Re: Calling all piggyback players

[Joel Fritz <jfritz666@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Keith Freeman wrote:

>>Does anyone else out there play two diatonic harmonicas at a time,
>>switching between them not just for a certain few notes, but for the
>>chords.
> 
> Why stop at two? I happened to see some old film footage of Roland Kirk last night, he 
> was blowing away on two or three saxes at the same time!
> 
> -Keith
> 
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In the early 70s I took a college music appreciation class called 
"History of Jazz."  The instructor was a piano player named Merrill 
Hoover who had worked as an accompanist to a lot of singers including 
Ella Fitzgerald.  He was taking a break from the road.

Roland Kirk was in town and Hoover got him to come to our class.  I'd 
heard Kirk on record, but it was fascinating to see him in a small 
classroom. He wore something like a zydeco rub board and had all kinds 
of small pieces of gear fastened to its harness with masking tape.  His 
cane was also festooned with masking tape and gear.  His ability to play 
multiple instruments simultaneously wasn't a gimmick.  He was a 
technical freak who was gifted with wonderful musical taste. He sounded 
like two people playing interesting music.  If you closed your eyes 
you'd never know there was only one person playing.  He holds his own 
against almost any reed player from the sixties.

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