

I've sorted my bandwidth issues thanks to a friend who has provided server space (Thanks, Nali!). It may not be the fastest download, especially for those outside of Europe, but at least it means uncounted numbers of fans (I can dream, right ?) won't get blocked by firewalls that don't like the Coral urls.

Anyway, down to business. The Slide Show is focused, unsurprisingly, on slide guitar, and you can find an excellent wikipedia article on the subject. The show is longer than usual, which makes the file bigger (73M). I hope it's not too inconveniencing, please let me know if it is. As usual, for more info on this podcast in general, its philosophy and sources, as well as access to the previous shows, you can check out the generic post on The Rambling Podcast.

Here is the text playlist for the show, and the usual detailed track listing is as follows:

Gov't Mule - Mule: One of the classic tunes of southern jam-rock band Gov't Mule. The Mule was the first band I ever discovered through Amazon's recommendations! The lyrics of this particular song (and the band's name) refer to the 1865 US law promising 40 acres and a mule to liberated slaves. The law was never applied. This song was first released on the 1995 album Gov't Mule and the original features John Popper on harmonica. This particular version comes from the 1996 New Year's Eve concert in NYC.

Morphine - Buena: Morphine was one of the most original rock projects of the 90s. Their line-up was two-string slide bass guitar, drums and tenor/barytone saxophone. They released five albums until the sudden death of frontman Mark Sandman on stage in Italy in 1999. Buena was originally released on their second album Cure for Pain, by far the rockiest and my personal favourite. This song is also available on Bootleg Detroit, an official audience recording released after Sandman's death. This version of Buena is from a studio gig in Boston.

Derek Trucks Band - Sahib Teri Bandi: Sahib Teri Bandi is a song by Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, available on his record The Last Prophet. The Derek Trucks Band has been covering this tune live for years, and this version is from a 2003 concert in New York's Blue Note club. In recent years, the DTB has meddled this tune with another Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan tune from the same record, Maki Madni. The Sahib teri Bandi>Maki Madni meddle is available live on their 2004 Live at the Georgia Theatre and on their latest studio recording, Songlines .

Collard Greens and Gravy - Out in the Desert: Collard Geens and Gravy is a prominent Australian blues band that explores the grittier side of blues. Ian Collard plays the harmonica, guitar and performs the vocal duties. Out in the Desert is one of their originals, released on their first self-titled album Collard Greens and Gravy. They have two more albums out and, apparently, a fourth on the way. In parallel, Ian Collard has a solo carreer, as showcased here.

Kevin Brown - Mojave Dust: I first heard Kevin Brown in 1995 in Britain, and I've followed his carreer ever since. His cristalline tone is quite unique. Mojave Dust is the title track from the excellent 2001 solo album of the same name. Kevin has recently released a new solo album called Tin Church, as well as several band albums. In the 90s he released a gem on an instrumental cassette called Abundance, but it is unfortunately no longer available and hasn't been rereleased on CD. Finally, his collaboration with Senegalese Kora player Moussa Kouyate, Kora Blues, is one of the better blues meets Africa records out there.

Bill Barrett & Scot Ray - Morphic Resonance: Bill Barrett and Scot Ray have released three albums together, entitled Gutpuppet 1, 2 and 3. They feature a mix of world music, jazz, blues, and their own brand of madness. Not the most accessible form of music, but certainly amongst the most interesting. Morphic Resonance is from Gutpuppet 3. Scot has also released a solo instrumental slide guitar album entitled Rumi, very introspective and beautiful (I intend to review it soon). Bill has too many projects to mention here, both acoustic and amplified, so you're better off checking out his website !

John Butler Trio - Zebra: I first discovered the John Butler Trio through their album Sunrise over Sea, a favourite of mine that I have reviewed here. The song Zebra is from that album, and it was a hit in Australia and elsewhere. You can also find a storming live version on the 2006 Live at St Gallen. This particular version is taken from a 2005 benefit concert in Sydney and is available legally on the Live Music Archive. The John Butler Trio has a new album coming out in March entitled Grand National.

Debashish Battacharya - Indian Blues: Debashish Battacharya is considered one of the masters of Indian Raga Music. A child prodigy, he is now considered a Guru of his own and designs his own instruments. As far as I managed to find out, Indian Blues was recorded for an album called Calcutta to California which is not widely distributed but available through his website. This particular performance is taken from a 1997 Masters of Slide Guitar concert in California. He is accompanied here by his brother Subhasis on tabla. His latest release is Calcutta Slide Guitar vol 3.

