[Harp-L] SPAH



Hi, all-

It took me an extra day to get back to Vermont because of some air travel issues, and I am just now catching up with Harp-L. So many people played so well. I have been working hard, and I thought that maybe I was making up some of the distance between me and the heavy guys way out in front. Michael Peloquin set me straight with a solo at the Tuesday night harp blowoff. Whew! Ben Nathanson continues to be one of the most compelling and affecting blues players I have ever heard, dead or alive, on a record or in person. P.T. Gazell plays nearly flawlessly, and with a superhuman sweetness. Tim Moyer's playing was huge this year. Jason Ricci rocked harder than anyone I have ever heard. Chris Michalek has always had amazing tone and technique and a refreshingly original approach, but his playing has a new coherence and solidity that made him not only good this time, but scary good. Jimi Lee is a phenomenal talent, and plays everything with a conviction that is truly inspiring. Buzz, Filisko, Tom Albanese, Jellyroll Johnson, Johnny Bishop, James L. Gordon, Dennis Gruenling, Allen Holmes, Mojo Red, and no doubt some I am omitting due to fatigue, fabulous and inspiring players all, and all in one place at the same time for a four day party!

But the break-out player for me this year was Warren Bee. He plays with wit and soul and humor and conviction, and he had the complete attention of everyone in the jam circle every time he put the harmonica to his lips. And not just blues. Chris (the pot stirrer) wrote:

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On saturday night (actually sunday morning) Buckweed, Jimi Lee, George Brooks,
Allen Holmes, Jimmy Gordon and myself had quite the cool little jam as we
finished off Winsolw's bottle of Bushmills. We were making up progressions on
the spot and some were quite difficult, Warren had no issues playing great stuff
where some of us otherwised fumbled through...


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This was a great experience, an example of SPAH magic (Tom Albanese was also there and played great, but Chris was too drunk on Winslow's single-malt to remember). Jimi Lee and Buckweed worked out a progression with an unusual chord in the bridge (did it go to the sharp 5?; help me here). Warren covered it like it was a standard turnaround to a 12 bar blues he had been playing all his life. It was completely fluid and utterly stunning. I went over to him afterward and told him that I had not heard better playing all week, and I meant it.

Plus he's one of the funniest people I have ever met, and wonderful at working a crowd. His introduction of Buzz's set had me laughing so hard that I almost hurt myself, but it was also masterful in that he managed to convey to a large crowd in just a few minutes the essence of the phenomenal soul that is Buzz Krantz. His spontaneous comedy routine with Mojo Red at the blues jam was also fantastic, but it was probably one of those things where you had to be there. For me, SPAH is special because of the people more than the performers or the organized activities, and Warren Bee is one of the people I'm most looking forward to seeing at future SPAHs.

George

p.s. How brief is glory. A few minutes after Warren played at our after hours hallway jam, Jimmy Gordon took a turn on his CX-12. There are no words for my reaction to Jimmy's solo other than "Yikes!" and maybe "Good Gawd" (he removed the harmonica from his mouth after a single chorus, too, while most of us expounded at length like Fidel Castro haranguing the crowd with one of his nine hour speeches). I prize honesty, and so I must be honest myself. I got back up, tapped Warren on the knee, and whispered that his solo was as good as anything I had heard right up until the moment that Jimmy played. Damn!

p.p.s. Winslow, thank you for your generous gift of the Bushmills. We greatly appreciated it!

p.p.p.s. This being Harp-L, and me being a diatonic player, I write above about the diatonic players, but there were great players on chromatic and XB-40. Phil Caltabellotta, Jim Lohman, Ron Kalina, Bonfiglio, Michael Polesky, David Fairweather, Smokey Joe....I could go on, but won't.





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