[Fwd: Re: [Harp-L] re: Improv in Blues]

[Bob Cohen <bcohen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] re: Improv in Blues
Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2005 16:31:27 -0400
From: Bob Cohen <bcohen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Chris Michalek <Chris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
References: <380-220054421195223656@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Chris Michalek wrote:
> Yeah, I'm trying to tell y'all to stop listening to other harmonica
> players and stop listening to the blues.  :-)

Sounds a bit absolute, don't you think?  :-)  Many a harp player has
made his (or her) mark by listening very carefully to the masters
grabbing licks, riffs, and melodic lines from the previous generation of
musicians, learning to play them in various contexts and then imbuing
their music with personal expression, filtered, as it were, by the
individual player's talents (or lack thereof) along with the other
elements of interpretation to innovative original solos.

IMHO Listening to other music and other instruments is a widening of the
circle not a substitute for being aware of history. The point is to be
cognizant of other harp players and what's been done in the blues in the
past and use that as a context from which to base innovation, no?