And this is it ! Many thanks to Kevin Brown, Ian Collard, Scot Ray and Bill Barrett for allowing me to use tracks from their respective albums. Additional thanks to Scot Ray and Bill Barrett for recording the really cool jingles. And finally, a third round of thanks to Bill Barrett for letting me use his Corn on the Cob from Brother Weasel's Swingin' & Groovin' (available here) as an intro and outro to the show.

Back in December I promised you a Progressive Show, but I was lacking one track I really wanted to feature. I've now secured it, so expect that next ! Meanwhile, as always comments most welcome !
 

HarpTabs

Überreader Marc asks me in one of his comments to link to www.HarpTabs.com. I must confess that, while in the early days of Planet Harmonica I tended to track down every single tiny site on the subject of harmonicas, after a couple of years they became so numerous that I started deliberately not investigating any new site out there, simply because it was too time consuming.

Following Marc's request, I checked out HarpTabs and while I fail to understand the logic behind their diatonic notation (and the site's ergonomy is not very friendly), it's an absolute treasure trove of user contributed tabs. If you're willing to invest a little time to learn how to navigate and decipher the notation, it's pretty amazing. What I find great also is that, scanning through, many tabs are from popular music and tunes, not blues standards.

So anyway, I apologise for taking so long to identify a new, great, resource !

Tomorrow Never Knows

In sept. 2005 I attended a conference in Lisbon for my job. I won't bore you with the telecoms details, suffice it to say that these events are a great place to meet interesting people, especially consultants, and be confronted with new ideas. In Lisbon, I met John Ingham who'd been the head of content for operator O2 for five years and had just set-up as a freelance consultant. His perspective and insight on the music industry impressed me, and I've been tracking him ever since (if connecting on Linked In and occasionally checking can be called tracking !)

A few weeks back, John launched his own blog to reflect on the evolutions of the media industry, and since this is both an aspect of my job and a personal interest for me, I thought I'd share it with you. It's called Tomorrow Never Knows.

Woohoo !

I've just received my review copy of Milteau's live CD. Man, do I know what I'm listening to on my way to work this morning !

I've had a quick listen last night and it sounds waaaaaaaaaaaaaay rawer than anything he's recorded these last few years. Add two singers, a veteran blues guitarist and Manu Galvin's alchemical finesse, it should be a treat !

Street date for release is February 12th. I'll let you know !

The Harmonica Tamer

I apologise in advance for my non-French readers, but I simply had to post the article below. It was published in the regional press from Cher, and it's about Christophe Minier, the guy who singlehandedly makes the amazing Harmonica sur Cher festival work. The article calls him The Harmonica Tamer, and manages to massacre Olivier Ker Ourio's name (and seems to assume that Sylvain Luc plays harmonica too, but hey!)

I don't know if he's quite managed to tame the harmonica, but he sure got a lion's mane. Go get a haircut, Christophe!

Classical on Diatonic ?

I know I've been posting a lot of Youtube links lately (wonder if I could perhaps earn a part of their advertising revenue ?) but this I just had to show you. Harmonica Player Buddy Greene is well known on the Bluegrass, Country and Gospel scene, and has collaborated with most of the greats of the genre, from Bela Fleck to Jerry Reed.

In the video below, however, he plays a couple of well known classical tunes, solo, at Carnegie Hall, and is nothing short of astounding. He starts with Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring which is often considered a beginner's piece on the diatonic harmonica but the tone, ornementations and delivery, as well as the intervals make this a special interpretation! Plus he plays the whole melody and doesn't just stop when it gets difficult. But the most amazing is the final piece, the celebrated William Tell Overture by Rossini, famous for its use in an old Tex Avery cartoon, if memory serves me well.

Anyway, Buddy Greene's playing here is stunning. I'm sure there's nothing there to please the classical purist, but to a layman like me, what a thrill !

