Re: [Harp-L] RE: Larry Adler movie - was it "faked"?



Hi Ken,

Glad you enjoyed the clips -- as soon as I ran across 'em I figured a few folks on the L might get a kick out of 'em.

As to the Adler... hmmm... some good points you raise. I just re-viewed it and I have to admit that I can't tell if it's "live" or not. Yes there are a couple of split-second discrepencies, but that's almost to be expected with these small MP4-type files -- most films I've seen in this format are "off" a wee bit in the synchronization between sound and action. Perhaps that's what we are seeing?

Then again, in the case of the "soundies" of the late '40s, *all* the performances were indeed "faked" -- ie lip-synched. I really don't know, and as a diatonic player I don't really feel qualified to guess -- I'd rather wait to hear what Robert Bonifiglio, Richard Hunter and the other chromaticists have to say.

Regarding his hand movements, I do think the majority of them are contributing to his sound. But Adler, like many other musicians (on every instrument,) did tend to exaggerate his movements somewhat in the interests of showmanship. Nothing wrong with that. For one thing, the widely spread fingers (away from the harp) wouldn't seem to contribute much, other than a dramatic and weird spidery look. <shrug>

Odd thing is, we all tend to forgive this tendency when it's a rock guitarist up on his toes, scowling, over-moving the left hand to get up and down the neck -- but it's almost as prevalent in classical music. I've seen many, many violinists who swoop and bend at the waist, exaggerate their bowing, make pained expressions, etc... I always thought it funny that I might see a violinist in concert at the Music Center with Zubin Mehta and there would be little of this over-showmanship; but the following week the same player might get a slot on Carson and wham! suddenly they become Jimi Hendrix. <g>

Show biz is show biz I guess, and Mr. Adler did come from a background of music halls and near-vaudeville. He knew what worked. And although some folks tend to dismiss him because of his reputation as "difficult," there's no disputing his stature as both a master-musician and as a missionary of sorts, who saw it as his duty to elevate the harmonica from it's perceived role as a 'toy' to that of a true musical instrument. I agree with you, his playing IS gorgeous. My hat is off to him, whether it's 'faked' this time or not...

cheers to you, Ken, and hope we can cross paths again in Colorado one of these days,

all best,
Tom
http://www.tomball.com
http://www.tomballkennysultan.com


Hey Tom,

Thanks so much for the two very cool links! That
Three Stooges bit is like my all time favorite!
Swing it!! Larry, I read somewhere, really did play
the fiddle, and Curly really was an expert "spoons"
player, but his standup bass left something to be
desired. LOL!!

As for the Adler clip... God, his playing is just
gorgeous. But I couldn't help but notice some
little discrepencies between what I was ~seeing~
and what I was ~hearing~...

For example, toward the beginning he briefly takes
his mouth off the harp to quickly licks his lips,
but in the same instant I'm hearing a nice
sustained note. Then, later Mr. Adler had got his
hands wide open, but I'm hearing this nice hand
vibrato.

Was that movie "faked?" I mean, it was obviously
Adler's playing, but do you think he went in later
to put the movie over an existing recording? Sort
of "dubbing over" the recording to make a movie?

If this is the case, then all that exaggerated hand
movement was mostly hooey... you know just to make
it more interesting to look at.

What do you think?

Harpin' in Colorado,
--Ken M.



--- Tom Ball <havaball@xxxxxxx> wrote:

 Well, since everybody seemed to like the Adler
 movie, here's a link
 to another film.  Moe swallows a Little Lady!


http://www.archive.org/stream/disorder_in_the_court/disorder_in_the_court_256kb.mp4

later, Tom http://www.tomball.us



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