Milteau Live Teaser

A few weeks before the official release of Live, Hot'N Blue, JJ's newest live recording (which I'll review for you in the coming weeks), someone from Spain has uploaded videos extracted from the documentary on Milteau Joueur de Blues, Souffleur de Rêves (Bluesplayer, Dreamblower). Illegal, as usual with Youtube, but it can give you a taste of Milteau's playing, at least as it was in the 90s. All these extracts are from the same concert, solo with Manu Galvin on guitar. None of them are complete songs, but there's enough to get an idea of JJ's style and eclectism, keeping in mind his style is sparser and more focused on tone these days.

The first video extract is Tin Biscuit Boy, a blues instrumental from the album Explorer. It features the raucous JJ you don't get to hear quite as often these days (although I'm told the new live will have it's share of raucous moments...)

The second video extract is a solo part from Mercy Mercy Mercy (and not Watermelon Man as I originally wrote). It's got a nice bit of Manu doing a rhythmic solo with JJ's harp backing.

The third video extract is the musette waltz Marcelle et Marcel from the album Routes. I have a particular fondness for that piece since it was the waltz the band played at my wedding. What do you mean, I'm a harp fanatic ?

The last video is The Sailor and the Maid, a celtic tune, also from the album Routes. Sounds easy when you hear it, but try practicing it. Damn fast runs and ornementations !

Rob Paparozzi on MySpace

With MySpace picking up there's now more harmonica players there than you can shake a stick at. I was very happy to see however that New Jersey's own Rob Paparozzi has finally opened his MySpace site with several cool tunes available including an unreleased version of I Drink Muddy Waters recorded with Howard Levy... on piano (and Rob on Vocals and Harp) during a harmonica seminar in 98 or 99. Listen to Howard saying "I wasn't warmed up at all..." at the end. Typical Howard, I'd say!

I was lucky enough to meet Rob in NYC in 99. We attended a Paul Oscher gig, and I still have fond memories of that evening. Rob is not only a stunning harmonica player and one of the best blues singers I've ever heard, he's also a genuinely kind soul. While he may not be that famous under his own name, he's been fronting the original Blues Brothers Band for quite a few years now, and if that's not saying something...

The Rhythm Junks is on the Tube !

I'm a huge fan of Steven de Bruyn's Rhythm Junks, a band I unfortunately consider to be one of the best kept secrets of Belgium. Their second album is due out early March, and their first, Virus B-23 was my harmonica pick of 2004. In the meantime, you can get a taste of the delightful horn and groove madness that is theirs by sampling these Youtube videos :

The first is Super Groover from Virus B-23, which features Steven playing more or less normal diatonic harp. Big sound, odd phrases, wait for the rest...

The second is Hangover, a very transformed version of a blues-rock tune originally released on El Fish's Rewinder. There's only a little harp there, and it's well weird. Sometimes I have no idea how or what Steven is playing...

 

The third is a tune called Monk it Up from the upcoming CD. Steven plays a lot of strange harp there, both due to an odd Koch-like tuning and odd effects. Very representative of his genre, although these, being live, are unsurprisingly more out there than the studio stuff.

If you like all these videos, there's another one you can check out. Go to the Rhythm Junks' website at www.stevendebruyn.com, click on the door to enter the site. You see a panorama of Steven watching TV. Click on the TV (it should say "watch us live") and a pop-up window will present a video of a rocking version of Blow Man Blow from Virus B-23. Steven's harmonica playing is an absolute killer on that one, and the groove is tight as a... well, you know what I mean !

Howard in Europe

Jazz harmonica player Howard Levy will be in Europe for a short series of concerts. As usual, the Germans get the biggest share of his stay, with two concerts with sax and clarinet player Michael Riessler. Jan. 30th in Münich will also feature accordionist Jean-Louis Matinier and Jan. 31st in Hof is a duo with Riessler. There are two more trio dates announced in Hamburg in March.

Howard will also perform his own Concerto for diatonic harmonica, as well as pieces by Piazzola and Bartok with the Chursächsischen Philharmonie directed by Florian Merz in Bad Elster on Feb. 3rd. The event seems to be heavily sponsored by Seydel, more info here.

Finally, Howard will hop over to England for what looks like an amazing masterclasse and concert in Richmond upon Thames, Surrey on Feb. 8th. Howard will be acommpanied by a jazz trio composed of Geoff Castle (piano), David Jones (bass), and Chris Dagley (drums). The NHL is obviously getting involved, and you can find more details here.